Rene Bailey "Lady Sunshine"

On February 28th, 2025, heaven gained another angel, singing powerful praises to God. Rene Bailey, a musical treasure of the Hudson Valley, leaves behind a profound legacy of music, love, and spirituality for all who knew her.

Rene was born on March 22nd, 1933 to Ira Williams Sr. and Ethel Lee Timmons in Valdosta, Georgia and moved as a young child to Thomasville, Georgia. Singing came early for Rene, as she joined the children’s choir in the local Willow Head Missionary Baptist Church. After graduating in 1950 from Douglass High School, the first Black high school in the area, Rene joined the Gospel Light Singers, a six-girl group who recorded for the Dootone and Friendly record labels. While touring all along the east coast, the Gospel Light Singers opened for the Mighty Clouds of Joy, The Soul Stirrers with Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, who was, at the time, still so young that she was accompanied by her father. During this part of her early career, Rene was experiencing the oppression of segregation in some locations. Often she was unable to eat or enjoy lodging in the very same venues where they had been booked to perform. In her usual positive and upbeat viewpoint, she always said how lucky she was, since church families would take the singers in, and she would have delicious home-cooked meals instead of hotel or nightclub food.

By the early 1960’s, Rene had left the group and moved to Connecticut to join her brother and other family that had moved up North. Soon she met her beloved husband Sam Bailey, a TV technician, and they were married in 1963. Rene was now a member of the New Britain Union Baptist Church, but was no longer singing in public. When Sam heard her sing, he encouraged her to return to singing in nightclubs, including a mixture of gospel, jazz and R&B selections. She began singing in New York City and was a member of Doc Bagley’s band when she met Louis Armstrong and sang for him at the Waldorf Astoria. At the time, she was recording for Carnival Records, which was producing her singles, which are highly collectible today.

While visiting Ulster County in the late 1960’s, Rene auditioned for Peg Leg Bates, the legendary entertainer who had performed for the King and Queen of England and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show numerous times before opening a premier nightclub resort in Kerhonkson. Bates’ bandleader, Chuck Dudley, took Rene to Bates’ home and she sang to him right in front of his house. After hearing Rene sing, Bates offered her a job and she and Sam moved to Kerhonkson in 1968. Here she became a popular regular at Peg’s country club until it closed its doors in 1989.

Sadly, around that same time, her beloved husband Sam passed away after 25 years of marriage. Rene then bravely started a new path in life by beginning to work for the local Rondout Valley School District as a hall monitor. Rene loved being around children and often wowed them by performing at school assemblies. Continuing to better herself, she took college courses in order to receive her Teaching Assistant certificate. She was beloved by her students for her patience, kindness, and the extra care she showed them. She learned sign language to better communicate with students with disabilities and often took it upon herself to buy gifts for students who may not have otherwise received much during the holidays.

She continued performing in the evenings and on weekends at numerous other venues in the area, including the Granit Hotel, where she met David Winograd, then the band leader at the Granit. When Winograd formed his popular band, the Saints of Swing, in 2000, Rene became the featured vocalist, inspiring countless adoring fans until her last Saints of Swing performance in the summer of 2024.

In 2017, Rene arranged and recorded her first and only solo album, a foot-stomping, hand-clapping gospel album called Good Old Songs. The album was recorded with Rene’s favorite musicians in Kingston NY at Eli Winograd’s Lone Pine Road Studio.

Rene was deeply involved with the Samsonville Methodist Church, as well as the Olive Bridge Methodist Church. On many occasions, she would conduct services at one or both of these churches and deliver inspiring sermons. During the Pandemic, she made extra efforts to see that both churches were able to stock their food pantries.

In 2024, Rene received the Ulster County Executive Arts Award for Individual Artist. On April 19th, she will be posthumously remembered as a 2025 Community Awards Honoree at the 8th annual Harambee Fundraiser Gala. Up until her recent illnesses, Rene continued to sing and bring joy, light and love to all who knew her.

Rene was predeceased by: Her parents, husband Sam, brothers Charles, Ira Jr., and Eddie Williams, sister Marilyn Ross, and niece Tina Williams, as well as close friends Karen McSpirit, Pat Green, Doris Miller and Arlene Kelly.

She is survived by: Her step-mother Mary Williams-Bonds, brother Chris Williams, brothers Walter and Rodney Bonds, sisters Phyllis Miller Bridges and Malinda (Sissy) Mitchell, nieces Brenda, Linda and Patricia Williams, niece Carmen (Tasha) Wright, nephew Donald Williams, and nephew Edward Ross, as well as close friends and helper angels David Winograd, Rachel Winograd and Francis O’leary, Kathy and Larry Balestra, Renee and Luca Balestra, Mary Ann Potts, Liz Cussack, Brenda and Fred Hof, Nancy Hickey, Fred Burstein, Gary Miller, Mary Ann and Barry Greene, Melodye Bates-Holden and Preston Holden, Khadija Mansu, and her beloved church family.

Several memorial events for her will occur in the future, including a memorial service held at the Samsonville United Methodist Church, 1984 Co. Rt. 3, Olivebridge, NY on Saturday April 5th at 1pm and a tribute concert at Lydia’s Cafe in Stone Ridge on Saturday July 5th.

With heartfelt appreciation, we extend our deepest gratitude to the Kerhonkson First Aid and Rescue Squad, Ten Broeck Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, and Hospice House of Hyde Park for the exceptional care and compassion shown to Rene in her final days.