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Edna Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky

Edna Ritchie
Edna Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky, LP artwork
Edna Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky by Edna Ritchie, LP artwork
Edna Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky, CD artwork
Edna Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky by Edna Ritchie, CD artwork

Edna Ritchie is an older sister of the famed musician and lap-dulcimer revivalist Jean Ritchie. Theirs was an important family of tradition-bearers from southeastern Kentucky, significant for the popularization of many traditional British and Irish songs first collected by folklorist Cecil Sharp during his historic trips to Appalachia in the early 20th century. While Jean has a prolific catalog of recordings, this is the only album to feature Edna exclusively. Though she performed music and built a repertoire all her life, Ritchie’s focus was as an English teacher and librarian in Perry County. The songs, ballads, and carols of her rich family tradition are presented here in an intimate, unpretentious, but deeply tuneful style, sung both unaccompanied and with a dulcimer—the instrument most associated with her family.

Track Listing

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101
May Day Carol Edna Ritchie 02:03
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102
Gentle Fair Jenny Edna Ritchie 02:39
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103
The Riddle Song Edna Ritchie 01:42
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104
Old Tyler Edna Ritchie 01:13
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105
Old Crumley Edna Ritchie 01:03
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106
Aunt Sal's Song Edna Ritchie 01:56
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107
Foreign Lander Edna Ritchie 01:52
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108
Dear Companion Edna Ritchie 02:06
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109
Old King Cole Edna Ritchie 01:11
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110
Somebody's Tall and Handsome Edna Ritchie 01:11
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111
Down Came an Angel Edna Ritchie 05:02
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112
The Cuckoo Edna Ritchie 01:26
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113
Old Chimney Sweeper Edna Ritchie 02:01
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114
Fair and Tender Ladies Edna Ritchie 03:05
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115
Blackest Crow Edna Ritchie 02:19
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116
I Wonder When I Shall Be Married Edna Ritchie 02:24
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117
An Old Man Came Courting Me Edna Ritchie 03:29
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118
Jackaro Edna Ritchie 03:37
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119
As Joseph Was A-Walking Edna Ritchie 03:44