Interview with Hazel Dickens, July 1, 2009

Partial Transcript: It's July first, 2009 and we're in the home of Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer in Kensington, Maryland.

Segment Synopsis: Hazel Dickens is introduced. She talks about her birth in the mountains of Mercer County, West Virginia. She talks about her mother's experiences with childbirth. She describes her mother's fear of ghosts in their house that caused them to move away, and describes some of the places they lived.

Keywords: Fears; Ghosts; Home births; Homes; Houses; Jobs; Memory; Mercer County (W. Va.); Midwife; Midwives; Mothers; Mountains; Plantations; Rural areas; Siblings; Slaves; Snakes; Spence Holler; Spence Hollow; Work

Subjects: Childbirth; Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: I'd like to go a little bit more into that later but I was wondering if you could, um, give a little bit of a picture of your family life from the time that you started remembering.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about her family life when she was very young, including her family taking in hobos from the nearby train and the conversations they would have around the stove. She talks about her attempt to break into that "old boys club" and their reactions to her storytelling.

Keywords: "Old boys club"; "Yellow house"; Brothers; Fathers; Hobos; Ignored; Married; Moonshine; Mothers; Siblings; Sisters; Storytelling; Stoves; Tales; Talking

Subjects: Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Later on they began to see things a little differently because my father realized after--I was still very young, and still maybe at this house...

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about her father's realization when she was young that she had an aptitude for singing. She talks about her early involvement with music by hosting contests for the local children, which she usually won. She talks about her love of school and her disappointment when she was no longer able to attend due to her family's financial situation.

Keywords: Beckley (W. Va.); Brothers; Children; Churches; Colleges; Contests; Dancing; Dickens, Thurman (Artist); Employment; Fathers; Finances; Financial; Hauling; Income; Just Because (Song); Money; Moving; Musical instruments; Planning; Prizes; Quitting school; Schools; Singing; Songs; Thurman Dickens (Artist); Trucks; Work

Subjects: Childhood; Country life; Education; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Music--Performance.; Music--Social aspects.; Musical ability in children.; Musical families; Musical performance; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Maybe we should go back at this point to, um, where your father and your mother were from originally and how they met.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about where her mother and father were originally from and how they came to meet. She talks about what courting was like in those days. She discusses why her father left his parents' home.

Keywords: Abuse; Ancestry; Beatings; Carroll County (Va.); Courting; Dating; Employment; Family background; Fathers; Five-string banjos; Floyd County (Va.); Grandfathers; Grayson County (Va.); Jobs; Meeting; Mothers; Mountains; Playing music; Railroads; Scarlet fever; West Virginia; Wild animals; Work

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social life and customs; Country life; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Genealogy; Musical ability.; Musical families; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: What's the order of, of you all, uh, as far as your oldest brother to--

Segment Synopsis: Dickens lists her siblings in the order of their birth. She talks about her siblings' names and her attempts to find out why her mother chose those names.

Keywords: Biblical names; Birds; Birth order; Brothers; Children; Cooking; Dickens, Dovey; Dickens, Sarah; Dovey Dickens; Family history; Fathers; Memory; Mothers; Names; Old Calloused Hands (Song); Parents; Sarah Dickens; Siblings; Sisters; Thanksgiving

Subjects: Country life; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Genealogy; Musical ability in children.; Musical ability.; Musical families; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Are there other musical experiences from you, uh, during your childhood?

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks more about her early experiences with music, including playing and singing with her family. She talks about which of her family members have musical talent. She talks about the types of music she listened to as a child and how they influenced her own music.

Keywords: Beat; Composing; Contests; Country music; Duets; Entertainment; Exposure; Fathers; Grand Ole Opry; Harmonizing; Harmony; Influence; Live shows; Local music; Lyrics; Musical experiences; Musical instruments; Musical styles; Nephews; Nieces; Rhythm; Siblings; Singing; Songs; Songwriters; Songwriting; Voices

Subjects: Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Music--Performance.; Musical ability in children.; Musical families; Musical performance; Radio programs.; Radio stations.; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: What's the first song that you remember--

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about when she began writing her own music. She describes her early songs as "lovesick" and talks about her lack of confidence in expressing herself. She talks about how she overcame her fears, especially her fear of expressing things that were seen as "undesirable" or pushing boundaries. She gives examples of these types of songs, including "Black Lung" and "Don't Put Her Down, You Helped Put Her There." She talks about her brother's death as inspiration for the song "Black Lung."

Keywords: Afraid; Articulate; Black Lung (Song); Bold; Boundaries; Brothers; Cancer; Carter Family (Artist); Coal mining; Composing; Confidence; Don't Put Her Down, You Helped Put Her There (Song); Editing; Experimentation; Fears; Feelings; Harlan County, USA (documentary and soundtrack); Illnesses; Kitty Wells (Artist); Language; Lee, Wilma (Artist); Loretta Lynn (Artist); Lovesick; Lynn, Loretta (Artist); Songwriters; Songwriting; That's Why I'm Feeling So Blue (Song); Vocabulary; Wells, Kitty (Artist); Wilma Lee (Artist)

Subjects: Coal miners; Coal mines and mining; Country life; Families.; Musical ability.; Rural conditions; Songs.

Partial Transcript: With "Black Lung" I was wondering if there was anything else going on around your development, which we haven't dealt with yet here...

Segment Synopsis: Dickens describes the environment she grew up in as being very restrictive and says it did not prepare her for living in the outside world. She talks about the jobs she worked in Baltimore in various factories while also playing music on the weekends. She talks about refusing a job offer with a band, and mentions a trip to the Grand Ole Opry.

Keywords: 1957; Advertisements; Alyse Taubman; Atmosphere; Clothes; Clubs; Concerts; Continental Can Company; Employment; Environment; Factories; Gigs; Grand Ole Opry; Job offers; Jobs; Leaving home; Mike Seeger (Artist); Naive; Outfits; Outside world; Restrictive; Ryman Auditorium; Seeger, Mike (Artist); Sewing; Shows; Society; Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, the (Artist); Taubman, Alyse; The Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys (Artist); Trips; Vacations; Venues; WCYB (Radio station); Weekends; Work

Subjects: Baltimore (Md.); Bands (Music); Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Radio programs.; Radio stations.; Travel.

Partial Transcript: We went down to CYB one time, the band.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about some of the bands she played with in Baltimore with people like Mike Seeger, her brother Arnold, and Bob Shanklin. She and Seeger discuss how Bob Baker came into the role of band leader. She talks about her brother Guy and his musical talent.

Keywords: Arnold Dickens (Artist); Baker, Bob (Artist); Band leaders; Band members; Bass; Bass players; Bassists; Bob Baker (Artist); Bob Shanklin (Artist); Chords; Concerts; Dickens, Arnold (Artist); Dickens, Guy (Artist); Following; Gigs; Guitar players; Guitarists; Guitars; Guy Dickens (Artist); Learning; Mike Seeger (Artist); Ocean of Diamonds (Song); Seeger, Mike (Artist); Shanklin, Bob (Artist); Shows; Singing; Songs; Vocalists; West Virginia Ramblers (Artist)

Subjects: Baltimore (Md.); Bands (Music); Music--Instruction and study.; Music--Performance.; Musical ability.; Musical families; Musical groups.; Musical instruments.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: 'Cause I know your--I know Guy--well, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about Guy.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks more about her brother Guy and his musical talent. She talks about other family members with musical abilities, including her brothers Thurman and Robert, as well as their father. She also describes her family members' personalities.

Keywords: Brothers; Carroll County Blues (Song); Cooking; Dickens, Guy (Artist); Dickens, Robert (Artist); Dickens, Thurman (Artist); Fathers; Guy Dickens (Artist); Harmonizing; Harmony; Improvisation; Ingenuity; Learning; Lifestyles; Mandolins; Military service; Motherless Children (Song); Musical styles; Personality; Robert Dickens (Artist); Siblings; Singing; Song arrangements; Thurman Dickens (Artist); Titanic (Song)

Subjects: Bluegrass music.; Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Folk music.; Folk songs.; Music--Performance.; Musical ability in children.; Musical families; Musical instruments.; Musical performance; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Uh, I'd like to continue with, uh, your life from--let's see, we're talking now about, uh, when you were--say, after the time that Bob Baker was there...

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about playing music on the weekends while living in Baltimore. She talks more about her naivety about the world at this time. She talks about her work at the Maryland Cup Company and how she became involved in labor organizing. She talks about how she began playing the bass and became a musician for hire. She talks about a job she got as a waitress after leaving the factory job.

Keywords: Alyse Taubman; Arnold Dickens (Artist); Assistant managers; Bass; Bass players; Bassists; Bob Shanklin (Artist); Concerts; Cooke, Jack (Artist); Dickens, Arnold (Artist); Fired; Freelance musicians; Gigs; Jack Cooke (Artist); Jobs; Maryland Cup Company; Mike Seeger (Artist); Musicians for hire; Naive; Paley, Tom (Artist); Parties; People; Playing music; Rebellion; Seeger, Mike (Artist); Shanklin, Bob (Artist); Shows; Taubman, Alyse; Tom Paley (Artist); Waitressing; Work

Subjects: Baltimore (Md.); Bands (Music); Labor disputes; Labor movement; Labor unions; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Travel.

Partial Transcript: At what point did the--did your music with, um, with Alice take--get stronger for time and for your energy and, and to--basically all of your musical energy for instance?

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about how she met Alice Gerrard and how they came to play music together. She describes some of her experiences playing shows, including one at which she was yelled at by an audience member. She talks about rehearsals and set lists when she was playing with Alice. She talks about where she lived at the time, and briefly mentions her marriage to Joe Cohen.

Keywords: Alice Gerrard (Artist); Apartments; Attitudes; Cohen, Joe; Concerts; Crowds; Galax (Va.); Gerrard, Alice (Artist); Gigs; Heckling; Joe Cohen; Learning; Lifestyles; Married; On stage; Parties; Performing; Practice; Rehearsals; Set lists; Shows; Singing; Sixties; Sleeping arrangements; Songs

Subjects: Baltimore (Md.); Bands (Music); Music audiences; Music fans.; Music--Instruction and study.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: And then at that same job, uh, we had people come by and visit us.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about her interactions with Bill Monroe and her rapport with him. She talks about the atmosphere at festivals which encouraged relationships to form among musicians. She discusses her father's attitude about her playing music and about her life in general.

Keywords: "Country folk"; Alcohol; Attitudes; Bass; Bass players; Bassists; Bill Monroe (Artist); Clothing; Concerts; Conversations; Dress; Fathers; Friendships; Getting together; Gigs; Gospel music; Independence; Justification; Leaving home; Married; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Mothers; Obstinate; Opinions; Rapport; Reactions; Relationships; Shows

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass festivals; Families.; Music audiences; Music fans.; Music festivals.; Music--Performance.; Music--Social aspects.; Musical groups.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: Well, somehow I'd like to get more, uh, of the time say from--that you made your first record with Alice and how that all came about...

Segment Synopsis: Dickens describes her experience of recording her first record with Alice Gerrard. She talks about being connected with a record label through friends. She talks about recording a second album, and why it wasn't released until eight years later. She talks about how she and Alice determined how a song would be arranged, and discusses her unique way of singing tenor parts and her improvisation when singing.

Keywords: Albums; Alice Gerrard (Artist); Bill Monroe (Artist); Budgets; David Grisman (Artist); Experimentation; First record; Folkways Records; Gerrard, Alice (Artist); Grisman, David (Artist); Harmonizing; Harmony; Hazel & Alice (Album); Improvisation; Jimmie Rodgers (Artist); Lead; Material; Mental blocks; Mike Seeger (Artist); Money; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Payment; Playing music; Popularity; Recording studios; Release; Rodgers, Jimmie (Artist); Rounder Records; Salary; Sales; Seeger, Mike (Artist); Singing; Singing parts; Song arrangements; Tenor; The One I Love Is Gone (Song); Verve Folkways Records; Vocals; Wages

Subjects: Baltimore (Md.); Bands (Music); Bluegrass festivals; Music festivals.; Music--Economic aspects.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Records.; Songs.; Sound recordings.; Sound studios; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: We were speaking a m--a minute ago about Joe, who Hazel married.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens discusses some of the people who have influenced her style of singing, including her family, Bill Monroe, and Ralph Stanley, among others. She talks about her father's experiences with music and religion and how that also impacted her. She discusses the role of women in bluegrass, especially in regard to singing parts. She talks more about singing with Alice Gerrard.

Keywords: Alice Gerrard (Artist); Alyse Taubman; Bill Monroe (Artist); Choice; Chords; Churches; Cohen, Joe; Connections; Copying; Different; Duets; Falsetto; Fathers; Following; Gerrard, Alice (Artist); Improvisation; Influences; Joe Cohen; Key; Lead; Learning; Men; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Musical styles; Overdubbing; Personality; Ralph Stanley (Artist); Sessions; Siblings; Singing; Singing parts; Skills; Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, the (Artist); Stanley, Ralph (Artist); Taubman, Alyse; Teaching; Tenor singing; The Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys (Artist); Third part; Young musicians; Young people

Subjects: Bluegrass music.; Childhood; City and town life; Country life; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Folk music.; Folk songs.; Music--Instruction and study.; Music--Performance.; Musical ability in children.; Musical ability.; Musical families; Musical performance; Old-time music.; Religion; Rural conditions; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: Well, one thing I wanted to think about was, uh, of the influence that, uh, the tours with Anne Romaine and the Southern Folk Festival tours had on you and the influences you had on them as much as you can tell, you know.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens discusses the history of the formation of the Southern Folk Festival by Anne Romaine and Bernice Reagon. She talks about the importance of the tour's focus on integration as well as the labor movement. She talks about some of the songs she wrote during the tour that were influenced by those themes, including "Mannington Mine Disaster" and "They'll Never Keep Us Down," among others. She discusses the impact of the atmosphere of cultural exchange fostered by the tour on her own worldview about African Americans and her naivety about the world. She talks more about the experience of leaving her home and beginning to tour, coming into contact with intellectuals and other types of people she had never met before, and her re-education process. She talks about how Alyse Taubman helped her through this confusing time and helped her begin to change her perspective on the world.

Keywords: Adjustment; Alice Gerrard (Artist); Alyse Taubman; Anne Romaine; Atlanta (Ga.); Attacked; Benefit shows; Bernice Reagon (Artist); Black Lung (Song); Civil rights singers; Coal Miners Blues (Song); Coal mining; Colleges; Concerts; Confusing; Conversations; Cotten, Elizabeth "Libba" (Artist); Cultural exchange; Decisions; Different; Dishonesty; Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (Artist); Families; Films; Friends; Gerrard, Alice (Artist); Gigs; Harlan County, USA (documentary and soundtrack); Impact; Influence; Integrated; Intellectuals; Jobs; Learning; Learning experiences; Learning process; Leaving; Lifestyles; Long Journey Home (Song); Lying; Mannington Mine Disaster (Song); Marriage; Meeting people; Message; Money; Movies; Moving; Music teachers; Old Mexico (store); Opinions; Payment; Performers; Political affiliations; Popular music; Production; Re-educating; Reagon, Bernice (Artist); Romaine, Anne; Schools; Shows; Solo artists; Songwriting; South; Strange Creek Singers (Artist); Student movement; Student union; Students; Taubman, Alyse; They'll Never Keep Us Down (Song); Tou; Touring

Subjects: African Americans--Segregation; Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Coal miners; Coal mines and mining; Folk music.; Folk songs.; Integration; Labor disputes; Labor movement; Labor unions; Music audiences; Music fans.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Race discrimination; Race relations; Songs.; Travel.; Washington (D.C.); Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: That brings us to the, the time when you took off on your own.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about her split from Alice Gerrard and the beginning of her own solo career. She talks about the adjustment process to being the only person in charge of making decisions about her career. She talks more about her songwriting and discusses a "creative streak" she went on during the seventies and eighties.

Keywords: Adjustment; Albums; Alice Gerrard (Artist); Back On Your Doorstep (Song); Band members; Black Lung (Song); Break ups; Careers; Changes; Clay County Miners (Song); Creative streak; Decisions; Effects; Eighties; Employment; Freedom; Gerrard, Alice (Artist); Impact; Influence; Jobs; Lifestyles; Mama's Hand (Song); Money; Musical styles; Musicians; Old Mexico (store); Payment; Salary; Seventies; Solo artists; Songwriting; Split; Strange Creek Singers (Artist); Wages; Women; Work; Working Girl Blues (Song)

Subjects: Baltimore (Md.); Bands (Music); Music--Economic aspects.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: What kinds of places would you play with your, with your band? Or, or, uh, let's say the period after seventy-six or seven?

Segment Synopsis: Dickens says her popularity began to grow after her involvement with films like "Harlan County, USA" and "Matewan." She talks about how she became involved with the film "Harlan County, USA," her work on the soundtrack, and being asked to write a song for the end of the film. She describes in detail the difficult process of writing that song.

Keywords: Albums; Appalshop; Barbara Kopple; Coalmining Women (Documentary); Commissions; Concerts; Costs; Films; Gigs; Harlan County, USA (Documentary and soundtrack); Kopple, Barbara; Lyrics; Matewan (Motion picture); Motion pictures; Movies; New York Film Festival; Popularity; Quotes; Shows; Songs; Songwriters; Songwriting; Soundtracks

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Coal miners; Coal miners--Labor unions; Coal mines and mining; Folk music.; Folk songs.; Harlan County (Ky.); Harlan County USA (Motion picture); Labor disputes; Labor movement; Labor unions; Songs.; Sound recordings.; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: What kinds of places did you play, um, when you had a band, say in the early eighties?

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about some of the places and shows she played during the eighties. She talks about helping to organize a benefit show for miners. She talks about her naivety at the time regarding the organizing of such shows and the people involved.

Keywords: Benefit concerts; Benefit shows; Bernice Reagon (Artist); Coal mining conventions; Concerts; Costs; Eighties; Folk festivals; Funding; Gigs; Harlan County, USA (documentary and soundtrack); Honesty; Lisner Auditorium, The George Washington University; Money; Naive; Organizing; Payment; Producers; Ralph Rinzler; Reagon, Bernice (Artist); Rinzler, Ralph; Shows; Sponsors; United Mine Workers of America (UMWA); Venues; Worldviews

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Coal miners; Coal miners--Labor unions; Coal mines and mining; Folk music.; Folk songs.; Labor disputes; Labor movement; Labor unions; Music audiences; Music business; Music fans.; Music--Economic aspects.; Songs.; Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: I'd like to back up and talk about two people that were important in your life.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens describes her friend Alyse Taubman. She talks about how they met and her first impressions of Taubman. She talks about Taubman's lifestyle at the time she knew her, in comparison to Taubman's upbringing. She talks about how Taubman's home became a gathering place for musicians and talks about her willingness to help those in need.

Keywords: African Americans; Alyse Taubman; Anne Romaine; Apartments; Attitudes; Bar fights; Bars; Busby, Buzz (Artist); Buzz Busby (Artist); Careers; Charity; Concerts; Conversations; Foshag, Willie; Gigs; Giving; Homes; Introductions; Lifestyles; Living; Meeting; Mike Seeger (Artist); Parties; Personality; Playing; Rehearsals; Romaine, Anne; School of social work; Seeger, Mike (Artist); Shows; Singing; Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, the (Artist); Strange; Talk sessions; Taubman, Alyse; The Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys (Artist); Violinists; Willie Foshag

Subjects: Baltimore (Md.); Bands (Music); Communities in music; Music--Performance.; Music--Social aspects.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Social service.; Social workers.

Partial Transcript: Well, I, I remember when we first met that you were si--definitely sizing me up.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about the beginning of her relationship with Ken Irwin and the continuation of that friendship today. She talks about how he exposed her to new experiences and discusses their mutual trust of one another.

Keywords: Artists; Clothes; First impressions; Friendships; Influences; Irwin, Ken; Ken Irwin; Learning; Lyrics; Meeting; Mike Seeger (Artist); New experiences; Opinions; Phone calls; Priorities; Rehearsals; Relationships; Roles; Rounder Records; Seeger, Mike (Artist); Trust; Versatility

Subjects: Bands (Music); Music business; Musical ability.; Musical groups.

Partial Transcript: Well it was wonderful--it's wonderful to see, see you having ge--having gotten some, um, notice and respect from the country music world...

Segment Synopsis: Dickens discusses her feelings on receiving an honorary degree from Shepherd College (now Shepherd University) and her regret that she could not actually attend college. She talks about a speech she made honoring Dewey Balfa and discusses the similarities between herself and Balfa.

Keywords: Awards; Backgrounds; Balfa, Dewey (Artist); Citations; Dewey Balfa (Artist); Earned; Honorary degrees; Honors; Humanitarians; Out of place; Shepherd College; Shepherd University; Similarities; Southern Folk Festival; Speeches; West Virginia; Writing

Subjects: Education; Education, Higher; Higher education; Musicians

Partial Transcript: Um, I wanted to just clarify the years, if we can, of the Southern Folk Festival that you participated in.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks more about the Southern Folk Festival. She talks about meeting a folklorist at a show, his interest in her style of singing, and the different versions of the song she sang, "Little Margaret." She discusses the inherent political statement being made when a woman sings bluegrass.

Keywords: "Feathering a note"; Alice Gerrard (Artist); Folklorists; Gerrard, Alice (Artist); Little Margaret (Song); Lyrics; Political; Singing; Solo artists; Solo career; Songcatcher (Motion picture); Songs; Southern Folk Festival; Statements; Touring; Tours; Verses; Versions

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Folk music.; Folk songs.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Songs.; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: Uh, there's some matters of housekeeping and there's also bringing us up to date but I don't know exactly what to say...

Segment Synopsis: Dickens talks about how she became involved with Warren Hellman's San Francisco music festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. She describes her experience of playing the festival and talks about the band members who play with her on the show.

Keywords: Band leaders; Band members; Booking; Choice; Concerts; Connell, Dudley (Artist); Dudley Connell (Artist); Gigs; Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival; Hellman, Warren; Improvisation; Listening; Musicians; Playing music; Producers; Rehearsals; San Francisco (Calif.); Set lists; Shows; Singing; Songs; Warren Hellman; West Virginia Music Hall of Fame

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass festivals; Music festivals.; Music--Performance.; Musical ability.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: I think we're to a place where we should wind up.

Segment Synopsis: Dickens discusses her advice for young up and coming musicians. She says musicians should have confidence in their abilities, and discusses the importance of practice and listening to the "masters."

Keywords: Advice; Believe in yourself; Confidence; Influences; Learning; Listening; Observation; Practice; Practicing (Music); Recording; Rehearsal; Role models; Slow; Young musicians; Young people

Subjects: Bands (Music); Music--Instruction and study.; Music--Performance.; Musical ability.; Musical groups.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: I don't know whether it's something that you can answer but I wonder, what of what you've done would you prefer to be remembered for?

Segment Synopsis: Dickens discusses what she would like to be remembered for and the aspects of her career and life that she is most proud of. She talks about her songwriting and singing abilities. She mentions her brothers' musical abilities. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Able; Banjo players; Brothers; Dickens, Guy (Artist); Dickens, Thurman (Artist); Emotions; Feelings; Finger picking; Guitar players; Guitarists; Guitars; Guy Dickens (Artist); Instrumentalists; Legacy; Life; Musical instruments; Obstacles; Proud; Remembered; Singing; Songwriting; Thurman Dickens (Artist); Vocalists; Voice

Subjects: Bands (Music); Music--Instruction and study.; Music--Performance.; Musical ability.; Musical groups.; Musical performance