Goree All Girl String Band facts for kids
The Goree Girls were a special music group from the 1940s. They were also known as the Goree All Girl String Band. This band had eight women who were prisoners at the Goree Unit in Texas. They became famous for their country and western music. It was one of the very first all-female country bands in the United States.
The Band's Story
In the 1930s, a radio show called Thirty Minutes Behind the Walls was popular. It featured music from prisoners at the Huntsville Unit. A woman named Reable Childs, who was a prisoner at the Goree Unit, had a great idea. She suggested starting a music band with women from her prison.
Meet the Musicians
The first members of the Goree Girls were very talented. Mozelle McDaniel and Ruby Mae Morace were the main singers. Georgia Fay Collins, Ruby Dell Guyton, and Bonnie Scott played the acoustic guitar. Lillie Mae Dudley played the big bass fiddle. Reable Childs, who had the idea, played the banjo and the steel guitar.
Becoming Famous
The band played their first show on July 10, 1940, at the Huntsville Unit. Just three months later, the prison system asked them to perform at the Texas Prison Rodeo. They played during the breaks.
The Goree Girls performed every Wednesday evening. Their concerts were held in an auditorium in Huntsville. Their music was also played on WBAP, a radio station in Fort Worth. People all over the United States became their fans! They sent letters, gifts, and even marriage proposals to the band members.
A writer named Skip Hollandsworth said that music experts don't often talk about the band. This is because the Goree Girls never made a record. They also never went on a big national tour.
Changes in the Band
The band started to change as its members were released from prison. Skip Hollandsworth explained that the Goree Girls were becoming very famous. But their fame depended on them staying in prison. The main reason they started the band was to get out of prison early. They might be the only band in history that wanted to get famous so they could disappear!
As members left, the prison found new prisoners to join the band. Mozelle McDaniel was the first to leave. In the spring of 1942, Ruby Mae Morace was released. Reable Childs left in October 1943. Georgia Fay Collins then became the new leader of the group.
After Reable, the band's founder, left, the radio station WBAP paid less attention to them. Also, people started listening more to news about soldiers in World War II. This meant less attention for the band. The radio show Thirty Minutes Behind the Walls ended quietly in 1944. Even in 1947, women still performed at the prison rodeo using the name "Goree Girls."
The original Goree Girls never got back together to play on the radio or at the prison rodeo. Mozelle McDaniel was the last known surviving member of the band. She passed away before May 2003 in a nursing home in Tyler, Texas. She was buried in Pines Cemetery. Her nephew said she didn't want to be remembered as "Mozelle McDaniel Cash." She just wanted to be remembered as "Mozelle Cash." He said she thought it was "best that no one remember."
In Other Media
A movie about the band, called The Goree Girls, is being made. It is planned to star Jennifer Aniston.
