Pioneering Women of Bluegrass: The Definitive Edition

In 1965, Who's That Knocking? by Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard demolished forever a de facto gender barrier within the good ol’ boy bluegrass scene. More than half a century later, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is reckoning with the legacy of Dickens and Gerrard by issuing remastered vinyl versions of that seminal album along with Won't You Come and Sing for Me? from 1973 as well as this CD compilation, Pioneering Women of Bluegrass: The Definitive Edition. This release includes every track recorded by the duo for the label, plus a previously unheard bonus track and liner notes from Alice Gerrard herself, offering her own memories of these recordings.

The music still sounds fresh, fierce, charged with youthful vigour. The temperature still rises precipitously as Dickens (guitar), Gerrard (bass), Chubby Wise (fiddle), Lamar Grier (banjo), Billy Baker (fiddle) and David Grisman (mandolin) scorch their way through ‘Cowboy Jim’ and ‘Lee Highway Blues’, both Dickens originals, and Grier's ‘Difficult Run’. The duo's sharply etched vocal harmonies on Bill Monroe's ‘The One I Love Is Gone’ and ‘Can't You Hear Me Calling?’ remain matched by their honeyed yodelling on ‘Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar’ and ‘They’re at Rest Together (TB Blues)’. This treasure trove presents an opportunity to experience a milestone in American music with focus and clarity.