"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."

Re(e)Discovery: "Climbing the Stairway to Heaven"

We recently discovered a new digital post of "Climbing the Stairway to Heaven," one of four songs on a 1961 Reedy 45 rpm recording (SEP 179) on the Starday label. The artist credit is listed as "John Reedy and The Stone Mt. Trio," but the record features Frances Reedy on vocals. The video title lists her name as it is commonly misspelled as "Francis Reedy," which is likely why we did not come across it sooner.

This record is included on the Reedy's commercial discography and was archived and digitized in the Berea College Special Collections and Archives as part of our Appalachian Sound Archives Fellowship in 2009. Thanks to Mister Honky Tonk for sharing this recording, which we've also added to our "Rebel Reedy Radio" playlist on YouTube.