Texas Gladden

Texas Gladden poses for a photograph with two of her young children, a beautiful Virginian mountain range in the background. Born in Smyth County, Gladden was a talented folk singer with an incredible memory for lyrics and melodies. In the 1920s and 1930s she shared some of her memorized ballads with the Virginia Folklore Society. She was a frequent performer with the White Top Folk Festival in Grayson County. In 1946 ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax invited Gladden and her brother to perform at a folk music festival held by Columbia University. She and her brother participated in hours of interviews and recordings with Lomax, which contributed a great deal to scholarship surrounding Blue Ridge folk music.

Citation: Virginia Folklore Society Records, MSS 9936. Box 26. Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA