Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002
Variant namesMusician Ola Belle 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. They formed the New River Gang, with 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, Md., and broadcast a weekly show from their store in Oxford, Pa. During the 1970s, Ola Belle Reed and family performed at many folk festivals.
From the description of Ola Belle Reed collection, 1969-1979. WorldCat record id: 51777724
Ola Belle Reed was born in 1915 at Grassy Creek in Ashe County, 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., just south of the Mason-Dixon Line 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.
From the guide to the Ola Belle Reed Collection, 1969-1979, (Southern Folklife Collection)
Role | Title | Holding Repository | |
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referencedIn | Southern Folk Cultural Revival Project Collection, 1965-1989 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. | |
creatorOf | North Carolina Folklife Festival (2nd : 1975 : Durham, N.C.). Collection, 1975 April 18-19. | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | |
referencedIn | Mike Seeger Collection, circa 1950s-2008, (bulk 1955-2002) | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. | |
creatorOf | Ola Belle Reed Collection, 1969-1979 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. | |
creatorOf | North Carolina Folklife Festival (4th : 1978 : Durham, N.C.). Folklife section collection, 1978 July 3. | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | |
referencedIn | Alice Gerrard Collection, 1954-2000 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. | |
creatorOf | Ola Belle Reed Collection, 1969-1979 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. | |
creatorOf | North Carolina Folklife Festival (1976 : Durham, N.C.). Collection, Part A, 1976. | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | |
referencedIn | Southern Folklife Collection Artist Name File, 1940-2005 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. | |
referencedIn | 1977 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection, 1977 | Archive of Folk Culture (U.S.) | |
referencedIn | Ferris, William R. William R. Ferris collection, 1919s-2003 (names H-W). | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | |
referencedIn | Ola Belle Reed Collection, 1969-1979 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. | |
referencedIn | Southern Folk Cultural Revival Project Collection, 1965-1989 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
Role | Title | Holding Repository |
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Filters:
Relation | Name | |
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associatedWith | Alex Campbell | person |
associatedWith | American Folklife Center | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Bill Monroe | person |
associatedWith | Bud Reed | person |
associatedWith | Campbell, Alex. | person |
associatedWith | Campbell, Herb. | person |
associatedWith | David Reed | person |
associatedWith | Dunson, Josh, 1941- | person |
associatedWith | Ferris, William R. | person |
associatedWith | Foothills Festival 1977 | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Gerrard, Alice, 1934- | person |
associatedWith | Hazel Waltman | person |
associatedWith | Herb Campbell | person |
associatedWith | John McGuigan | person |
associatedWith | Josh Dunson | person |
associatedWith | Max Mandel | person |
associatedWith | McGuigan, John. | person |
associatedWith | Midstream Music | corporateBody |
associatedWith | New River Ranch | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Nick Spitzer | person |
associatedWith | North Carolina Folklife Festival (1976 : Durham, N.C.) | corporateBody |
associatedWith | North Carolina Folklife Festival (2nd : 1975 : Durham, N.C.) | corporateBody |
associatedWith | North Carolina Folklife Festival (4th : 1978 : Durham, N.C.) | corporateBody |
associatedWith | North Carolina Ridge Runners. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Ola Belle Reed | person |
associatedWith | Pete Seeger | person |
associatedWith | Ralph Reed | person |
associatedWith | Reed, Bud. | person |
associatedWith | Roy Acuff | person |
associatedWith | Seeger, Mike, 1933-2009. | person |
associatedWith | Seeger, Pete, 1919- | person |
associatedWith | Southern Folk Cultural Revival Project, Inc. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Sunset Park | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Waltman, Hazel. | person |
associatedWith | WWVA (Radio station : Wheeling, W. Va.) | corporateBody |
Place Name | Admin Code | Country | |
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New River Ranch (Md.) | |||
Sunset Park (Pa.) | |||
United States | |||
North Carolina | |||
West Virginia | |||
Maryland | |||
Rising Sun (Md.) |
Subject |
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Musicians |
Folk music |
Folk singers |
Musical groups |
Radio programs |
Radio stations |
Women musicians |
Occupation |
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Performer |
Activity |
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Person
Birth 1916-08-18
Death 2002-08-16
Americans
English