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Lillie May Ledford (1917 - 1985)

Lillie May "Lilly" Ledford
Born in Kentucky, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Daughter of and
Sister of , , and
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died at age 68 in Lexington, Fayette, Kentucky, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 12 Jan 2019
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Contents

Biography

Notables Project
Lillie Ledford is Notable.
Lillie was an American Folk Artist
Lily May Ledford was an Appalachian musician and singer known for her skills with the clawhammer banjo and fiddle.

Head of the Coon Creek Girls who regularly performed on the radio as well as a well known solo artist. Lily was also awarded a National Heritiage Fellowship.

Early Life

Lily May Ledford was born in 1917. She is the daughter of Dan Ledford[1] and Stella Tackett. [2]
Her family was large and musical, living on a tenant farm in Powell County. She, her brother Cayen and her sister Rosie would play together in a band called the Red River Ramblers.[3] Her first instrument was the banjo, which her father taught her how to play when she was very young. By age 12, she was also playing the fiddle.[4]

Musical Career

In 1936, she -- or possibly the whole Red River Ramblers -- entered a contest and won. She garnered the attention of John Lair, who was one of the hosts of the Renfro Valley Barn Dance. Together, Lair and Ledford put together an all-female string band that included Lily May and her sister Rosie, along with Evelyn Daisy Lange and Esther Violet Koehler, named the Coon Creek Girls.[4][3] The group was successful for two decades, although the personnel changed over time. In 1939, another Ledford sister, Minnie, joined the band.[4] According to the National Endowment for the Arts, the success of the Coon Creek Girls was due to their amazing talent -- not just to the novelty of an all-girl band. "Lily May's driving clawhammer banjo playing, Rosie's strong guitar work, and the high mountain harmonies of the group were an exciting contrast to the sentimental home-and-mother styles of the period."[3]
On 8 June 1939, The Coon Creek Girls had the honor of performing (with a number of other musical guests) for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England and President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor.[4] Lily May found the King's expression to be off-putting and she was worried that he didn't like the music. "Then as I glanced down, I caught him patting his foot, ever so little, and I knew we had him."[3]
After the Coon Creek Girls broke up, Ledford had a solo career, releasing the album Banjo Picking Girl in 1983.[5]

Personal Life

In 1940, at the age of 23, Lily May married Curtis Pearson.[6] This marriage must have ended in divorce, because in 1945, Lily May Pearson married Robert Glenn Pennington.[7] (Curtis Pearson also remarried, in 1948.)[8]

Death

On 14 July 1985, Lily May passed away unexpectedly.[9] Her obituary states that she was a widow, so Robert must have predeceased her. It also lists her children as J. P. Pennington, Bob Pennington, and Barbara Ann Greenlief.[10] Her son, J. P., is James Preston Pennington, b. 22 Jan 1949 and still living today (Sept 2022).[11]

Awards

Just before her death, Lily May Ledford was honored with an NEA National Heritage Fellowship.[12][13]

Links

Sources

  1. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMFQ-PSL : accessed 5 September 2022), Lillie M Ledford in household of White Ledford, Mariba, Menifee, Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 7, sheet 5A, line 14, family 79, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 767; FHL microfilm 2,340,502.
  2. ↑ "Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKH2-LT5B : 11 February 2018), Lily May Ledford, 17 Mar 1917; citing Birth, Powell, Kentucky, United States, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Lily May Ledford," National Heritage Fellowships, National Endowment for the Arts. https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/lily-may-ledford.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Wikipedia contributors. "Lily May Ledford." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 27 Jan. 2022. Web. 5 Sep. 2022.
  5. ↑ "Lily May Ledford--Banjo Pickin Girl" Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/4067067-Lily-May-Ledford-Banjo-Pickin-Girl
  6. ↑ "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2D8-RVBK : 22 July 2021), Curtis Pearson and Lillie May Ledford, 20 Jan 1940; citing Marriage, Berea, Madison, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 1,943,381.
  7. ↑ "Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZWR-KJZ : 9 March 2021), Robert Glenn Pennington and Lily May Pearson, 21 Jul 1945; citing Greene, Tennessee, United States, Marriage, p. , Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville and county clerk offices from various counties; FHL microfilm 1,709,342.
  8. ↑ "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2DX-9M6M : 22 July 2021), Curtis Owen Pearson and Ollie R Van Winkle, 12 May 1948; citing Marriage, Versailles, Woodford, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 1,842,998.
  9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7044560/lily-may-pennington: accessed 06 September 2022), memorial page for Lily May Ledford Pennington (17 Mar 1917–14 Jul 1985), Find a Grave Memorial ID 7044560, citing Berea Cemetery, Berea, Madison County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave .
  10. ↑ The Courier-Journal; Publication Date: 16 Jul 1985; Publication Place: Louisville, Kentucky, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/109822284/?article=a162aff7-b023-4b20-9995-ef7a87cde42f&focus=0.32142067,0.036081433,0.47953764,0.50380194&xid=3355
  11. ↑ Wikipedia contributors. "J.P. Pennington." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 Apr. 2022. Web. 5 Sep. 2022.
  12. ↑ "NEA National Heritage Fellowships 1985. National Endowment for the Arts. https://web.archive.org/web/20200920042112/https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/year/1985
  13. ↑ Wikipedia: National Heritage Fellowship - 1985
  • United States Census 1920 and 1930, and data from family records
  • 1920 Census - Daw White Ledford - Residence: Rogers Chapel, Powell County, Kentucky - Lilly M Ledford - Daughter - Female - Age 2 - Birthplace: Kentucky
  • 1930 Census - White Ledford - Residence: Mariba, Menifee County, Kentucky - Lillie Ledford - Daughter - Female - Age 12 - Birthplace: Kentucky
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Categories: Appalachia, Needs Profiles Created | Kentucky Appalachians | Appalachia, Notables | National Heritage Fellowship | Folk Musicians | Fiddlers | Berea Cemetery, Berea, Kentucky | Lexington, Kentucky | Appalachia Project Managed Profiles | Notables