Jean,

I first heard your music in 1970 or so, a friend from Perry County, KY, sang "Black Waters" for me and when I said I like it, played one of your albums for me. Of course I got the album, and have been a fan of yours ever since, have heard you live in concert here (Washington, DC), etc.

The reason I'm posting here is, on Sunday I heard a group called "The Western Wind" doing a Christmas program of 16th century Spanish and Mexican choral music. I bought their Christmas CD of songs from the 13th century to modern times. Guess what? The liner notes for "I Saw Three Ships" say, "[This] arrangement is based on Appalachian folk-singer Jean Ritchie's version of this song."

It gave me a sense of wonder at just how far your influence has reached! It's just one small indicator of the tremendous influence you have had. I suspect you can never even imagine how many lives your music has touched.

Have a lovely Christmas and thanks for the "Christmas card."

Rita Ferrara