Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002

Variant names

Hide Profile

Musician 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)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
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
Relation Name
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
New River Ranch (Md.)
Sunset Park (Pa.)
United States
North Carolina
West Virginia
Maryland
Rising Sun (Md.)
Subject
Musicians
Folk music
Folk singers
Musical groups
Radio programs
Radio stations
Women musicians
Occupation
Performer
Activity

Person

Birth 1916-08-18

Death 2002-08-16

Americans

English

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gq8nmc

Ark ID: w6gq8nmc

SNAC ID: 9652961