Cecil County is a place filled with history, and Ola Belle Reed could easily be considered one of its most accomplished residents.

Ola Belle Reed was born Ola Wave Campbell in Ashe County, North Carolina August 17, 1916.  She was one of thirteen children and much of her family was known for their bluegrass and folk musical styles, better known then as “hillbilly music.” Surrounded by music, Ola Belle developed talent for singing and banjo picking at a young age.

The Great Depression forced many Appalachian residents, including the Campbell family, to head North in search of a better life. The Campbell family settled in Southern Pennsylvania near the Mason-Dixon Line. In the mid-thirties, Ola Belle joined the local folk group, The North Carolina Ridge Runners, which became quite popular in the tri-state area.  Ola’s brother Alex joined the group after coming home from serving in World War II. Together, they created their own band, The New River Boys and Girls. Their band would become known for opening the New River Ranch in Rising Sun, Maryland.  The New River Boys and Girls built the popular music park that featured some of the biggest country and bluegrass stars of the fifties.  Performers such as Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe, The Carter Family, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash brought thousands of country fans to Cecil County. After The New River Ranch was wiped out by a blizzard in 1958, the group created an equally famous music park called Sunset Park in West Grove, Pennsylvania. Many Cecil County residents remember going to shows at Sunset Park well into the eighties.

The Campbell family also created a chain of general stores in the Rising Sun and Oxford areas in the fifties and sixties. One of these stores, known as Campbell’s Corner, was not your typical grocery store. In addition to produce, they sold musical instruments and records. Most unique was the recording space in the back of the store where musicians would record tracks that would be featured on their family operated radio show. Customers could shop for groceries while witnessing recording sessions for some of the most popular country artists of the time.

Ola Belle Reed’s musical talents earned her an honorary doctorate from the University of Maryland in 1978. Her music has also been recognized by the Smithsonian Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Library of Congress.

Two of Ola Belle’s most popular songs, “High on the Mountain” and “I’ve Endured,” have been covered by many popular bluegrass artists for decades. “I’ve Endured” is inspired by the Campbell family’s difficult move to Cecil County, where Ola Belle became a housekeeper.

Please join us as we celebrate Ola Belle Reed’s unique life and remarkable career with a free concert on August 4, 2012 at the Elkton Central Library. Our program will feature music from her son, Dave Reed, as well as other local musicians. This concert is a part of our ongoing Journey Stories programming series. Click here to sign up, or call 410-996-5600 ext. 481.

And please share with us your memories of Ola Belle Reed, the New River Ranch, Sunset Park, and the Appalachian migration to Cecil County.

Are music genres soon to become extinct? Years ago, you could put music styles in a box and stick a label on it. People were quick to say things like “I’m a country fan” or “I don’t listen to that rap stuff.”  But these days, artists blend multiple genres and nothing is as simple as it once seemed.  Rockers like Aaron Lewis from Stained and Kid Rock have had hits in the country music scene.  Jack White from the rock duo known as The White Stripes has begun collaborating with country legend Loretta Lynn.  Country star Allison Krauss worked with Led Zeppelin’s iconic front man Robert Plant on the album Raising Sand. Last year, the song “Airplanes Part II,” collaboration with rocker Hayley Williams and rap artists B.o.B. and Eminem, topped the pop charts and was nominated for a Grammy.

This newly renovated music landscape has created an environment of experimentation that allows lesser known or forgotten genres to bleed into popular music.  Artists are trading styles and incorporating instruments that were previously alien to their genre. For this reason, discovering new music has never been more exciting.

Probably one of the more surprising genres to be brought back into the light of popular music is bluegrass. Traditionally, bluegrass is strictly acoustic, including instruments like the banjo, the stand-up bass, mandolin, and the fiddle. These days, bluegrass style music and bluegrass instruments are showing up in every corner of popular media.  “O’ Brother Where Art Thou?” brought bluegrass to the big screen and the soundtrack promptly hit the country charts as well as the Billboard top 200 charts.  Despite being over a decade old, the album is known as the number one selling soundtrack of the 21st century.

Two of the most popular bluegrass/folk style bands to surface on the charts are the Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons. Did you catch the Grammy’s last year when they played with Bob Dylan?  Their refreshing performance was full of the foot-stompin’ fun that people love about bluegrass.  Scott Avett from the Avett Brothers was quoted in Billboard magazine “We play pop music, maybe just simply pop-rock music. It just happens to have elements of bluegrass in it. And punk? This is a good time for music like ours. Country isn’t a dirty word. Neither is pop.”

I don’t know about you, but I find this type of stripped-down, organic, but not-at-all-boring-style to be just what music has been missing. Thankfully, there is reason to believe that this is more than just a trend.  Adele, the recent six time Grammy winning artist, is planning to have her third album be heavily influenced by bluegrass and other American styles she learned about while on tour.

Here are some more artists that have had fun with bluegrass that can be found at your local CCPL branch:
-Yo-Yo Ma’s new album “The Goat Rodeo Sessions”
-Actor Steve Martin’s album “The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo”

What forgotten genres do you want to see more of in popular music?  Do you hope bluegrass is here to stay? Or do you wish it would disappear?