Biography
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Born
1 June 1925
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Born In
Mercer County, West Virginia, United States
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Died
22 April 2011 (aged 85)
Hazel Dickens (June 1, 1935, - April 22, 2011, born Mercer County, West Virginia) an American bluegrass singer. She was the eighth child of an eleven-child mining family in West Virginia. Her music is characterized by not only her "high lonesome" singing style, but also by her provocative pro-union, feminist songs.
Poverty drove the Dickens to move to the Baltimore, Maryland area when Dickins was nineteen. There she met Mike Seeger, younger brother of Pete Seeger and founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers and became active in the Baltimore-Washington area bluegrass and folk music scene during the 1960s. During this time she also established a collaborative relationship with Mike Seeger's wife, Alice Gerrard, and as "Hazel & Alice" recorded two albums for the Folkways label: "Who's That Knocking (And Other Bluegrass Country Music) (1965)" and "Won't You Come & Sing for Me (1973)". In this regard, Dickens and Gerrard were bluegrass bandleaders at a time when the vast majority of bluegrass bands were led by men.
Dickens appeared in the documentary Harlan County, USA and also contributed four songs to the soundtrack of the same film. She has also appeared in the film Matewan.
Dickins continues to record and perform all of her life. Her voice is among the most powerful and moving of all bluegrass singers, male or female.
Hazel Dickens died April 22, 2011 at the Washington Home hospice in the District. She was 75 and had complications from pneumonia. Bless you old girl.
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