Goree All Girl String Band
Encyclopedia
The Goree All Girl String Band, popularly known as The Goree Girls, was a band of eight female prisoners of the Goree Unit
which performed in the 1940s. It was one of the first all female country and western bands in the United States
.
prisoner, Reable Childs, suggested starting a band consisting of women from the Goree Unit. Of the original members, Mozelle McDaniel and Ruby Mae Morace served as the main singers. Georgia Fay Collins, Ruby Dell Guyton, and Bonnie Scott played the acoustic guitar. Lillie Mae Dudle played the bass fiddle. Childs played the banjo and the steel guitar. The band held its debut on July 10, 1940 at the Huntsville Unit. Three months later, the prison system asked them to be the intermission singers at the Texas Prison Rodeo
.
The band performed on Wednesday evenings in an auditorium in Huntsville
and its music was played on WBAP
, a radio station in Fort Worth. The band had fans throughout the United States and they received mail, gifts, and marriage proposals from fans. Band members had been convicted of crimes like cattle rustling, murder, robbery, and theft. Skip Hollandsworth of Texas Monthly
said that music historians do not pay attention to the band since the band never made a record and it never went on a national tour.
The band changed when its members were paroled. Hollandsworth said "The Goree Girls were on the verge of becoming genuine celebrities—as long as they stayed in prison. But conceivably, the reason that they had started the band was to receive early parole and leave. They may have been the only band in musical history that set out to gain attention in order to disappear." As members left, the prison system found other prisoners to replace them. McDaniel was the first member of the group to leave. In the northern hemisphere spring of 1942 Morace was paroled. Reable was paroled on October 1943, and Collins replaced her as the group's leader. Since the founder and most notable member of the group was gone, WBAP paid less attention to the group. Attention from the public further decreased as Americans tuned in to radio programs about soldiers in World War II
. The radio program Thirty Minutes Behind the Walls ended in 1944. Hollandsworth said that the radio show had ended "quietly." As of 1947 women under the name "Goree Girls" had performed at the prison rodeo.
The women never reunited to make reunion appearances on the radio or at the prison rodeo. McDaniel was the last known surviving member of the band. At a time before May 2003, McDaniel, then known as Mozelle Cash, died from a heart attack, induced by choking on food, while in a nursing home in Tyler, Texas
. McDaniel's burial site is in the Pines Cemetery, south of Tyler. McDaniel's obituary refers to her as "Mozelle Cash." Her nephew stated that she did not want to be listed as "Mozelle McDaniel Cash" in her obituary because "[s]he thought it was best that no one remember."
A film in production, The Goree Girls
, is about the band.
Goree Unit
The Thomas Goree Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice men's prison, located in Huntsville, Texas, miles south of downtown Huntsville on Texas State Highway 75 South. The Goree Unit is located within Region I.-History:...
which performed in the 1940s. It was one of the first all female country and western bands in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
In the 1930s, while Thirty Minutes Behind the Walls, a musical show involving prisoners from Huntsville Unit played on radio waves, one Goree UnitGoree Unit
The Thomas Goree Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice men's prison, located in Huntsville, Texas, miles south of downtown Huntsville on Texas State Highway 75 South. The Goree Unit is located within Region I.-History:...
prisoner, Reable Childs, suggested starting a band consisting of women from the Goree Unit. Of the original members, Mozelle McDaniel and Ruby Mae Morace served as the main singers. Georgia Fay Collins, Ruby Dell Guyton, and Bonnie Scott played the acoustic guitar. Lillie Mae Dudle played the bass fiddle. Childs played the banjo and the steel guitar. The band held its debut on July 10, 1940 at the Huntsville Unit. Three months later, the prison system asked them to be the intermission singers at the Texas Prison Rodeo
Texas Prison Rodeo
The Texas Prison Rodeo was a rodeo and an annual celebration event for inmates in the Texas Prison System, held in a stadium in Huntsville, Texas. The stadium was located at the Huntsville Unit. The events included bareback basketball, bronco riding, bull riding, calf roping, and wild cow...
.
The band performed on Wednesday evenings in an auditorium in Huntsville
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
and its music was played on WBAP
WBAP
WBAP is a news and talk formatted-AM radio station in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. WBAP broadcasts on 820 kHz with 50,000 watts from a transmitter site in southern Arlington and its nighttime signal can be heard throughout the Southern, Central, and Midwest states.WBAP is one of many...
, a radio station in Fort Worth. The band had fans throughout the United States and they received mail, gifts, and marriage proposals from fans. Band members had been convicted of crimes like cattle rustling, murder, robbery, and theft. Skip Hollandsworth of Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
said that music historians do not pay attention to the band since the band never made a record and it never went on a national tour.
The band changed when its members were paroled. Hollandsworth said "The Goree Girls were on the verge of becoming genuine celebrities—as long as they stayed in prison. But conceivably, the reason that they had started the band was to receive early parole and leave. They may have been the only band in musical history that set out to gain attention in order to disappear." As members left, the prison system found other prisoners to replace them. McDaniel was the first member of the group to leave. In the northern hemisphere spring of 1942 Morace was paroled. Reable was paroled on October 1943, and Collins replaced her as the group's leader. Since the founder and most notable member of the group was gone, WBAP paid less attention to the group. Attention from the public further decreased as Americans tuned in to radio programs about soldiers in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The radio program Thirty Minutes Behind the Walls ended in 1944. Hollandsworth said that the radio show had ended "quietly." As of 1947 women under the name "Goree Girls" had performed at the prison rodeo.
The women never reunited to make reunion appearances on the radio or at the prison rodeo. McDaniel was the last known surviving member of the band. At a time before May 2003, McDaniel, then known as Mozelle Cash, died from a heart attack, induced by choking on food, while in a nursing home in Tyler, Texas
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
. McDaniel's burial site is in the Pines Cemetery, south of Tyler. McDaniel's obituary refers to her as "Mozelle Cash." Her nephew stated that she did not want to be listed as "Mozelle McDaniel Cash" in her obituary because "[s]he thought it was best that no one remember."
A film in production, The Goree Girls
The Goree Girls
The Goree Girls is an upcoming musical film set in the 1940s which tells the story of eight Goree Prison inmates who form a country-western band. Filming was set to take place during January 2010, but was pushed back to accommodate Aniston's filming of Just Go With It. Ellen Pompeo also agreed to...
, is about the band.