Skip to main content

British Traditional Ballads (Child Ballads) in the Southern Mountains, Vol. 1

Jean Ritchie
Album cover for the release British Traditional Ballads (Child Ballads) in the Southern Mountains, Vol. 1.

Ten years after British scholar Cecil J. Sharp declared the traditional English ballad a "moribund" art form, he discovered a rich and thriving tradition of ballad-singing in America's southern Appalachian Mountains. Jean Ritchie, a tradition-bearer from Appalachian Kentucky, shares some of her favorite "story songs" of murder and romance. "Hangman" and "Old Bangum" feature the Appalachian dulcimer, a type of fretted zither unique to the region. Liner notes include an introduction by Ritchie, notes by Kenneth J. Goldstein, a bibliography on the ballads collected by Francis Child, and historical information and lyrics for each song.

Track Listing

icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
101
Jean Ritchie
02:50
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
102
Jean Ritchie
04:22
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
103
Jean Ritchie
02:01
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
104
Jean Ritchie
06:05
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
105
Jean Ritchie
04:22
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
106
Jean Ritchie
05:30
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
201
Jean Ritchie
02:11
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
202
Jean Ritchie
04:44
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
203
Jean Ritchie
01:55
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
204
Jean Ritchie
05:04
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
205
Jean Ritchie
09:07