Alice Gerrard
Encyclopedia
Alice Gerrard is an American
bluegrass
singer, banjoist, and guitar player
. She performed in a duo with Hazel Dickens
and as part of The Back Creek Buddies with Matokie Slaughter
.
Trained in piano, Gerrard attended Antioch College
where she was exposed to folk music. After graduating, she moved to Washington D.C. and became part of the thriving bluegrass scene there. Gerrard was married to Jeremy Foster who died in a car accident. She had four children by him. She was later married to Mike Seeger
and recorded two albums with him until they divorced.
The Alice Gerrard Collection (1954-2000) is located in the Manuscript
s Department of the University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
singer, banjoist, and guitar player
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. She performed in a duo with Hazel Dickens
Hazel Dickens
Hazel Jane Dickens was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. She was the eighth child of an eleven-child mining family in West Virginia. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro-union, feminist songs...
and as part of The Back Creek Buddies with Matokie Slaughter
Matokie Slaughter
Matokie Worrell Slaughter was an American clawhammer banjo player....
.
Trained in piano, Gerrard attended Antioch College
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...
where she was exposed to folk music. After graduating, she moved to Washington D.C. and became part of the thriving bluegrass scene there. Gerrard was married to Jeremy Foster who died in a car accident. She had four children by him. She was later married to Mike Seeger
Mike Seeger
Mike Seeger was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, and pan pipes. Seeger, a half-brother of Pete Seeger, produced more than 30 documentary...
and recorded two albums with him until they divorced.
The Alice Gerrard Collection (1954-2000) is located in the Manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s Department of the University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
.
With Hazel Dickens
- 1965 - Who's That Knocking
- 1973 - "Hazel & Alice" (Rounder LP)
- 1973 - Won't You Come & Sing for Me
- 1976 - "Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard" (Rounder LP)
- 1996 - Pioneering Women of Bluegrass (Smithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...
)
Compilations
- 1979 - Elizabeth Cotten, Volume 3: When I'm Gone (Folkways RecordsFolkways RecordsFolkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
) - 1997 - Close to Home: Old Time Music from Mike Seeger's Collection, 1952-1967 (Smithsonian Folkways)
- 2001 - There is No Eye: Music for Photographs (Smithsonian Folkways)
- 2002 - Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways (Smithsonian Folkways)
- 2002 - Classic Bluegrass from Smithsonian Folkways (Smithsonian Folkways)
- 2005 - Classic Bluegrass Vol. 2 from Smithsonian Folkways (Smithsonian Folkways)
Films
- Hazel Dickens: It's Hard to Tell the Singer from the Song (2001). Directed by Mimi Pickering. Whitesburg, KentuckyWhitesburg, KentuckyWhitesburg is a city in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,139 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Letcher County.-Culture:...
: Appalshop. - http://www.folkstreams.net/film,153 "Homemade American Music" Directed by Yasha Aginsky, Carrie Aginsky. Copyright: 1980.
External links
- Alice Gerrard biography
- Inventory of the Alice Gerrard Collection, 1954-2000, in the Southern Folklife Collection, UNC-Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
- Gerrard Discography at Smithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian FolkwaysSmithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...