Ed Ward Collection | Berea College Special Collections and Archives Catalog

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Collection Overview

Title: Ed Ward Collection

Predominant Dates:1937-1991

Primary Creator: Ward, Ed

Extent: 4.0 Boxes (General)

Subjects: Country music -- History., Folk music., Harlan County (Ky.).

Languages: English

Abstract

Ed Ward was a private record and tape collector, poet, prose writer, and community historian who lived at Bledsoe in Harlan County, Kentucky.

The digitized material in this collection includes recordings of interviews with Ed Ward, his reading from his writings such as Tall Tales of the Hills, musician interviews he recorded, and selected tape copies from Ward’s record collection of commercial recordings of Kentucky old time and early country music artists.

The collection’s interviews and music performances document such historically significant Kentucky old time musicians as Blind Dick Burnett, John V. Walker, Arthur Johnson, Ernest Martin, W.L. Gregory, the Jones Creek Quartet, and others including the widow of Blind James Howard whose ballads and fiddle tunes were recorded for the Library of Congress in 1937.

The substantial portion of the collection that is not yet digitized is comprised of taped copies of several dozen 78 rpm discs that document many lesser known traditional recording artists of the 1920s and 1930s representing areas beyond Kentucky. These recordings can be accessed in the Special Collections reading room.

Subject/Index Terms

Country music -- History.
Folk music.
Harlan County (Ky.).

Administrative Information

Repository: Berea College Special Collections and Archives Catalog

Access Restrictions: Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College. Some recordings are available online.

Use Restrictions: There are no restrictions on use of this material other than federal copyright regulations.

Acquisition Source: Ed Ward donated the collection to the Berea College Special Collections and Archives.

Preferred Citation: [Object identification], Ed Ward Collection, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Berea, KY.

Processing Information: The collection was arranged by Harry Rice, Sound Archivist. The finding aid was created in August 2015 by Collections Archivist, Lori Myers-Steele, and Harry Rice. Links to digital recordings added 2019.

Other Note: Collection Number: BCA 0137 SAA 137

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1-4: Recordings],
[Box 1: Digitized Collection Recordings],
[Box 2: Early Commercial Country Music Recording Copies],
[Box 3: Early Commercial Country Music Recording Copies],
[Box 4: Early Commercial Country Music Recording Copies],
[All]

Box 3: Early Commercial Country Music Recording Copies

Item 1: EW-CT-001-061: 78 rpm dubs (Vagabonds, Willins, Cassell, Roberts, etc.)
Item 2: EW-CT-001-063: 78 rpm dubs (Fuller, Owens, Kelly, H. Puckett, etc.)
Item 3: EW-CT-001-064: "Live" recordings of Harlan County Ramblers & Larry Sparks
Item 4: EW-CT-001-065: LP dubs (Harrison & Wolfe, Holt, McGee, Hot Mud Family, etc.)
Item 5: EW-CT-001-066: 78 rpm dubs of James & Martha Carson
Item 6: EW-CT-001-068: 78 rpm dubs of Darby & Tarlton / Emmett W. Lundy
Item 7: EW-CT-001-069: 78 rpm dubs (Mainer's Mountaineers / Wade Mainer & Sons of the Mountaineers)
Item 8: EW-CT-001-070: 78 rpm dubs (Blue Ridge Highballers, Kelly Harrell, Red Fox Chasers)
Item 9: EW-CT-001-071: LP dubs (Red Fox Chasers, Carter Bros., Weems String Band, etc.)
Item 10: EW-CT-001-072: LP dubs (Earl Johnson, Gossett, Ward, Lundy, Rector, etc.)
Item 11: EW-CT-001-073: LP dubs (Ernest East & Pine Ridge Boys / Down On Ashby's Farm, Kimbles, etc.)
Item 12: EW-CT-001-074: 78 rpm dubs of Fiddlin' Arthur Smith
Item 13: EW-CT-001-075: LP dubs (George Tucker / Harry McClintock)
Item 14: EW-CT-001-076: LP dubs (Omer Forster & Highland Rim Boys / Blake Bynum & Roy Harper)
Item 15: EW-CT-001-077: LP dubs (Blake Bynum & Roy Harper / Ernest C. Martin)
Item 16: EW-CT-001-078: LP dubs of Indian Creek Delta Boys
Item 17: EW-CT-001-079: LP dubs (England Brothers / "Jimmie Rodgers Story" featuring Albert Fullam & H. Snow)
Item 18: EW-CT-001-080: 78 rpm dubs (Birch Monroe / Pickard Family, Riley Puckett, etc.)
Item 19: EW-CT-001-081: 78 rpm dubs (Choates, Boyd, Stowers, Hankins, Fiddlin' Powers, etc.)
Item 20: EW-CT-001-082: 78 rpm dubs (Stoneman, Rutherford & Foster, etc. / Callahan Brothers)
Item 21: EW-CT-001-083: LP dubs of Pete Cassell / 78 rpm dubs (Boyd, Allen Bros., Sizemaore, etc.)
Item 22: EW-CT-001-084: LP dubs (Fiddler's Convention, Galax, VA / Fiddler's Convention, Union Grove, NC)
Item 23: EW-CT-001-085: LP dubs of Hank Snow / 78 rpm dubs (Delmore, Hutchison, Sharp, etc.)
Item 24: EW-CT-001-086: 78 rpm dubs (Bowman, Foster, Louvin Bros., Johnny & Jack / Monroe Brothers)
Item 25: EW-CT-001-087: 78 rpm dubs of The Prairie Ramblers
Item 26: EW-CT-001-088: 78 rpm dubs (Kincaid, Jepson & Donaldson, Welling & McGhee, Roy Harvey, etc.)
Item 27: EW-CT-001-089: 78 rpm dubs (Davis, Peterson, Watson, Gosdin, Monroe Bros., etc.)
Item 28: EW-CT-001-090: 78 rpm dubs (Poole, Rorrer, Harvey, Karl & Harty, Linda Parker, etc.)
Item 29: EW-CT-001-091: LP dubs of The Perry County Music Makers
Item 30: EW-CT-001-092: LP dubs of Molly O'Day & Lynn Davis
Item 31: EW-CT-001-093: 78 rpm dubs (Bunt Stephens, Jilson Setters (J.W. DAY), Clayton McMichen, Doc Hopkins, Sid Harkreader, etc.)
Item 32: EW-CT-001-094: LP dubs of Benny & Vallie Cain & The Country Clan
Item 33: EW-CT-001-095: LP dubs (W.M. Stepp / H.L. Maxey / Luther Strong)
Item 34: EW-CT-001-101: 78 rpm dubs (Earl Wright & Arkansas Corn Dodgers, Fruit Jar Guzzlers, Cartwright Brothers, etc.) / Home recordings (Arthur Johnson, Charlie Hamlin, Len Ward, etc.)
Item 35: EW-CT-001-102: LP dub of Joan Colton & Jewell Linefork w/ Leatherwood Mountain Boys / 78 rpm dubs (Aunt Molly Jackson, Jack Youngblood, Vernon Dalhert, Jilson Setters (J.W. DAY), Dewey & Gassie Bassett, etc.)
Item 36: EW-CT-001-103: Buddy Starcher [LP?] / Southern Melody Boys / Swing Billies / Roscoe & Samuel Dellinger / Leake County Revelers, etc.
Item 37: EW-CT-001-104: 78 rpm dubs: Bob Miller / Bob Atcher & Bonnie Blue Eyes / Molly O'Day / Ken Griffin / Jimmie Davis / Wade Mainer / Joe Reed Family / Uncle Dave Macon, etc.