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Size | 3.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 170 items) |
Abstract | The Ola Belle Reed Collection consists of audio recordings and other materials of American folk singer, songwriter, and banjo player, Ola Belle Reed. Reed was born in Grassy Creek, N.C. As a teenager, she performed with an early version of the North Carolina Ridge Runners. In 1949, she married Bud Reed. Together they formed the New River Gang, along with Ola Belle Reed's brother, Alex Campbell, and operated New River Ranch, a popular country music park near Rising Sun, Md. In the early 1960s, they moved to Sunset Park in West Grove, Pa., and began broadcasting a weekly show from their store in Oxford, Pa. During the 1970s, Ola Belle Reed and family performed at many folk festivals, including the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Brandywine Mountain Music Convention. Audio materials in the collection include open reel recordings, 1969-1972, of traditional and original songs by Reed; family members, Bud Reed, David Reed, Ralph Reed, Herb Campbell, and Alex Campbell; and friends and neighbors, including Hazel Waltman. Additional audio materials include open reel recordings of Reed speaking about her life and music, a taped performance by the North Carolina Ridge Runners, and compact discs of live performances, 1960-1976, by Ola Belle Reed and others, including Alex Campbell, Bud Reed, and David Reed. The collection also contains a copy of "High on the Mountain," Reed's unpublished autobiography; lyrics, handwritten sheet music, and lists of traditional songs and original compositions by Reed; clippings about Reed from various publications; a program from the Foothills Festival 1977; a promotional flier from Sunset Ranch; and three photographs. Correspondents include Josh Dunson, Pete Seeger, and John McGuigan. |
Creator | Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002. |
Curatorial Unit | Southern Folklife Collection |
Language | English. |
Processed by: Aaron Smithers, November 2002
Encoded by: Aaron Smithers, November 2002
Updated by: Anne Wells, October 2016; Anne Wells, March 2019
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Ola Belle Reed was born in 1915 at Grassy Creek in Ashe County, N.C., located in the New River Valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina, to Arthur Harrison Campbell and Ella Mae Osborne. One of thirteen children, she came from a musical family and learned to play both guitar and clawhammer banjo at as a young child. Suffering the effects of the Depression, her father moved the family out of the Blue Ridge and settled near Rising Sun, Md., on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. While still a teenager, Reed began performing with her brother Alex Campbell and with an early version of the North Carolina Ridge Runners. Performing old time and country music around their home in Maryland and Pennsylvania, Reed and her brother paired up again after he returned from World War II. For many years, they could be heard live and in syndication over much of the country on a variety of stations, including WWVA in Wheeling, W.Va. During the early 1960s their weekly show, "Campbell's Corner," broadcast live from their country store in Oxford, Pa., of the same name, was heard over much of the eastern United States.
In 1949, Ola Belle married Bud Reed, himself a noted country musician, and with Alex they formed the New River Gang. Together they opened and operated New River Ranch, a popular country music park near Rising Sun. In the early 1960s, they closed New River and moved their operation north on US Route 1 to Sunset Park near Jennersville, Pa., where they performed regularly for the next 26 years. During the 1970s, the Reed family, now including sons David Reed and Ralph Reed, found enthusiastic audiences at many folk festivals, including the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Brandywine Mountain Music Convention. In 1986, Ola Belle Reed was recognized for her contributions to American folk music and culture when she was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship. A prolific songwriter, her best-known songs are "I've Endured," "The Springtime of Life," and especially "High on a Mountain." Del McCoury, a regular performer at Sunset Park, made "High on a Mountain" a bluegrass standard. Many others recorded the tune, including Nashville musician Marty Stuart.
In the late 1980s, Reed suffered a severe stroke that abruptly ended her career as a performer and songwriter. Ola Belle Reed died on August 16, 2002 in Rising Sun.
Back to TopThe Ola Belle Reed Collection consists of audio recordings and other materials of American folk singer, songwriter, and banjo player, Ola Belle Reed. Audio materials in the collection include open reel recordings, 1969-1972, of traditional and original songs by Reed; family members, Bud Reed, David Reed, Ralph Reed, Herb Campbell, and Alex Campbell; and friends and neighbors, including Hazel Waltman. Additional audio materials include open reel recordings of Reed speaking about her life and music, a taped performance by the North Carolina Ridge Runners, and compact discs of live performances, 1960-1976, by Ola Belle Reed and others, including Alex Campbell, Bud Reed, and David Reed. The collection also contains a copy of "High on the Mountain," Reed's unpublished autobiography; lyrics, handwritten sheet music, and lists of traditional songs and original compositions by Reed; clippings about Reed from various publications; a program from the Foothills Festival 1977; a promotional flier from Sunset Ranch; and three photographs. Correspondents include Josh Dunson, Pete Seeger, and John McGuigan.
Back to TopDocuments related to "High on the Mountain," the unpublished autobiography of Ola Belle Reed, written with the assistance of David Reed and Josh Dunson. Correspondents include Josh Dunson, Pete Seeger, John McGuigan of the University of Pennsylvania, and Max Mandel of Midstream Music.
Folder 1 |
Manuscript |
Folder 2 |
Research |
Folder 3 |
Correspondence |
Typed song lyrics, handwritten sheet music, and song lists referring to audio tapes not included in the collection. Songs are original compositions by Ola Belle Reed as well as traditional songs that seem to have been known and performed by Reed.
Folder 4 |
Lyrics |
Folder 5 |
Sheet music |
Folder 6 |
Song lists |
Arrangement: chronological.
Articles about Ola Belle Reed from various newspapers, including a Sing Out! article by Josh Dunson and a piece by Nick Spitzer. Also included are a program from the Foothills Festival 1977 in Tennessee and a promotional flier from Sunset Park.
Folder 7 |
Clippings and publicity |
Arrangement: Chronological.
Open reel audio tapes that seem to be recordings made by Ola Belle Reed at home in Maryland. Tapes include traditional, popular, and original songs performed by Reed; family members, Bud Reed, Ralph Reed, Herb Campbell, and David Reed; and friends and neighbors, including Hazel Waltman. Tapes also include Reed speaking about her life and her feelings about music, family, performing, school, Nashville, welfare, politicians, religion, children, taxes, rock, festivals, Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, New River Ranch, and other topics. The final tape (FT-20010/9678) contains performances of the North Carolina Ridge Runners.
Arrangement: Chronological.
Acquisitions information: Received as Addition of April 2003 (Acc. 99476).
CD-Rs of live performances by Ola Belle Reed and others, including Alex Campbell, the New River Gang, Bud Reed, and David Reed. Recording locations include Campbell's Corner in Oxford, Pa., Sunset Park in West Grove, Pa., the Brandywine Mountain Music Convention in Concordville, Pa., and the Carolina Hotel in Asheville, N.C.
Audiotapes (FT-20010/9657-9678)
Digital Folders (DF-20010/1-10)
Photographs (P-4405-4407).
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