Hedy West | |
|---|---|
 West performing at Newport Folk Festival, 1964 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Hedwig Grace West |
| Born | April 6, 1938 |
| Origin | Cartersville, Georgia[1] |
| Died | July 3, 2005 (aged 67) |
| Genres | Folk music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, banjo |
| Years active | 1961–2005 |
Hedwig Grace "Hedy" West (April 6, 1938 – July 3, 2005) was an American folksinger and songwriter. She belonged to the same generation of folk revivalists as Joan Baez and Judy Collins. Her most famous song "500 Miles" is one of America's most popular folk songs. English folk musician A. L. Lloyd declared West to be "far and away the best of [the] American girl singers in the [folk] revival."[1][2]
Hedy West played the guitar and the banjo. On banjo, she played both clawhammer style and a unique type of three-finger picking that exhibited influences outside of bluegrass and old-time, such as blues and jazz. She is a 2022 inductee to the Georgia Women of Achievement.[3]
- ^ a b Schofield, Derek (September 11, 2005). "Hedy West". The Guardian. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ Similarly, Lloyd's liner notes for West's 1967 "Old Times" album on Folk-Legacy (West, Hedy. "Old Times & Hard Times". Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved January 17, 2021.), called her "by far the best" of the "women singers of the American folksong revival."
- ^ "Hedwig "Hedy" Grace West". Georgia Women of Achievement. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
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