Phyllis Boyens: Difference between revisions
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== Career == |
== Career == |
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Boyens recorded the album ''Passing Thru the Garden'' in 1974. Her father recorded the album with her.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/phyllis-boyens-remembered/|title=Phyllis Boyens remembered|first=Richard|last=Thompson|date=December 21, 2009}}</ref> In 1976, she sang "Oh, Death" with her father in the documentary ''[[Harlan County, USA]]''.<ref name="auto" /> Workman’s music was an essential part of the film. After the film’s success and win of the 1976 [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film|Academy Award for Best Documentary]], both Workman and Boyens gained widespread media attention.<ref name="Oermann"/><ref name="El Paso">{{cite news |title=Phyllis Boyens in Movie Debut |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-herald-post-phyllis-boyens/137237058/ |access-date=22 December 2023 |publisher=El Paso Herald-Post |date=11 May 1979 |pages=64}}</ref> |
Boyens recorded the album ''Passing Thru the Garden'' in 1974. Her father recorded the album with her.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/phyllis-boyens-remembered/|title=Phyllis Boyens remembered|first=Richard|last=Thompson|date=December 21, 2009}}</ref> In 1976, she sang "Oh, Death" with her father in the documentary ''[[Harlan County, USA]]''.<ref name="auto" /> Workman’s music was an essential part of the film. After the film’s success and win of the 1976 [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film|Academy Award for Best Documentary]], both Workman and Boyens gained widespread media attention.<ref name="Oermann"/><ref name="El Paso">{{cite news |title=Phyllis Boyens in Movie Debut |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-herald-post-phyllis-boyens/137237058/ |access-date=22 December 2023 |publisher=El Paso Herald-Post |date=11 May 1979 |pages=64}}</ref> ''[[The Knoxville News-Sentinel]]'' called her performance "brilliant" and said Boyens had received numerous film offers. The newspaper also stated that "Boyens was the only non-Hollywood-type to have a significant part The film" Boyens stated, "I'm not fooling myself into thinking I'm a great actress just yet anyway and singing is still my first love".<ref name="Mink"/> |
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In ''[[Coal Miner's Daughter (film)|Coal Miner’s Daughter]]'' (1980), Boyens played Clara Webb, the mother of [[Loretta Lynn]].<ref name="auto1" /> [[Levon Helm]] of [[The Band]] played alongside her as Lynn’s father.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2722096575|title='Coal Miner's Daughter' brought Loretta Lynn's story to silver screen|newspaper=The Daily News|location= Lebanon, Pa.|date= 7 October 2022|page= B.7 |id={{ProQuest|2722096575}} }}</ref> She also appeared in the made-for-television drama ''[[The Dollmaker]]'' (1980).<ref name="auto1" /> Helm recommended Boyens for the part.<ref name="Spacek">{{cite book |last1=Spacek |first1=Sissy |title=My Extraordinary Ordinary Life |date=1 May 2012 |publisher=Hachette Books |location=Nashville, Tennessee |isbn=978-1-4013-0427-0 |page=176 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Extraordinary_Ordinary_Life/TfKYAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Phyllis+Boyens+mountain&pg=PT176&printsec=frontcover |access-date=22 December 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Boyens' song "Mean Papa Blues", recorded for her solo album ''I Really Care'', appeared on the 1992 soundtrack to ''[[Guncrazy]]''.<ref name="auto1" /> The role in Coal Miner's Daughter was Boyens' first time acting in a movie.<ref name="Inscoe">{{cite book |last1=Inscoe |first1=John C. |title=Movie-Made Appalachia: History, Hollywood, and the Highland South |date=24 November 2020 |publisher=UNC Press Books |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-4696-6015-8 |page=188 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Movie_Made_Appalachia/I2HdDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Phyllis+Boyens+mountain&pg=PA188&printsec=frontcover |access-date=22 December 2023 |language=en}}</ref> |
In ''[[Coal Miner's Daughter (film)|Coal Miner’s Daughter]]'' (1980), Boyens played Clara Webb, the mother of [[Loretta Lynn]].<ref name="auto1" /> [[Levon Helm]] of [[The Band]] played alongside her as Lynn’s father.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2722096575|title='Coal Miner's Daughter' brought Loretta Lynn's story to silver screen|newspaper=The Daily News|location= Lebanon, Pa.|date= 7 October 2022|page= B.7 |id={{ProQuest|2722096575}} }}</ref> She also appeared in the made-for-television drama ''[[The Dollmaker]]'' (1980).<ref name="auto1" /> Helm recommended Boyens for the part.<ref name="Spacek">{{cite book |last1=Spacek |first1=Sissy |title=My Extraordinary Ordinary Life |date=1 May 2012 |publisher=Hachette Books |location=Nashville, Tennessee |isbn=978-1-4013-0427-0 |page=176 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_Extraordinary_Ordinary_Life/TfKYAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Phyllis+Boyens+mountain&pg=PT176&printsec=frontcover |access-date=22 December 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Boyens' song "Mean Papa Blues", recorded for her solo album ''I Really Care'', appeared on the 1992 soundtrack to ''[[Guncrazy]]''.<ref name="auto1" /> The role in Coal Miner's Daughter was Boyens' first time acting in a movie.<ref name="Inscoe">{{cite book |last1=Inscoe |first1=John C. |title=Movie-Made Appalachia: History, Hollywood, and the Highland South |date=24 November 2020 |publisher=UNC Press Books |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-4696-6015-8 |page=188 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Movie_Made_Appalachia/I2HdDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Phyllis+Boyens+mountain&pg=PA188&printsec=frontcover |access-date=22 December 2023 |language=en}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 20:17, 22 December 2023
Phyllis Boyens | |
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 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | February 22, 1947 Lobata, West Virginia |
| Died | December 9, 2009 (aged 62) |
| Genres | Appalachian music |
Phyllis Boyens (February 22, 1947 – December 9, 2009) was an American folk singer and actress. Her music was in the genre of "Mountain Music" also known as Appalachian music. She was the daughter of American folk singer and coal miner Nimrod Workman.
In 1976 she appeared in the Academy Award winning documentary Harlan County, USA with her father. In 1980 she starred in another Academy Award winning film called Coal Miner’s Daughter. In the film she played the role of Clara Webb, the mother of the character Loretta Lynn.
Early life
| External image | |
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 Phyllis Boyens and father Nimrod Workman, from the Southern Folklife Collection |
She was born on February 22, 1947, in Lobata, West Virginia. Her father Nimrod Workman was a folk singer, coal miner, and trade unionist and her mother Molly was a homemaker. She was one of 13 children.[1] The Tennessean newspaper said she performed as an "authentic mountain woman" playing what was called Mountain Music.[2]
Career
Boyens recorded the album Passing Thru the Garden in 1974. Her father recorded the album with her.[3] In 1976, she sang "Oh, Death" with her father in the documentary Harlan County, USA.[1] Workman’s music was an essential part of the film. After the film’s success and win of the 1976 Academy Award for Best Documentary, both Workman and Boyens gained widespread media attention.[2][4] The Knoxville News-Sentinel called her performance "brilliant" and said Boyens had received numerous film offers. The newspaper also stated that "Boyens was the only non-Hollywood-type to have a significant part The film" Boyens stated, "I'm not fooling myself into thinking I'm a great actress just yet anyway and singing is still my first love".[5]
In Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980), Boyens played Clara Webb, the mother of Loretta Lynn.[3] Levon Helm of The Band played alongside her as Lynn’s father.[6] She also appeared in the made-for-television drama The Dollmaker (1980).[3] Helm recommended Boyens for the part.[7] Boyens' song "Mean Papa Blues", recorded for her solo album I Really Care, appeared on the 1992 soundtrack to Guncrazy.[3] The role in Coal Miner's Daughter was Boyens' first time acting in a movie.[8]
In 1977, she joined Hazel Dickens, Bill Worthington, Guy Carawan, and Candie Carawan in playing at a Christmas benefit concert at an Episcopal church for striking coal miners from Stearns, Kentucky. They had been on strike for seventeen months to try to force the Blue Diamond Coal Company to sign a contract with the United Mine Workers of America.[9]
In 1983, Boyens recorded I Really Care for Rounder Records. This was the only album that she recorded solo: half of the album was country while the other half was bluegrass backed by the Johnson Mountain Boys. In 1984, she recorded several songs for the album They’ll Never Keep Her Down and was backed by the bluegrass band The Dreadful Snakes, which included Bela Fleck and Jerry Douglas. The album was a compilation of songs by women about coal mining.[3]
Personal life
Phyllis Boyens and her husband (Bruce Boyens) lived in Mascot, Tennessee.[10][5] In 1981 a musician who Boyens previously worked with burned the couple's house down. The arsonist siphoned gas from his vehicle and used it as an accelerant. The house was burned to the ground and the arsonist was subsequently arrested.[10] Boyens died due to complications related to cancer on December 9, 2009.[3]
References
- ^ a b "Singer Phyllis Boyens-Liptak Passed in Early December". The Daily Yonder. January 3, 2010.
- ^ a b Oermann, Robert (14 September 1982). "Phyllis Boyens No Longer Just 'Appalachian' Singer". The Tennessean. The Tennessean. p. 33. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Thompson, Richard (December 21, 2009). "Phyllis Boyens remembered".
- ^ "Phyllis Boyens in Movie Debut". El Paso Herald-Post. 11 May 1979. p. 64. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ a b Mink, Ken (16 March 1980). "The Wikipedia Library". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ "'Coal Miner's Daughter' brought Loretta Lynn's story to silver screen". The Daily News. Lebanon, Pa. 7 October 2022. p. B.7. ProQuest 2722096575.
- ^ Spacek, Sissy (1 May 2012). My Extraordinary Ordinary Life. Nashville, Tennessee: Hachette Books. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-4013-0427-0. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ Inscoe, John C. (24 November 2020). Movie-Made Appalachia: History, Hollywood, and the Highland South. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: UNC Press Books. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-4696-6015-8. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ^ Collins, Nancy (23 December 1977). "A Christmas Benefit for Striking Coal Miners". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Phyllis Boyens". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 22 October 1981. p. 33. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
External links
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| National | |
