Singing Family of the Cumberlands

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...