Nat Reese
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Nat Reese | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 4, 1924 Salem, Virginia, US |
| Died | June 8, 2012 (aged 88)[1] |
| Genres | Blues |
Nat Reese was an American blues singer, guitarist, and folk musician associated with the traditional acoustic blues and gospel traditions of Appalachia. Reese was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[2]
Nat Reese was born in Salem, Virginia, in 1924.[3][4] When he was a child, his family moved to Princeton, West Virginia, where he was raised primarily in coal and railroad camps in Wyoming and Mercer counties.[5]
Reese's parents were both musicians. His mother played accordion and performed gospel music, while his father played guitar, blending Southern blues and gospel with Piedmont fingerpicking styles. Through family gatherings, church services, and community events, Reese was immersed in gospel quartets, blues, spirituals, and early popular recordings from an early age.[6][7]
Growing up in racially segregated but culturally interconnected coal camps, Reese witnessed and participated in a musical environment where Black and white musicians frequently played together in informal settings, despite broader social divisions.[8][9]
