Nice thread to start Joe. We have a selection of "Jean Ritchie Groupies" here like myself and I like getting a lot of info in one place.......easy reference. Moreover, it gives us a chance to also speak a few words about Jean. The song list up there made me think of a recent exchange between Sandy (Paton) and Jean on another thread. There is always something real special to me when one "hero" thanks another........Jean jokingly ribbed Sandy about where they got that "Golden Ring" name and Sandy responded:

From your song, Jean, of course! "Golden Ring Around My Susan Girl." Talking about people who have been an inspiration to us all, no one can match Jean Ritchie! Half of the songs we learned early on came from Jean's albums. The other half we dug out of Cecil Sharp's Appalachian collection, in which many of the songs were gathered from the Ritchie family. Then we got Jean's Singing Family of the Cumberlands (and if you haven't read it yet, do it now!). Recently, we got the "Field Trip" CD in which Jean matches songs with her informants in the British Isles. A great CD! Greenhaus at Camsco.com has it, of course.

I've told several stories about Jean's influence on me as have several others and we all are in her debt. Indeed, folk music as a whole owes her much. Her name has come up on many threads when we have discussed the most influential folkies and although we can't seem to decide on that one, it's obvious that Jean Ritchie is the most influential woman of folk.

Also needing to be here is the fine PBS program "Mountain Born" and the accompanying album. The PBS program is of course on Jean's site and also at the PBS site HERE. If you haven't seen it, you need to do so. The PBS video is available at many local libraries.

Spaw