Reece Shipley

• Date of Birth: April 19, 1921
• Place of Birth: Whitesburg, Tennessee
• Date of Death: May 8, 1998
  

Reece Shipley won a pair of roller skates at a local competition for his talents as a musician at age 10. Whether milking the family cows or working for the Tennessee Eastman Corporation, Shipley somehow always found time to squeeze music into his schedule. During the 1930s, he joined the Carolina Pals and performed frequently before joining the Navy. But even that could not keep Shipley from entertaining; he had a radio program on the island of Saipan. Shipley returned to Kingsport after the war to continue his songwriting and performing on such programs as local station WKPT's "Saturday Night Hayride." His songs include "Milk Bucket Boogie," which was a hit for Red Foley in 1952, "Will Good Times Last Forever?" and "I've Got Wrinkles Where My Dimples Used To Be." Shipley recorded for such labels as Decca, Mercury and BML. In recent years, he performed on the festival circuit at events like the Galax Fiddlers’ Convention, Galax, Virginia, and the Smithsonian Festival of American Folk Life in Washington, D.C. He passed away in 1998.