About Ray Reed

Ray Reed, from Maypearl, a small town just south of Ft. Worth, TX, was born the son of sharecroppers in 1940. Granddad Willie Parramore showed Ray his first string, and he learned his first song from Uncle Bob. Growing up he listened to records on his grandma’s Victrola such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Little Son Jackson, and Rosetta Tharpe. He saved his money from working in the cotton fields and at the age of 16 he bought his first guitar at a pawn shop in Ft. Worth. Ray said, “my sister, Lady Pearl, would show me some things she had learned, and I would play behind her singing and whoever might be with her playing around the house. That’s how I got started.” Another local guitar player, Oscar Spurrul, was always jamming and showing Ray new songs. In 1959, Ray joined Ray Flangin and the Satellites. During this time he was also working with Waddell Young and playing a lot at the Blue Bird Club.

Around 1964, Ray teamed up with his sister, Lady Pearl, and her husband, Clarence Pierce. They played all the clubs in Ft. Worth: Mae’s Off Beat, Silver Slipper, Chicken in the Basket, Gentry’s, and Mrs. Tucker’s Club. In the 70’s Ray set the guitar down for a job as an auto mechanic and just concentrated on raising his 11 kids.

Ray started playing again with Lady Pearl from the late 80’s until she passed away in 2002. Now Ray is playing at the Rise and Shine Holiness Church in Ft. Worth and in Lady Pearl’s BTA band featuring Miss Kim, who is Lady Pearl’s daughter.

Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.