Friday September 29, 2017
From Huntington Herald Dispatch
Album to be all-star tribute to Little Jimmy Dickens
Country and bluegrass hero Little Jimmy Dickens was a true American icon, but he was a West Virginian first. So when the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame contacted other HOF inductees and noted Mountain State musicians about recording a tribute to the “little but proud” hillbilly hero, they enthusiastically joined the project. The compelling result: “The Rhinestone Hillbilly: A Tribute to Little Jimmy Dickens,” a 16-song album complete with a 12-page booklet.
“Growing up in West Virginia in the ’30s and ’40s meant you were living what you heard from Little Jimmy Dickens,” says three-time Grammy winner Bill Withers who chose Dickens’ chestnut “(You’ve been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Ann” for his contribution to the album, Wither’s first new recording in decades. “‘Sleeping at the foot of the bed’ was a reality for a lot of us. Your sister had a ‘Raggedy Ann’ doll. And ‘Bird of Paradise’ was almost a quote from your favorite uncle, if his feelings got hurt!” And renowned singer/multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien remembers how he’d listened to his Dickens’ Grand Ole Opry performances from his parents’ coal camp radio as a child.
Other music luminaries joining Withers and O’Brien on the album include a who’s who of country and Americana performers, featuring Kathy Mattea, Charlie McCoy, Connie Smith, Russ Hicks, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., Mollie O’Brien, James Price and Larry Groce as well as musician-actress-artist Ann Magnuson and others.
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