James Henry Neel Reed was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 fiddler

Fiddler

A fiddler is a person who plays a fiddle or violin.Fiddler may also refer to:*Fabrangen Fiddlers, an American musical group founded in 1971*Tupolev Tu-28 "Fiddler", a fighter aircraft*Fiddler , a DC Comics villain...

 and banjoist in the Appalachian music

Appalachian music

Appalachian music is the traditional music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. It is derived from various European and African influences, including English ballads, Irish and Scottish traditional music , religious hymns, and African-American blues...

 tradition.

Reed was born in Peterstown, West Virginia

Peterstown, West Virginia

Peterstown is a town in Monroe County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 499 at the 2000 census.The town is the site of the 1928 discovery of the 34.48 carat Jones Diamond by Grover C...

 and grew up in Glen Lyn, Virginia

Glen Lyn, Virginia

Glen Lyn is a town in Giles County, Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the East and New Rivers. The population was 151 at the 2000 census...

. His brother Josh often performed with him on the fiddle.

Folklorist Alan Jabbour

Alan Jabbour

-Biography:Jabbour was born in Jacksonville, Florida. His grandfather had immigrated to the United States from Syria, and his father later joined him. He was educated in the Jacksonville public schools and at the Bolles School, where he graduated from high school in 1959. He graduated magna cum...

 recorded Reed in the 1960s, and that collection is now held at the United States Library of Congress. Jabbour, who is also a fiddler, has recorded many of Reed's tunes with the banjo player Ken Perlman.

External links

• Fiddle Tunes of the Old Frontier: The Henry Reed Collection via Library of Congress