Red Ellis

b. Marvin Thrushel Ellois, 21 December 1929, Arkadelphia, USA. Ellis learned to play both guitar and mandolin in his early teens and was twice wounded during military service in the Korean War. After his discharge, he studied sound and video engineering in Little Rock before, in 1955, he relocated to Michigan. He worked on radio stations as an engineer and from 1957, he also worked as a disc jockey presenting bluegrass gospel music. A friendship with Jimmy Williams, who had played with the Stanley Brothers, led to them recording together and forming the Huron Valley Boys, a band that consisted of fellow southern musicians who were then resident in Michigan. In 1959/60, they recorded for Starday with Ellis even supervising the engineering; these sessions formed the basis of seven EPs and later albums. He formed his own Pathway label in the mid-60s, recorded with his wife Agee, and also worked on sessions with a gospel group, the Crossmen. In 1986, Old Homestead released albums of some of his Pathway material. He returned to Arkansas in 1968, where he worked as video engineer at KATV Little Rock. In 1971, he and Williams reunited to record two albums for Jessup. After this, although he and Williams have occasionally played together at some special events, Ellis virtually retired from active performing.