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| Flossie and Reual Thomas (Berea College archive) |
The family in Clinton County that may well have the greatest reputation for singing and making music is the Thomas family of Seventy Six.
The most noted member was Reual Thomas, a schoolteacher who originally headed the gospel group The Crusaders, formed in the 1930s.
This group consisted of Reual (lead) and his wife Flossie Garner Thomas (alto), their neighbor Leslie Andrew (baritone and guitar) of Seventy Six, and Marvin York (bass), also of Clinton County. They played at Renfro Valley during the peak of its popularity in the early 1940s.
They also played on Renfro Valley owner John Lair's “more subdued, scripted radio programs such as Monday Night in Renfro Valley and the Renfro Valley Gatherin' until disbanding in 1944,” Berea College researcher Kevin Kehrberg wrote. “They were generally typical of Southern gospel quartets of the time. However, with both male and female members, their sound was more mild and rounded than all-male groups, then the majority in Kentucky’s gospel-quartet scene.”
To hear a recording of the Crusaders singing "I'll Wake Up in Glory Land," from the Digital Library of Appalachia, click here. The library has four other Crusaders recordings.
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| The Crusaders, L to R: The Thomases, Leslie Andrew and Marvin York (Berea College archive) |
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| From the collection of David M. Cross |
During this time Reual made a good race for Clinton County Clerk in 1937, losing to incumbent Logan Frost.
Reual organized the Four Tones in 1944 to replace The Crusaders. That group didn't stay together long, and two other groups in the region were using the name, Reual formed the Seventy Six Quartet in 1947. Members at times included Jeff and Clay Colson, Flossie Thomas, Leslie Andrew, and Morris Gaskins, later pastor at Clearfork Baptist Church. This group sang across Mid-America and for a time had a radio show on WLAP Radio in Lexington.
Reual became Renfro Valley owner John Lair's right-hand man and master of ceremonies of the Barn Dance in the 1950s. He “profoundly shaped many aspects of the sacred music programming and events sponsored by Renfro Valley for over 15 years during the organization's most successful period,” Kehrberg wrote. “Not only did he lead various quartets that performed on many of Renfro Valley's network radio programs, but he also organized many gospel music events (monthly singings, singing schools, quartet contests, an annual all-night and all-day sing) on the grounds of Renfro Valley that served the surrounding local and regional communities of Kentucky.”
Reual organized the Four Tones in 1944 to replace The Crusaders. That group didn't stay together long, and two other groups in the region were using the name, Reual formed the Seventy Six Quartet in 1947. Members at times included Jeff and Clay Colson, Flossie Thomas, Leslie Andrew, and Morris Gaskins, later pastor at Clearfork Baptist Church. This group sang across Mid-America and for a time had a radio show on WLAP Radio in Lexington.
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| Reual Thomas posed with the 1941 Buick brake drum that has been struck at the end of every Renfro Valley Gatherin' since 1943, sounding like a church bell. (Berea College archives) |
The Digital Library of Appalachia has seven recordings of the Seventy Six Quartet, including "Did You Ever Go Sailing," sung on the Renfro Valley Gatherin' on Louisville's WHAS Radio on Feb. 28, 1951.
Noble Thomas was a teacher and country merchant who operated a store near what are known as the "Old Seventy" curves on the Grider Hill Dock Road. He taught singing schools in the community for years.
Brothers Maxie and Maurice Thomas led the singing for years at Mount Union Church. Local DJ Hank Snow Thomas has been playing music for 50 years.
Nearly every Thomas could sing, and that tradition is carried on at the Spirit of Seventy Six as Maxie Thomas' great-grandson, Thomas Oesterreicher, will be performing prior to the Colton Bowlin show on Friday night, July 3.
Additionally, to further carry on the tradition, Ryan Thomas and his group will be performing at the historic Seventy Six Baptist Church (founded 1822) on the afternoon of July 4.
Reual Omer Thomas died in 1959, and Flossie died in 1963. They were the parents of Danny Omer Thomas of Seventy Six.
Noble Thomas was a teacher and country merchant who operated a store near what are known as the "Old Seventy" curves on the Grider Hill Dock Road. He taught singing schools in the community for years.
Brothers Maxie and Maurice Thomas led the singing for years at Mount Union Church. Local DJ Hank Snow Thomas has been playing music for 50 years.
Nearly every Thomas could sing, and that tradition is carried on at the Spirit of Seventy Six as Maxie Thomas' great-grandson, Thomas Oesterreicher, will be performing prior to the Colton Bowlin show on Friday night, July 3.
Additionally, to further carry on the tradition, Ryan Thomas and his group will be performing at the historic Seventy Six Baptist Church (founded 1822) on the afternoon of July 4.
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