Interview with Hazel Dickens, July 1, 2009
Project: Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Hazel Dickens talks about her family life, her early involvement with music, and her family members' musical abilities. She talks about when she began writing her own music, her lack of confidence in expressing herself, and how she overcame her fear of expressing things that were seen as "undesirable" or pushing boundaries. Dickens talks about how she met Alice Gerrard, how they came to play music together, and describes their experience of recording their first record. She discusses the impact of the atmosphere of cultural exchange fostered by the Southern Folk Festival tour on her own worldview about African Americans, the labor movement, and her naivety about the world. She talks about how she became involved with the film "Harlan County, USA," her work on the soundtrack, and the difficult process of writing a song for the end of the film. She discusses her friendships with Alyse Taubman and Ken Irwin.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Songwriting Gerrard, Alice (Artist) Alice Gerrard (Artist) Southern Folk Festival Harlan County, USA (Documentary and soundtrack) Alyse Taubman Taubman, Alyse Seeger, Mike (Artist) Mike Seeger (Artist) Irwin, Ken Ken Irwin Education Country life African Americans--Segregation Integration Race relations Race discrimination Strikes and lockouts--Coal mining Coal miners--Labor unions Labor disputes Labor unions Labor movementInterview LC Subject
Childhood Family histories. Songs. Musical families Baltimore (Md.) Bands (Music) Musical groups. Musical performance Music--Performance. Sound recordings. Sound--Recording and reproducing Records. Bluegrass festivals Music festivals. Women bluegrass musicians. Music--Economic aspects. Bluegrass music. Folk music. Folk songs. Music businessInterview Rights
The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History has been licensed by the International Bluegrass Music Museum as the exclusive archival repository for this collection. All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, belong to the International Bluegrass Music Museum.?Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky.Interview Usage
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky.Restriction
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky.
The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History has been licensed by the International Bluegrass Music Museum as the exclusive archival repository for this collection. All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, belong to the International Bluegrass Music Museum.?Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky.
Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s).
Dickens, Hazel Interview by Mike Seeger. 01 Jul. 2009. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Dickens, H. (2009, July 01). Interview by M. Seeger. Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Dickens, Hazel, interview by Mike Seeger. July 01, 2009, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7r4x54j64w