Biography
Born Ginger Kay Hammond on September 21, 1944, in Columbus, Mississippi, Ginger Boatwright later built a career as a singer and bluegrass performer. During childhood she performed bluegrass numbers with her father Hap Hammond and the Magic Circle Ramblers. She began with piano lessons but changed to guitar while enrolled at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where she majored in history and sociology. In 1966 guitarist Grant Boatwright brought her onstage during one of his concerts; the unplanned appearance sparked both a creative alliance and, soon afterward, marriage.
A cancer diagnosis in 1969 led her to withdraw from the university. She turned fully to music and expanded her duo with husband Grant by adding cousin Dale Whitcomb. The resulting trio adopted the name Red, White & Blue (Grass) and issued Pickin' Up! in 1974 together with a self-titled album the same year. The group reached audiences outside conventional bluegrass circles and received a Grammy nomination for its first record. At the same time she signed as a solo artist with the GRC imprint, where she scored the 1972 hit single "The Lovin's Over." That year she also bought The Pickin' Parlour, a Nashville club that functioned as a musicians' gathering spot, and she held ownership until 1981.
Throughout the later 1970s both Ginger and Red, White & Blue (Grass) recorded for Mercury, yet neither achieved significant results on the label. In 1979 the trio disbanded and Ginger and Grant Boatwright divorced. Her next venture was the Bushwhackers, an all-female countrified bluegrass band whose members included banjoist Susie Monick, bassist April Barrows, and Ingrid Reese on fiddle and guitar. Laser Lady released the group's only album in 1980, which the band promoted through a string of successful college tours. After the Bushwhackers split in 1981, she joined banjoist Doug Dillard's backing band and remained until the mid-1990s, appearing on most of its Flying Fish releases.
Her solo output also advanced; 1991's Fertile Ground included contributions from Dillard and bluegrass master Sam Bush. In 1994 Boatwright issued the bluegrass-jazz hybrid LP Sentimental Journey, which featured her longtime associate Monick on banjo, fiddle from Vassar Clements, and clarinetist Woody Herman. She returned in 2000 with the traditional bluegrass album Sipsey and continued occasional performances with the Doug Dillard Band.
A cancer diagnosis in 1969 led her to withdraw from the university. She turned fully to music and expanded her duo with husband Grant by adding cousin Dale Whitcomb. The resulting trio adopted the name Red, White & Blue (Grass) and issued Pickin' Up! in 1974 together with a self-titled album the same year. The group reached audiences outside conventional bluegrass circles and received a Grammy nomination for its first record. At the same time she signed as a solo artist with the GRC imprint, where she scored the 1972 hit single "The Lovin's Over." That year she also bought The Pickin' Parlour, a Nashville club that functioned as a musicians' gathering spot, and she held ownership until 1981.
Throughout the later 1970s both Ginger and Red, White & Blue (Grass) recorded for Mercury, yet neither achieved significant results on the label. In 1979 the trio disbanded and Ginger and Grant Boatwright divorced. Her next venture was the Bushwhackers, an all-female countrified bluegrass band whose members included banjoist Susie Monick, bassist April Barrows, and Ingrid Reese on fiddle and guitar. Laser Lady released the group's only album in 1980, which the band promoted through a string of successful college tours. After the Bushwhackers split in 1981, she joined banjoist Doug Dillard's backing band and remained until the mid-1990s, appearing on most of its Flying Fish releases.
Her solo output also advanced; 1991's Fertile Ground included contributions from Dillard and bluegrass master Sam Bush. In 1994 Boatwright issued the bluegrass-jazz hybrid LP Sentimental Journey, which featured her longtime associate Monick on banjo, fiddle from Vassar Clements, and clarinetist Woody Herman. She returned in 2000 with the traditional bluegrass album Sipsey and continued occasional performances with the Doug Dillard Band.
Albums
