Texas Gladden
Texas Gladden (born Texas Anna Smith, 1895–1966) was an American old-time vocal musician from Saltville, Virginia, revered by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax as one of the finest traditional Appalachian ballad singers ever recorded. She was first captured on field recordings for the Virginia Folklore Society in 1932, subsequently tracking dozens of historical recordings for the Library of Congress and releasing the compilation Texas Gladden Sings Blue Ridge Ballads in 1948. Her definitive versions of traditional tunes like "The Devil's Nine Questions" and "Mary Hamilton" heavily influenced the mid-century American folk music revival, shaping the repertoires of artists such as Joan Baez and Pete Seeger.
In the newsletter
- No. 19 Spring 1999