Singing Family of the Cumberlands

By Jean Ritchie

Book Overview

The "singing family" of which Jean Ritchie writes is that of her parents, Balis and Abigail Ritchie, and their fourteen children, all born and reared in Viper, Kentucky, deep in the Cumberland Mountains. Jean, the youngest of the clan, grew up to be a world renowned folksinger. But she was hardly unique in the family. All the Ritchies sang--when they worked, when they prayed, when they rejoiced, even when tragedy struck.

Singing Family of the Cumberlands is both an appealing account of family life and a treasury of American folklore and folksong. In the deceptively simple but picturesque language of rural Kentucky, Jean Ritchie tells of a way of life now nearly vanished and of a gentle, upright people shielded from the outside world by forbidding mountain ranges, preserving the traditions of their forebears.

Foremost among those traditions were the British folksongs brought from England by James Ritchie in 1768. Even in a region noted for its wealth of folksongs, the Ritchies' inheritance was exceptional. Forty-two of the family's beloved songs are woven through Jean Ritchie's narrative, complete with words and often musical scores. Each song evokes a memory for Jean--hoeing corn, stirring off molasses, telling ghost stories, singing a dying baby to its eternal rest. Songs lightened the burden of poverty for the Ritchies and brought them joy and solace.

Illustrated by Maurice Sendak, Singing Family of the Cumberlands will delight readers in all walks of life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813101867
• ISBN13: 9780813101866
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Fantastic

This is a beautiful book full of terrific songs (all expertly arranged) and great writing. Jean Ritchie divides her life into thirteen chapters and weaves two or three songs into each one. The songs illustrate the memoir, and the memories provide a context for the songs. And the whole thing is so tightly organized that it reads like a novel.

Singing Jean - my tribute to you

I found myself laughing while reading this book, and crying, at times, too. Jean has a style of writing that makes the reader feel like he/she's there. The people come to life, and you find yourself living with them in the Kentucky Cumberlands. I don't think I've ever even been there, and this book made me homesick. Of course, if you're looking for crime and action, this isn't the book for you. This book is about 'down home' living when chores were really chores and food was home grown. In ways, it was a simpler kind of life, but in other ways, it was a lot harder. You won't find this information in a history book. History books always put a tint on the past, leaving out peoples' mistakes and their imperfections. This is a real family story told by a real family person. It's evident that the two most important things in the writer's life were her family and their musical life together. On a different level, I can't tell you, as an amateur genealogist, how valuable this book is to me. Every page has stories about the people who grew up in the time and place of my kin, many of them even mentioned by name. The next time I read it, I will be gleaning information for my tree! And this is one of the few books that I will read again and again. Good job, Jean Ritchie. Thank you for bringing the Cumberlands of Kentucky to life for your readers.

I'd give it more stars if I could.

The book is absolutely beautiful. It makes Jean Ritchie's songs more relevant, to read the words and the stories she associates with them. The mention of mining in the last chapter saddens me because I know what happened to all such communitites when the coal ran out. The book is beautiful.