Pioneering Women of Bluegrass is a 1996 Smithsonian Folkways compilation (SF CD 40065) collecting twenty-six tracks from the first two Folkways albums by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard. The set surveys their decade-long partnership: West Virginia–born Dickens and Maryland-born Gerrard were early and essential voices for women in bluegrass, their close-harmony singing and commitment to traditional song forms making them models for generations of musicians. Backing personnel across the compiled sessions includes David Grisman on mandolin, Lamar Grier on banjo, Billy Baker on fiddle, and Fred Weisz on bass. Note: the catalog records FTS 31034 as this entry's catalog number — that number belongs to Won't You Come and Sing for Me? (ID 530272); the correct identifier for this compilation is SF CD 40065.
Tracklist
- 1 I Just Got Wise 2:29
- 2 Walkin' in My Sleep 2:07
- 3 The One I Love Is Gone alt version 3:11
- 4 Weary Lonesome Blues 2:42
- 5 The Long Black Veil alt version 3:02
- 6 Cowboy Jim 2:03
- 7 Memories of Mother and Dad alt version 2:30
- 8 Sugar Tree Stomp 2:05
- 9 Mommy Please Stay Home With Me 3:13
- 10 Gabriel's Call 2:14
- 11 Coal Miner’s Blues alt version 2:42
- 12 Difficult Run 1:31
- 13 Who's That Knocking? 2:58
- 14 Tiny Broken Heart alt version 2:54
- 15 Can't You Hear Me Calling? 3:13
- 16 Darling Nellie Across the Sea alt version 2:22
- 17 Won’t You Come and Sing For Me alt version 2:45
- 18 Lee Highway Blues 1:39
- 19 A Distant Land to Roam alt version 2:33
- 20 Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar alt version 3:33
- 21 Take Me Back to Tulsa 2:13
- 22 They’re at Rest Together Source Recording 3:28
- 23 John Henry alt version 3:12
- 24 Just Another Broken Heart 2:42
- 25 Train on the Island alt version 1:44
- 26 Lover's Return 3:05
- 27 I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling alt version 3:38
- 28 Childish Love 2:56