Northeast Texas Fiddle Legend
To Be Remembered With Monday
Tribute at TAMU-C
by: Bobby McDonald
Ruby Allmond on the fiddle as she appeared at the Reilly Springs Jamboree in approximately 1959.
Joe Shelton is on the guitar and Bob Shelton is standing far right with the long tie and hat.
She performed for House Speaker Sam Rayburn's Election Campaigns, appeared in numerous music venues throughout the Northeast Texas region, won the 1947 "National Lady Fiddler" Championship, and was a regular on the Hopkins County, Reilly Springs Jamboree, in the 1950's and 60's. Ruby Allmond was a gifted and talented musician, born in 1923, on a hardscrabble, blackland cotton farm in Fannin County, between Bonham and Bailey, but managed to bring her early love for music to a "top ten" status, when she wrote the song "Reno," that was recorded by Country and Western singer, Dottie West.
Ruby won her 1947 "National Lady Fiddler Contest" simply by default. KRLD Radio announcer, "Pappy Hal Horton," from Dallas and Mr. Harold Goodman, from Greenville, sent out invitations to lady fiddlers, across the nation, to compete with Ruby, but no one "showed up" to compete against the talented musician. Ruby won the title!
Ruby plays the guitar during this song on the Reilly Springs Jamboree.
Allmond, who passed away in 2006, will be remembered at Texas A&M University-Commerce, on Monday, March 30th, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., in the Gee Library, where Hopkins County native, Lou Ann Petty, of Cumby, will perform several of her songs. The venue is to signify the donation of Allmond's work to the University by longtime friend and fellow musician, Audra Brock, of Bonham.
Ruby Allmond as a member of the Reilly Springs Jamboree House Band. Joe Shelton is to the
right on the guitar.
Both Ruby and Audra played on the stage of the Reilly Springs Jamboree. Ruby played the fiddle and Audra was a drummer. Their association with music made them lifelong friends and Audra will be a special guest at Monday's ceremonies in Commerce. "Ruby's music was too valuable to not be made available and preserved," expressed Audra. "I wanted it to be in a place that would have a lasting impact on the area that was Ruby's native home, and be used in a fashion to influence others. When I learned of the collections that Dr. James Conrad, at Texas A&M-Commerce was assembling, I knew that was the perfect place for my friend's collection."
Ruby Allmond, a native of Fannin County, won the
1947 "National Ladies' Fiddling Championship," held in Greenville.
The collection contains some 90 songs, sheet music, letters, and reel-to-reel tapes that contain Allmond's work of a lifetime. "Ruby and I were reared in the same Fannin County community of Bailey, and worked together at the Bonham State Bank," relates Brock. "Our lives were very similar and our love for music encouraged us to build a sound studio behind my house, where much of the work was recorded. Then, we'd travel to music venues all across Northeast Texas, together. We appeared on a regular basis with Bob and Joe Shelton as members of the Reilly Springs Jamboree House Band, in Hopkins County. Lots of 'water has run under the bridge' since those days of coming over to Hopkins County to play!"
Ruby Allmond is congratulated by a band member, on the Reilly Springs Jamboree, as Joe Shelton
gives his accolades from the microphone.
"Certainly, I remember Ruby and Audra," exclaimed Mary Attlesey, widow of Joe "Shelton" Attlesey, from her home in the Seymore Community.. "They were regulars, back in the days that the local music venue was performed on a weekly basis, in Reilly Springs. Audra played the drums and Ruby played the fiddle and the guitar. Music enthusiasts in Northeast Texas were a 'tight-knit' group and everybody knew each other, and would join together to form bands, just because they loved the music and the opportunity to perform for local audiences!"
Cumby resident, Lou Ann Petty, will lend her voice to the songs of Ruby Allmond, as she
brings the Northeast Texas musical icon to life, at Monday's tribute at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
"I never met Ruby Allmond!" exclaims Lou Ann Petty. "But, I feel like I know her heart and soul, after going through the collection and listening to her clever and genuine lyrics and music! She grew-up in the same region of the state as all of us here in Northeast Texas and the culture and the flavor are brought-out in her own style and music!"
"Jim Anderson at TAMU-C introduced me to Ruby, through this collection and I feel like she's my long, lost sister, now that I've captured her music and listened to the beautiful lyrics of her songs!" continued Lou Ann. "She was a remarkable woman, gifted songwriter and very talented musician, that pioneered the female roles in Texas' music culture."
Lou Ann will be joined on stage by Northeast Texas musicians, Rob McWhorter, on bass, and Grammy Award Winning Brad Davis, on the lead guitar, as they bring to life, Ruby's music and lyrics. Also, Dr. Debra Porter, a member of the TAMU-C faculty, will present one of Ruby's songs during the tribute.
Lou Ann has selected three of Ruby's songs to perform at Monday's tribute, "Sing the Blues For Me, Baby," "Sounds of Texas," and "Walk On Woman." "I selected 'Sounds of Texas' because it just captures the essence of what I think is the culture of our great state," expressed Lou Ann. "It talks to you about the sounds, the landscape, the culture, and even the smell of being a 'die-hard' Texan!"
"I think folks will relate to Ruby's song, 'Walk On Woman,' as being something similar to a Loretta Lynn song about 'going to fist city' for your man," states Lou Ann. "It's a song that addresses the culture and love of a woman for her man, something that highlights the devotion between a man and a woman, characteristic of the 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's!"
"And, finally, 'Sing the Blues For Me, Baby' is a song about a woman who realizes that she is playing 'second fiddle' to her husband's love for music," continues Lou Ann. "She knows that his love for music is a priority in his life and an inner driving force, but asks him to remember her by singing the blues, as he performs! I think the song will touch the hearts of everyone who is addicted to music or is in love with someone who is!"
Make plans to join Lou Ann, Audra, and the staff at Texas A&M University-Commerce, on Monday afternoon for this tribute to a woman who graced the stages of local music venues and brought to life the culture of Northeast Texas, as she pioneered a form of music that become our rich heritage, in this region!
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