Coon Creek Girls

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The Coon Creek Girls were one of the first all‑female string bands. They started in the mid‑1930s in Cincinnati, Ohio, created by John Lair for his Renfro Valley Barn Dance show. They played Appalachian, bluegrass, folk, and country music and were active from 1937 to 1957.

The original members were Lily May Ledford, Rosie Ledford, Esther Koehler, Evelyn Lange, and Norma Mullins. Esther and Evelyn used stage names that matched the flower theme of the Ledford sisters. Their first performance as the Coon Creek Girls was at Cincinnati Music Hall. They also backed Aunt Idy on the show and toured Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

In March 1938, they went to Chicago to make a recording for Vocalion Records, produced by Art Datherly. They cut six songs, including “Little Birdie,” “Pretty Polly,” “You’re a Flower that is Blooming,” “Sowing on the Mountain,” “Lonesome Lulu Lee,” and “Keep on Fiddlin’ on Uncle Doodie.”

On June 8, 1939, the Coon Creek Girls performed in the White House for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the King and Queen of England. Eleanor Roosevelt chose them to represent the music of the Ohio Valley. They performed several numbers and wore dresses that matched their flower names. Afterward, they recorded the White House performance as a keepsake.

In November 1939, Daisy and Violet left the group, and the band continued as a trio of Lily May Ledford, Rosie Ledford, and a third member who performed as Susie. This lineup stayed until the group disbanded in 1957.

The Coon Creek Girls inspired many musicians, including Suzanne Edmundson, Carol Elizabeth Jones, and Cathy Fink. Pete Seeger said Lily May influenced his banjo style.

In 1979, John Lair started the New Coon Creek Girls, a revival that carried the name and the same fast-picking spirit with different members. Former members later joined other projects, like Wild Rose.

In 2013, the original touring group of the New Coon Creek Girls from 1985–1987 (Vicki Simmons, Pam Perry Combs, Wanda Barnett, and Pam Gadd) reunited to raise funds for a speech‑therapy music camp for Simmons, who had surgery in 2008 for an aneurysm. By 2014, Simmons was recovering, and the band continued to perform reunion concerts.