Del Wood

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Del Wood was the professional pseudonym used by pianist Polly Adelaide Hendricks Hazelwood (February 22, 1920 - October 3, 1989).

Hendricks was born in Nashville, Tennessee. A native and lifetime resident of Nashville, Polly 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 5, and played ragtime, gospel, and country music. In spite of her parent's best efforts to encourage a direction towards classical music, the environment in Nashville, plus the early local programming on radio, convinced the young lady that she wanted to play piano in the honky-tonk style. Her dream goal was the Grand Ole Opry, something she would eventually realize in her early 30s.

Shortening her married name (Adelaide Hazelwood) to something easier to remember (and intentionally non-gender specific), Del started banging around 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, and is considered to be the first million-selling record by a female artist.

This success was turned into appearances on the Grand Ole Opry starting in 1952, which led to an eventual full-time gig with them in 1953 fulfilling her long-time dream. Two years later her fame culminated with a contract from RCA Victor Records, where she would make some of the first country/honky-tonk stereo recordings in the late 1950s. While nothing else that she put out had the same success as "Down Yonder" had, her offerings over the next decade were frequent and consistent. Del gained the title "Queen of the Ragtime Pianists", sometimes shared with junior fellow plunker Jo Ann Castle. She was also divorced from her stage-namesake, Carlson Hazelwood, during this period, but not before adopting a son that they named Wesley.

During the Vietnam War, Del was part of one of the Grand Ole Opry package tours that entertained troops overseas in 1968. Her recordings after the late 1960s were infrequent at best, but her appearances on the Grand Ole Opry continued literally until just before her death from a stroke on October 3, 1989. In the final years she joined many Opry veterans in expressing displeasure at the direction it was taking, often minimizing exposure of the older stars in favor of new and often untested talent. This was inevitable given the shift from radio to television, and the surge of popularity of "new country" in the 1980s. Still, she was warmly remembered on her death, and remains an integral part of the Opry's prestigious history. She felt that more so than her many recordings, the best legacy she left behind was Wesley, who she managed to raise mostly on her own. Her fans might find both facets to be of great importance to her legacy.

Wood was important in that she not only exemplified many of the possible connotations of the honky-tonk label, mixing country with pop music in an old-time piano style, but for the audiences she brought to both forms of music through her crossover pieces. She also made it clear that a woman's place was wherever she wanted to be, making a good living in a male-dominated genre. Her forceful playing was equal or superior to many of her contemporaries, and her considerable output showed great innovation at times, and consistency at the very least at all times.

Jerry Lee Lewis cited Del Wood as an early influence on his performance style and drive to succeed.

Del Wood died in 1989 and was interred in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.