Coon Creek Girls

The Coon Creek Girls were a popular all-girl "string band" in the Appalachian style of folk music (a precursor of country music) which began in the mid-1930s. Created (and named) by John Lair for his Renfro Valley Barn Dance show, the band originally consisted of sisters Lily May and Rosie Ledford (from Powell County, Kentucky) along with Esther "Violet" Koehler (from Indiana) and Evelyn "Daisey" Lange (from Ohio). In 1939, when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the White House of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, there were numerous musical acts, including Lawrence Tibbett, Marion Anderson, and Kate Smith. Also included were a troupe of Bascom Lunsford's square dancers, and the Coon Creek Girls. In 1979, John Lair revived the...