Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
Band · Active 1965–2011 · Washington, D.C.
Classic Bluegrass
Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard were the first women to record full-length bluegrass albums together, pairing Hazel's West Virginia coal-camp phrasing with Alice's folk-revival musicianship into a hard-driving close-harmony sound that broke open a male-dominated genre and became a touchstone for generations of women in bluegrass, country, and Americana.
- Met in the early 1960s in the Baltimore–Washington, D.C. folk and bluegrass scene, where Hazel had moved from a West Virginia coal-mining family.
- Released the debut Who's That Knocking? on Folkways in 1965, backed by mandolinist David Grisman, banjoist Lamar Grier, and fiddler Chubby Wise.
- Recorded a second Folkways album, Won't You Come and Sing for Me?, in the mid-1960s; it sat on the shelf and was finally released in 1973.
- Cut their landmark Hazel & Alice for Rounder Records in 1973, followed by Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard in 1976, after which the duo dissolved and both pursued solo careers.
- Smithsonian Folkways compiled the Folkways material as Pioneering Women of Bluegrass in 1996, with a 27-track Definitive Edition reissued in 2022.
- Reunited periodically through the 2000s for festival and benefit appearances until Hazel's death in 2011.
- Cited as a direct influence by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, the Judds, Laurie Lewis, and Gillian Welch.
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Banjo Picking GirlHazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard (1976)
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Coal Miner's BluesWho's That Knocking (1965)
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Darling Nellie Across the SeaWho's That Knocking? (1965)
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Hello StrangerHazel and Alice (1973)
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Let That Liar AloneHazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard (1998)
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Montana CowboyHazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard (1976)
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My Better YearsHazel and Alice (1973)
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No Hard TimesSing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969 (2018)
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The Green Rolling Hills of West VirginiaHazel and Alice (1973)
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The One I Love Is GoneWon't You Come and Sing for Me? (1973)
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They're at Rest TogetherWon't You Come and Sing For Me
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Train on the IslandWon't You Come and Sing For Me? (1973)
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Won't You Come and Sing For MeWon't You Come and Sing For Me (1973)
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Working Girl BluesHazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard (1976)
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Alice GerrardPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Hazel DickensPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Lamar GrierPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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David GrismanPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Mike SeegerPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Robert Russell "Chubby" WisePlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Tracy SchwarzPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Billy BakerPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Fred WeiszPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Kenny KosekPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Stacy PhillipsPlayed on recordings with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard
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Roger MasonPlayed on recording with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard