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Even if the name Hazel Dickens doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve likely heard, at least in passing, some of her bluegrass hits. If you grew up anywhere near Appalachia, you definitely know her.
Hazel Dickens was a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for her double bass, guitar, and banjo stylings. She was born in West Virginia and became an incredibly important figure in bluegrass music in the 1950s up until her death in the 2010s.
Her style of singing was of note; she sang in a high vocal range with a heartwrenching, forlorn sort of singing style. Just as well, she wrote and sang a number of highly provocative songs about feminism and unions. And she was one of the first women to record a bluegrass record.
On this day in 2011, the incomparable Hazel Dickens passed away at the age of 85 while in hospice care. She lived a full life, and her bravery in the face of adversity outshone even her music. But her music is what she left behind, and I think that music is worth celebrating today.
Remembering the Legend That Was Hazel Dickens
Hazel Dickens was born in Montcalm, West Virginia in 1925 to a large family. She had 10 siblings and grew up in the mining community. Her father was a minister who played the banjo, which likely piqued her interest in music.
Dickens moved to Baltimore, Maryland in the 1950s and worked as a factory worker. There, she met Mike Seeger (the brother of Pete Seeger). Pretty quickly, the two musicians became well-known in the area’s folk and bluegrass scenes.
At first, Dickens played mainly traditional songs. But after forming a friendship with Seeger’s wife, Alice Gerrard, she began to record more original music and became a bluegrass bandleader in an era where such bands were typically led by men.
The two recorded several records before Dickens launched her solo career, and her music became more political. Dickens’ goal was to inspire non-unionized mine workers and feminists with her songs. Much of her inspiration came from back home. Her own brother died from the “black lung” as a result of poor mining conditions.
“Coal Mining Women” is one of her most well-known songs, as is “They’ll Never Keep Us Down”. Later in her life, she would appear in the Oscar-winning documentary about coal miners’ unions called Harlan County, USA. After her death, Dickens was inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
Hazel Dickens really lived an incredible life and boasted an incredible music career. John Pietaro put it best: “Dickens didn’t just sing the anthems of labor, she lived them and her place on many a picket line, staring down gunfire and goon squads, embedded her into the cause.”
Photo by Anthony Pidgeon/Redferns
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