Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Sneed Family

Artist: The Sneed Family
LP: Meet The Sneed Family
Song: "Danny Boy"
— feat. Billy Goodman —
[ listen ]
Song: "Brush Me From Your Shoes"
— feat. Marvin Cave —
[ listen ]
Song: "Wil-aWa"
— feat. Leslie Sneed —
[ listen ]
Song: "Call Me Up"
— feat. Don Sneed, Jr. —
[ listen ]
Song: "The End of the Week"
— feat. Suzie Sneed —
[ listen ]
Song: "My Uncle Ralph"
— feat. Danny Sneed —
[ listen ] 

This rollicking hillbilly music turned out to be just what I sneeded to get me up and moving this cold, grey, and lonely Valentine's morning. The sensational singing Sneeds of Spanaway (it's near Tacoma) apparently got started in the early 1950s when Papa Sneed and his three young sons began making appearances at halls and on TV throughout the Pacific Northwest. You can find photos and info at The Sneed Family's Hillbilly-Music.com page here, see a neat photo of the group from the early days here, and find a German-language Sneed Family Wikipedia entry here. A partial discography and another neat picture of the group can be found here. In order to be sure I wasn't discriminating against a single Sneed, or Marvin or Billy either for that matter, I've included a track here featuring each and every one of them—Suzie, Leslie, Marvin, and Don, Jr. on vocals, and Danny and Billy on their instruments. In the words of Cascade Recording Company vice president I.P. Gadd, "relax and listen to some versatility that you do not find on the average record, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy this album to the fullest extent." If anyone out there has more info about The Sneed Family—or if you yourself are a Sneed—I'd love to hear from you!

[ The Sneed Family, plus two other guys. ]

2 comments:

Jim Fox said...

The Sneed family singers are cousins of mine. Their mother Iva Gadd Sneed, who just passed away. Here's a link to her obituary. She as my grandfather's cousin: Iva's mother Bessie Johnson Gadd was my great grandmother, Mary Johnson Bragg Raikes' sister. The sisters were part of a large family from Mercer County, WV. Music was a part of the Johnson family as it was with many Appalachian families. I.P. Gadd is either the group's grandfather, uncle or cousin. I'm not sure right now.
Thanks for giving them some attention.
Cheers,
Jim Fox

Jim Fox said...

Forgot the link to Iva's obituary
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/greatfallstribune/obituary.aspx?n=iva-pearl-sneed&pid=156901726#fbLoggedOut
Jim