Onstage and Backstage Podcast

Susan Brumfield, one of the authors of Jean Ritchie's Kentucky Mother Goose, spoke with Michael Stock host of Folk & Acoustic Music on 91.3 WLRN. She spoke about her book, the passing of Jean Ritchie, and teaching children authentic children songs. Click below to hear more!   About the BookJean Ritchie's Kentucky Mother Goose is a collection of songs, rhymes and stories recalled by Jean from her own childhood. The youngest of 14 children in a singing family from Viper, Kentucky, she grew up surrounded by the ballads, hymns, play-party songs, singing games and dulcimer tunes that comprised the Ritchie Family repertoire. Her 1955 book, Singing Family of the Cumberlands, portrays the rich musical life of the Ritchies: Jean's mother, Abigail; her father, Balis, who taught her the dulcimer; “Uncle Jason” a prolific collector of “big ballads” and songs; and her older siblings. Now in her 90s, Jean has returned to the earliest recollections of her songs, and the stories that surroun