Folk Music | My Site

Nov 22, 20223 min read

Oh, boy ...

One of the many ways researching and writing Pluck has changed me is that it has given me a new appreciation for first-hand diving into...

Aug 25, 20220 min read

Look who graces the cover of the summer issue of Dulcimer Players News

Jun 20, 20223 min read

Dulcimer Boomer: Neal Hellman

Remember the old Reader's Digest recurring series, "My Most Unforgettable Character"? Well, Neal Hellman is in my Top Ten list of most...

Apr 18, 20222 min read

The Elusive Diana White

Crawling back from the misery of a very bad cold, I have been catching up with emails. A few in particular came from Tom Harleman who...

Feb 19, 20222 min read

Emmylou and David

Emmylou Harris and David Schnaufer perform Hank Williams's "May You Never Be Alone".

Jan 25, 20221 min read

Pluck Chronology Part 2: Crossing Thresholds

1960: Folk Revival begins. Jean Ritchie introduces Richard Fariña to the dulcimer./Nancy Johnson (later, Nancy Barker) gets her first...

Jan 23, 20222 min read

The Pluck Chronology Part 1: Origins

I'm sorry to say this didn't occur to me to include in Pluck prior to publication, but a couple of people suggested I should have...

Nov 22, 20212 min read

Who, or, rather, What? The Dulcimer

David Schnaufer is not the only main character in Pluck; so is America's first folk instrument, the Mountain Dulcimer. It was not planned...

Nov 10, 20212 min read

Meet Jean Ritchie

Unless you lived through the folk music times starting in the forties, you may or may not have heard of Jean Ritchie. When I started the...