Abbie Neal
Esther "Abbie" Neal (born April 4, 1918 in Brookville , Pennsylvania , † February 15, 2004 ) was an American country musician . Neal led her band, Abbie Neal and the Ranch Girls , in the 1950s and was the star of the WWVA Jamborees .
Life
Childhood and youth
Abbie Neal was born in Jefferson County , Pennsylvania, in 1918 and came into contact with music very early on. At the age of seven she performed in churches with her brother and won a fiddle contest when she was ten . In her youth she played in local barn dances , but then devoted herself to the classical violin .
Career
Abbie Neal's first professional engagement was with the Du Boise Symphony Orchestra as a violinist. But when country singer Cowboy Phil Reed formed a new band to replace the Sons of the Golden West , Neal returned to her musical roots and joined Reed's Golden West Girls , with whom she played for 13 years and over the Radio station WHJB could be heard.
In 1945, Neal went on a tour with the Golden West Girls for the US troops in the Pacific, during which they performed in Japan , Hawaii and Korea, among others . After Neal left the Golden West Girls, she led the Wilkens Westernaires for some time before forming her own band, the Ranch Girls . The Ranch Girls consisted of Neal (vocals / fiddle / guitar / steel guitar ), June Mayes (guitar / drums ), Joni Lee ( accordion ), Lois Floyd ( double bass / guitar), Betty Brent (guitar) and Jaye Hartley (guitar) . With them, Neal became a popular live band in the 1950s. She was the star of the WWVA Jmaborees in Wheeling , West Virginia , had his own TV show on WJAC in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was among other things KQV, WAMO and KDKA inj Pittsburgh to listen and also appeared in the 1955 Old Dominion Barn Dance on . Neal and the Ranch Girls were also represented in the ensembles of the Big D Jamborees from Dallas and the Iowa Barn Dance Frolics from Des Moines .
Neal made her first recordings with the Ranch Girls on the Wheeling Records label of the same name. From 1956, more singles followed for the Admiral Records label, also active in Wheeling. These songs were - contrary to Neal's other style - based on rockabilly . Hillbilly Beat from 1956 is a good example .
In 1958, Neal and the Ranch Hands left their traditional workplaces in Wheeling and Pennsylvania and relocated their activities to Nevada . There they continued to perform in Las Vegas , Reno and Elko . The first engagements were in the Mapes Hotel, later they could be seen regularly in the Riverside Hotel and Holiday Hotel as well as the house band of the Silver State. In 1975, after a long time at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, Neal left the music business and retired. She died in 2004 at the age of 85.
Discography
| year | title | Label # | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| It's No Joke / Forgive | Wheeling 1100 | ||||
| Won't You Believe Me / A Troubled Mind, a Tortured Heart | Wheeling 1101 | ||||
| 1956 | He Wears My Wedding Band / Newton's Law | Admiral 45-1001 | |||
| 1956 | I'll Take Back That Heartache / Hillbilly Beat | Admiral 45-15000 | |||
| 1957 | If Again / Until I Dream | Admiral 45-1006 | |||
| Unpublished titles | |||||
|
Live recording | ||||
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Neal, Abbie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Neal, Esther |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brookville , Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 15, 2004 |