Hedy West

From an early age, traditional folk music played an integral part in Hedy West's life. While many of her peers would experience rural music for the first time in urban settings during the late-'50s folk revival, West drew upon a wealth of Georgia's traditional heritage. Her father, Don West, worked as a trade union organizer, and introduced his daughter to mining songs. Even more influential were her grandmother, Lillie Mulkey West, and her uncle, Augustus Mulkey, who taught her traditional British American ballads. "Grandma specialized in sober or tragic songs, perhaps condit...