Alfred was born completely blind, in Floyd County, Virginia, being the second blind child born to Riley & Charlotte (Akers) Reed.[nb 1] He was raised in a very conservative family, the son of a farm laborer, and he acquired a violin at a young age. Later, he began performing at county fairs, in country schoolhouses, for political rallies, and in churches.[nb 1][nb 2] He even played on street corners for tips.[nb 1] He used to sell out printed copies of his compositions for ten cents each.[nb 3] This is about all the information that can be gathered from him in his early life, as most of the events during this time were not written down nor talked about much in his later years.
Career
While playing during a convention in 1927, Ralph Peer, who was the director of the Bristol Sessions, heard Reed playing "The Wreck of the Virginian", and asked him if he wanted to make some recordings. Reed consented, and he recorded four songs, one solo, "The Wreck of the Virginian", and three with Arville's guitar accompaniment: "I Mean to Live for Jesus", "You Must Unload", and "Walking in the Way with Jesus". After the Bristol Sessions, Reed kept recording until 1929, which was the year of his most famous song's release "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?".
After 1929, he stopped recording and lived out the rest of his life mostly in the Princeton area in Mercer County, West Virginia.[nb 1] Reed continued to perform locally until 1937 when a statute was passed prohibiting blind street musicians.[nb 4] In addition to being recording artist and a musician, he also served as a lay preacherMethodist church minister.[nb 3] In 1956, Reed died, supposedly of starvation. He is buried in Elgood, West Virginia.[3]
Legacy
Reed's lyrics, all of which he composed himself, were ostensibly very conservative, but always were presented with a sense of humor; for example "Why Do You Bob Your Hair, Girls?" was an over-the-top commentary against women's hair style fashion of the 1920s, in which women who wore a shingle-bob were instructed to "ask Jesus to forgive" their hair style. More than half of the songs he recorded were religious or political or spoke out against society's ills. Because of his social commentary, which was somewhat uncommon then, some people today consider Reed an early "protest" singer.
In 2007, Blind Alfred Reed was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, alongside other famous musicians from West Virginia. Also in 2007, a tribute album to Blind Alfred, named for one of his songs, was released. Always Lift Him Up: A Tribute to Blind Alfred Reed features nineteen of Reed's most famous songs, recorded by artists from West Virginia, such as Little Jimmy Dickens, Tim O'Brien and Ann Magnuson.[4]
blind, alfred, reed, june, 1880, january, 1956, american, folk, country, time, musician, singer, songwriter, artists, recorded, bristol, sessions, 1927, alongside, more, famous, names, such, jimmie, rodgers, carter, family, played, fiddle, along, with, arville. Blind Alfred Reed June 15 1880 January 17 1956 was an American folk country and old time musician and singer songwriter He was one of the artists who recorded at the Bristol Sessions in 1927 alongside more famous names such as Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family He played the fiddle along with his son Arville who played the guitar He is perhaps most well known for the songs The Wreck of the Virginian and How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live the latter of which has been covered many times including versions by Bruce Springsteen Ry Cooder and the New Lost City Ramblers Blind Alfred ReedBorn 1880 06 15 June 15 1880Floyd County VirginiaDiedJanuary 17 1956 1956 01 17 aged 75 Instrument s violinYears active1927 1929 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Legacy 4 Original discography 5 Discography 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksEarly life EditAlfred was born completely blind in Floyd County Virginia being the second blind child born to Riley amp Charlotte Akers Reed nb 1 He was raised in a very conservative family the son of a farm laborer and he acquired a violin at a young age Later he began performing at county fairs in country schoolhouses for political rallies and in churches nb 1 nb 2 He even played on street corners for tips nb 1 He used to sell out printed copies of his compositions for ten cents each nb 3 This is about all the information that can be gathered from him in his early life as most of the events during this time were not written down nor talked about much in his later years Career EditWhile playing during a convention in 1927 Ralph Peer who was the director of the Bristol Sessions heard Reed playing The Wreck of the Virginian and asked him if he wanted to make some recordings Reed consented and he recorded four songs one solo The Wreck of the Virginian and three with Arville s guitar accompaniment I Mean to Live for Jesus You Must Unload and Walking in the Way with Jesus After the Bristol Sessions Reed kept recording until 1929 which was the year of his most famous song s release How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live After 1929 he stopped recording and lived out the rest of his life mostly in the Princeton area in Mercer County West Virginia nb 1 Reed continued to perform locally until 1937 when a statute was passed prohibiting blind street musicians nb 4 In addition to being recording artist and a musician he also served as a lay preacher Methodist church minister nb 3 In 1956 Reed died supposedly of starvation He is buried in Elgood West Virginia 3 Legacy EditReed s lyrics all of which he composed himself were ostensibly very conservative but always were presented with a sense of humor for example Why Do You Bob Your Hair Girls was an over the top commentary against women s hair style fashion of the 1920s in which women who wore a shingle bob were instructed to ask Jesus to forgive their hair style More than half of the songs he recorded were religious or political or spoke out against society s ills Because of his social commentary which was somewhat uncommon then some people today consider Reed an early protest singer In 2007 Blind Alfred Reed was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame alongside other famous musicians from West Virginia Also in 2007 a tribute album to Blind Alfred named for one of his songs was released Always Lift Him Up A Tribute to Blind Alfred Reed features nineteen of Reed s most famous songs recorded by artists from West Virginia such as Little Jimmy Dickens Tim O Brien and Ann Magnuson 4 In 2020 Reed s song How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame 5 Original discography EditMatrix Title Record Recording date39725 The Wreck of the Virginian Victor 20836 July 28 192739726 I Mean To Live For Jesus Victor 20939 July 28 192739727 You Must Unload Victor 20939 July 28 192739728 Walking In the Way With Jesus Victor 20836 July 28 192740790 Explosion In the Fairmount Mines Victor 21191 December 19 192740791 Fate of Chris Lively and Wife Victor 21533 December 19 192740792 Why Do You Bob Your Hair Girls Victor 21360 December 19 192740793 Always Lift Him Up and Never Knock Him Down Victor 21360 December 19 192740794 The Prayer of the Drunkard s Little Girl Victor 21191 December 19 192757571 Woman s Been After Man Ever Since Victor V 40196 December 3 192957572 Why Do You Bob Your Hair Girls No 2 Victor V 40196 December 3 192957573 There ll Be No Distinction There Victor 23550 December 3 192957574 We ve Just Got To Have Em That s All Victor V 40290 December 3 192957575 Beware Victor 23550 December 3 192957576 The Railroader Unissued December 3 192957742 The Old Fashioned Cottage Victor 23650 December 4 192957743 How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live Victor V 40236 December 4 192957744 Black and Blue Blues Victor V 40290 December 4 192957745 Bonnie Little Girl Unissued December 4 192957746 You ll Miss Me Victor 23650 December 4 192957747 Money Cravin Folks Victor V 40236 December 4 1929Discography EditBlind Alfred Reed Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Document DOCD 8022 2 March 1998 Notes Edit a b c d Tribe p 26 1 Cohen p 251 2 a b Tribe p 27 1 Tribe p 28 1 References Edit a b c Tribe Ivan M 1996 Mountaineer Jamboree Country Music in West Virginia University Press of Kentucky Cohen Norm Cohen David 2000 Long Steel Rail The Railroad In American Folksong University of Illinois Press O Brien Tim Always Lift Him Up properuk com Retrieved March 2011 Brown Allen 2007 Various Artists Always Lift Him Up A Tribute to Blind Alfred Reed Pop Matters retrieved 2009 09 28 Blistein Jon 2020 01 21 Elton John Public Enemy Joni Mitchell Recordings Added to Grammy Hall of Fame Rolling Stone Retrieved 2020 08 17 External links EditIllustrated Blind Alfred Reed discography Blind Alfred Reed at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Blind Alfred Reed amp oldid 1168856589, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
