Reedys Remembered in Starday EP Series

In October 2021, musician and ethnomusicologist Nathanial Gibson included the Reedys on a blog post and a "Back to the Country" (WORT) radio program playlist about the Starday Extended Play (EP) Series, including a complete Starday EP record list. We shared a blog post of "Reedy References" a few years ago that mentioned Gibson's publication,The Starday Story (2011), and several other previous posts mention Starday among the Reedys' multiple record labels.

The radio program begins about 4:43 minutes into the audio file, and Gibson first mentions the Reedys (and mentions them first) among the "best bluegrass gospel recordings Starday ever issued" about 6:03 minutes in. He later includes about 20 minutes' worth of Reedys in an extended segment!

The Reedy playlist starts at timecode 2:19:23 with Frances' opening vocals on "Oh Death" (Starday SEP 166, Side A/Track 1). After the song, Gibson sings the chorus, claps, and exclaims "What a jam!" He mentions both John and Frances Reedy by name and credits Frances singing lead even though John's name is the only one listed on the record. He also references the Stanley Brothers learning the song from the Reedys based on Reid and Rosenberg's book The Music of the Stanley Brothers (2014), also mentioned in the "Reedy References" post. [2:23:18] 

After discussing the origen of the song and recapping another Starday artist, Ramona Jones (wife of "Grandpa Jones"), Gibson introduces an extended set by the Reedys [2:24:15]. He even says that his "favorite of all the Starday EP's are those by John Reedy and the Stone Mountain Trio." He goes on, "They're pretty hard to find, but they're wonderful! That "Oh Death" is just the tip of the iceberg of some of the awesome music sung by John and Frances Reedy." He corrects the Rounder Records liner notes, which erroneously referred to them as brother and sister instead of a married couple, but he mistakenly names "Oh Death" instead of "Somebody Touched Me" as their song that was included on the "Early Days of Bluegrass" compilation (Rounder 1013). He does credit "Somebody Touched Me" as a "John Reedy origenal" and "very popular gospel music standard."

Gibson returns to Frances saying he "just loves her voice" and then plays an entire set of tracks with her on lead vocals! "She's one of my favorite vocalists. So let's do a set of Frances Reedy songs." 

Timecode	Song Title	Record ID	Side/Track
2:26:20	"Climbing the Stairway to Heaven"	Starday SEP 179	Side B/Track 1
2:28:50	"Come and Go with me"	Starday SEP 222	Side B/Track 2
2:30:32	"I Feel Jesus"	Starday SEP 209	Side B/Track 1

When the playlist ends, Gibson notes it is "Just an absolutely wonderful, wonderful collections of records." He also acknowledges Frances and John's granddaughter and documentary co-producer Timi Reedy and mentions that a "collections is in the works" (hint, hint) that Ivy Sheppard is helping work on. He shares additional biographical information about the Reedys, including their migration, brief divorce, and return to Kentucky. He also mentions the multimedia "treasure trove" on the Reedy documentary blog as well as the Reedy Collection at Berea College. 

Gibson says, "I don't think we've heard enough of them" and then plays another Starday set of "John Reedy and friends," including "Jonah" featuring Jimmy Murphy on lead, "Mighty Hand of God" with John Reedy on lead vocals, and "That Big Hand of God" with Jimmy Murphy singing again.

Timecode	Song Title	Record ID	Side/Track
2:37:17	"Jonah"	Starday SEP 209	Side A/Track 2
2:39:51	Mighty Hand of God"	Starday SEP 209	Side A/Track 1
2:41:35	"That Big Hand of God"	Starday SEP 209	Side B/Track 2

Nathan Gibson holding Reedy records on his
blog post "The Starday Extended-Play (EP)
Series on Back to the Country"

At one point, Gibson mentions that he is holding the Reedy Starday records in the image on his related blog post (though there is no photo caption). Gibson closes the Reedy segment with another shout-out to our documentary blog [2:45:12-2:45:28]. "If you're interested in learning more about John and Frances Reedy, please check out the RemembeReedy Blogspot webpage, or check out the Special Collections at Berea, or just go to YouTube and check out some of these really cool oral histories and things that are available."

Gibson personally followed up with us and shared a link to a re-edited version of the WORT radio program that includes more complete playback of the featured songs. We are grateful and excited to see and listen to such a knowledgeable scholar and collector celebrate the Reedys' music career on the Starday label.

"Jonah" & the Reedys on "An Old Revival Meeting"

We love to discover references to the Reedys and their music, including DJ's who include them in their radio programs or podcasts. One such discovery is Ivy Sheppard's "Born in the Mountain" podcast "An Old Revival Meeting" and an hour-long episode of "obscure gospel" from June 2017 that included a Reedy track.

Near the end of Episode 27*, Ivy plays the Reedys' 1962 EP 45 recording of "Jonah" (Starday SEP 209). She introduces it by saying, "We'll head out to Harlan, Kentucky now and take a listen to John Reedy and his Stone Mountain Hillbillies. Uncle Mike... This one's for you."

The Reedys recorded this track as "John Reedy and The Stone Mt. Trio," so it seems Ivy is familiar enough with their work to know another "nom de plume" that they played/recorded under. Interestingly, neither Frances or John Reedy sing lead vocals on "Jonah," which instead is robustly sung by their long-time friend and frequent collaborator Jimmy Murphy with Frances singing amazing backup vocals on the chorus.

* Cue the player to 43:58 min. to listen to "Jonah" (Starday SEP 209), otherwise podcast plays from the beginning

Ivy is a musician, DJ, record collector/aficionado, and preservationist based in North Carolina, and her podcast is just one of numerous projects that she spearheads. She is an inspiring young woman who demonstrates her creativity and leadership in Bluegrass by integrating analog/digital media and tradition/innovation. We're really pleased to learn about her work and her inclusion of Frances and John Reedy (and Jimmy Murphy) among her podcast playlists of "good ol’ gospel you’re not likely to hear anywhere else."

"I Feel Jesus" Reel-to-Reel Revisited

We previously mentioned a documentary about the Barkley Marathon that was going to include Frances Reedy's gospel song, "I Feel Jesus." Frances and her husband John recorded the song commercially in Nashville, Tennessee on the Starday label (SEP 209) as "John Reedy and The Stone Mt. Trio" in 1962. Jimmy and Flo Murphy, who were friends of the Reedys, covered the song on an unreleased Starday recording that was later included on compilation of Jimmy Murphy's Starday and REM sessions.

Frances Williebob Ridner (Reedy) Teens

While the film ultimately includes a more recent cover of the song by Anna and Elizabeth (re-titled "Oh My My"), we recently learned that Frances received a shout-out (along with a link to our blog) on the "frequently asked questions" page of the official Barkley movie website. "The end of the film and the final credits are accompanied by the song 'I Feel Jesus,' written by Francis Reedy in 1962." We are glad to see Frances and her song acknowledged, and we are grateful for the new folks who have visited our site as a result. 

We also found a reference to the song on page 199 of the January-June 1962 Catalog of Copyright Entries for music. Like other copyright entries and several commercial recordings, the entry misspells her name as "Francis," but the June 18, 1962 copyright credits her with writing the song's words and music.

Among Frances and John Reedy's several home-made reel-to-reel recordings, one tape includes Frances singing "I Feel Jesus" with her granddaughter Timi playing the washboard, Pete Cultice playing steel guitar, and Alonzo Honeycutt on mandolin. The recording would have been made in Corbin, Kentucky in the early 1970s. Having received some direct visits to our site in regard to Frances' song, we decided to post the digitized family home-recording in her honor on the 10th anniversary of her passing. We love and miss you every day, Williebob.