Elaine Purkey
Elaine Purkey (May 29, 1949–September 2, 2020) was an American old-time and labor singer-songwriter, guitarist, and community organizer. Born Ethel Elaine Moore in West Hamlin, West Virginia, she was raised in Lincoln County within a family of traditional mountain musicians, developing a powerful vocal style rooted in a cappella Church of Christ singing. She rose to national prominence as a musical voice for the labor movement during the 1989 Pittston Coal strike and the 1990–1992 Ravenswood Aluminum Lockout, composing striking union anthems like "America, Our Union" and "One Day More" which was later preserved by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on the compilation Classic Labor Songs. A fixture of regional broadcasting, she performed regularly on the Wallace Horn Friendly Neighbors Show out of Logan County for decades, eventually taking over as the program's host in 2013.
In the newsletter
- No. 8 Summer 1996