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Down the Road BRMT | Ola Belle Reed Brought Bluegrass to Baltimore

Ola Belle Reed
http://www.blueridgeheritage.com

Ola Belle Campbell was just a teenager in 1934 when her family moved from Ashe County, NC, to Maryland, but she was already a skilled mountain banjo player and singer. At her first radio gig in 1939, Ola Belle sang the “St. Louis Blues." Her voice overpowered the broadcasting equipment and knocked the station off the air. In 1949 she became Ola Belle Reed when she married country musician Bud Reed. Their influence is still felt in the thriving bluegrass scene around Baltimore.