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Artist
Del Wood
12+ albums
ragtimejazzpianoAll50s
about
Polly Adelaide Hendricks Hazelwood (February 22, 1920 – October 3, 1989), known professionally as Del Wood, was an American pianist. Hendricks was born in Nashville, Tennessee. A lifetime resident of Nashville, she was surrounded by the influences of early country music and the remaining vestiges of ragtime, particularly through the guitar pickers. She took up piano at age five, and played ragtime, gospel, and country music. Despite her parent's best efforts to encourage a direction towards classical music, the environment in Nashville, plus the early local programming on radio, convinced her that she wanted to play piano in the honky-tonk style. Her dream goal was the Grand Ole Opry, something she would realize in her early 30s. Shortening her married name (Adelaide Hazelwood) to something easier to remember (and intentionally non-gender specific), Wood began playing in bands and honky-tonk joints in her 20s. After a decade of building repertoire and reputation, she spent some time as a staff pianist at WLBJ in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was there that she was heard playing "Down Yonder" among other pieces, which led to a gig with a recording group called Hugh `Baby' Jarrett and his Dixieliners. This led to the first of many recording sessions for the Tennessee Records label starting in 1951. "Down Yonder" soon became a national hit in both the country and pop categories in Billboard record charts, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. She is probably
top songs
albums
Down Yonder and other favorites
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More Favorites
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The Best of Tennessee Records Volume I - Glad Rags to Blues
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200 Hits Of The 50s And 60s
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Billboard Top 30 of 1951
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Mississippi Showboat
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The Original Sound of Country 1951
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Honky Tonk Piano Guys
Rags To Riches
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Queen of the Rag Time Piano
Upright, Low Down And Honky Tonk
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Billboard Top 100 of 1951