Ola Belle Reed

Ola Belle Reed
Born Ola Wave Campbell
(1916-08-18)August 18, 1916
Grassy Creek, Ashe County, North Carolina U.S.
Died August 16, 2002(2002-08-16) (aged 85)
Occupation Singer-songwriter
Banjo player
Spouse(s) Bud Reed
Children 1

Ola Belle Reed (August 18, 1916 – August 16, 2002)[1] was an American folk singer, songwriter and banjo player.

Early life

Reed was born Ola Wave Campbell in the unincorporated town of Grassy Creek, Ashe County, North Carolina, to Arthur Campbell and Ellen Campbell (née Osborne).[2] She was the fourth of thirteen children.[3][4][5]

As a young child, Reed learned the clawhammer-style banjo and along with her musical family, sang old-time songs from the mountain region where they lived.

Career

When she was young, Reed's family moved to Southern Pennsylvania. In the mid-1930s, Reed joined The North Carolina Ridge Runners. She later formed the band, The New River Boys and Girls, with her brother, Alex Campbell, which went on to open the New River Ranch in Rising Sun, Maryland, a music park that hosted many well known performers until being destroyed in 1958. The family went on to found another music park called Sunset Park in West Grove, Pennsylvania.[5]

Reed's songs often speak of Appalachian life and traditions. Her best-known songs have been recorded by mainstream bluegrass and country artists. High on a Mountain has been recorded by Del McCoury, Tim O'Brien, and Marty Stuart.[6] I've Endured, has been recorded by Del McCoury as well as Tim O'Brien.

The annual Ola Belle Reed Music Festival in Lansing, North Carolina, celebrates her life and music.[7]

Honors

Personal life

In 1949, Reed married to Ralph "Bud" Reed. They had a son named Ralph "David" Reed. She died on August 16, 2002, after a 1987 stroke that had left her unable to continue to perform music. She is buried in West Nottingham Cemetery in West Nottingham, Maryland.[2]

Releases

In 2010, Smithsonian Folkways released Rising Sun Melodies, a collection of 11 songs that appeared on her previous Folkways recordings, plus eight previously unreleased tracks that were recorded at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in the 1970s. Among the musicians accompanying her on the album were her brother Alex Campbell, her husband Bud Reed, her son Dave Reed, and the husband and wife team of John Coffey and Betsy Rutherford.[9]

In January 2011, Ola Belle Reed's Rising Sun Melodies won The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards in the Reissue category.[10]

Her song "High on a Mountain" was sung by the character "Mags Bennett" on the TV series "Justified".[11]

On August 21, 2015, Dust-to-Digital released the hardcover book / 2-CD set "Ola Belle Reed and Southern Mountain Music on the Mason-Dixon Line" by Henry Glassie, Clifford Murphy and Douglas Dowling Peach.[12]

Discography

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "Ola B Reed - United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Dr Ola Belle Reed". Find A Grave. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ola Campbell - United States Census, 1920". FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Ola Campbell - United States Census, 1940". FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 MacMurray, Lacey (27 July 2012). "Memories of Ola Belle Reed". Cecil County Public Library. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Mountain Times Online". Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  7. ↑ "Ola Belle Reed Music Festival". Ola Belle Fest. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  8. ↑ "1986 NEA National Heritage Fellowships". National Endowment of the Arts. 1986. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  9. ↑ Place, Jeff (2010). Liner notes for Rising Sun Melodies, album by Ola Belle Reed. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings No. 40202.
  10. ↑ http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima/artist/ola-belle-reed
  11. ↑ High On A Mountain Top by Margo Martindale. Vimeo.
  12. ↑ http://www.dust-digital.com/ola-belle-reed/
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