Jean Ritchie | My Site

Apr 24, 20224 min read

Nancy Barker and Jean Ritchie

Today I want to write to you about this lovely woman, Nancy Barker. She is one of the reasons that the subtitle for Pluck reads, "The...

Feb 12, 20222 min read

Yes, the dulcimer evolves, but always in full circle

A few days ago, David Beede posted a clip of Cyndi Lauper on Everything Dulcimer. The video is from her 2008 appearance on the Howard...

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...

Jan 1, 20222 min read

Richard Fariña and those not-so-gossamer threads

So, I mentioned Richard Fariña in an earlier post without considering that some readers who might visit this Blog might also not know who...

Dec 2, 20212 min read

Get to Know David Schnaufer: Fisher's Hornpipe

Still not sure who David Schnaufer was, or what he did that was so amazing? Alright, first return to this and this post about Jean...

Dec 1, 20211 min read

Alan Lomax and Jean Ritchie

If you've never heard of the Lomax family, you're in for a world of discovery and wonder as was I when I started this project. But, I get...

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...