Jean Ritchie is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 singer, songwriter, and Appalachian dulcimer

Appalachian dulcimer

The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...

 player.
Abigail and Balis Ritchie of Viper, Kentucky

Viper, Kentucky

Viper is an unincorporated community in Perry County, Kentucky, United States. Viper is located along Kentucky Route 7 south-southeast of Hazard. Viper has a post office with ZIP code 41774....

 had 14 children, and Jean was the youngest. Ten girls slept in one room of the farming family's house in the Cumberland Mountains

Cumberland Mountains

The Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located in southern West Virginia, western Virginia, eastern edges of Kentucky, and eastern middle Tennessee, including the Crab Orchard Mountains...

.

Jean Ritchie quickly memorized songs and performed at local dances and the country fair in Hazard

Hazard, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,806 people, 1,946 households, and 1,266 families residing in the city. The population density was 684.6 people per square mile . There were 2,291 housing units at an average density of 326.4 per square mile...

. In the late forties the family acquired a radio and discovered that what they were singing was hillbilly music, a word they had never heard before.