Ledford, Lily May, 1917-1985

Lily May Ledford brought tradional banjo and fiddle tunes to a mainstream audience through years of radio performance.

Lily May Ledford grew up learning ballads and hymns from her mother and fiddle tunes and popular songs from her father. In her teens she performed for community dances and tourists visiting the Red River Gorge area near her home. Lily May and sisters Rosie and Minnie were the key members of the Coon Creek Girls, probably the first all-female string band. From 1937 into the 1950s they were among the most popular performers on John Lair's radio programs on Cincinnati's WLW and Louisville's WHAS. In the 1960s Ledford resumed performing, playing at folk festivals in Newport, RI; Washington, DC; and Montreal, Canada. She was Berea College's Artist-in-Residence 1979-1980. In 1985 she received a NEA Heritage Fellowship Award for her legacy of traditional tunes and banjo picking techniques. Traditional songs particularly identified with her include "Banjo Pickin' Girl," "How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?" and "John Henry."