Folk singer and storyteller Nimrod Workman (November 5, 1895 – November 26, 1994) was born in Oppy, Kentucky, the son of Mack and Etta Workman. He attended school through the second grade and learned music at an early age from his grandfathers and his mother, who often sang around the house. From them, he absorbed traditional ballads from the British Isles. In 1905, about age 10, he wrote his first song, “Passing Through the Garden.”

Workman worked in coal mines from about age 14 until he was 57. Many of his songs were conceived while he labored underground, singing as he worked. He retired due to severe back and lung problems. On his final day in the mines, he fainted and had to be helped out. Reflecting later on those years, he said, “I’ve worked many and many 10 hours for 50 cents.”

Workman spent most of his life in Chattaroy in Mingo County. Deeply devoted both to his faith and to the United Mine Workers of America, he supported miners’ labor struggles and fought on their side during the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, a central conflict of the West Virginia Mine Wars.

In the 1960s, he became active in the movement to win recognition and compensation for black lung disease among coal miners. Performing at rallies in support of the Black Lung Movement, he sang original songs such as “Brown Lung Blues,” “Coal Black Mining Blues,” “42 Years,” and “Mother Jones’ Will.” Workman himself finally qualified for black lung compensation in 1971—19 years after leaving the mines.

After retiring from mining, Workman gained recognition as a traditional singer and storyteller. He performed at festivals across West Virginia and throughout the country, including the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, and made frequent appearances at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. In 1986, he became the first West Virginian named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. It is the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. He was later joined in that honor by fellow West Virginians Melvin Wine (1991), Ellie Mannette (1999), Dorothy Thompson (2000), Hazel Dickens (2001), and John Morris (2020).

Workman released two albums during his lifetime: Passing Thru the Garden (June Appal, 1975) and Mother Jones’ Will (Rounder, 1978). A recording made by folklorist Mike Seeger in 1982 was later issued as I Want to Go Where Things Are Beautiful (2008). His songs also appeared on numerous compilation recordings.

Workman’s life and music were documented in several films. He was the subject of Nimrod Workman: To Fit My Own Category (1975, produced by Appalshop) and appeared in the documentaries Harlan County USA (1976), Chase the Devil: Religious Music of the Appalachians (1990), American Patchwork: Appalachian Journey and American Patchwork: Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old (both 1991, directed by Alan Lomax), and The Grand Generation (1993). In the feature film Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), based on the life and career of Loretta Lynn, Workman sang the lead on “Amazing Grace” during the funeral scene.

In 1929, Workman married Mollie Mae Bowens (1912–1998). The youngest of their 13 children, Phyllis Workman Boyens (1947–2009), became a popular folk singer who often performed with her father as well as solo. She portrayed Loretta Lynn’s mother in Coal Miner’s Daughter.

Workman spent his later years in Mascot, Tennessee, and died in nearby Knoxville. He is buried in Knoxville’s Caledonia Cemetery. In 2025, Library of Congress added Appalshop’s Nimrod Workman Collection to the National Recording Registry.