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Collection Overview
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
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 4: Early Commercial Country Music Recording Copies
- Item 1: EW-CT-001-105
- 78 rpm dubs: Walter Morris / Darby & Tarlton / Williamson Brothers / Stripling Brothers / South Georgia Highballers / Crockett Family / Jesse Rodgers / Allen Brothers, etc.
- Item 2: EW-CT-001-106
- Miscellaneous gospel from various recorded sources: Shannon Grayson / Carl Story / Herrington Sisters / Murphy Trio / Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Quartet / Blind Alfred Reed / Conley Family / Byron Parker & The Mountaineers / Asher Sizemore, etc.
- Item 3: EW-CT-001-107
- Ed Ward: home recorded guitar solos; also poems written by Ed Ward set to music and performed by Bob Coltman; also, gospel music with organ accompaniment played by Ward's grandson, Malcolm Hotzman.
- Item 4: EW-CT-001-108
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and country music: Brownie McGee & Sonny Terry "Brownie's Blues" (1960); Also Bennie Foster.
- Item 5: EW-CT-001-109
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and country music: Ernest Phipps / Rev. F. W. McGhee / Robert Hicks / King Family / Molly O'Day / Mississippi John Hurt / Hank Snow / Hank Williams / Helton Brothers / Rebe & Rabe / Doc Williams / Doc Williams / etc.
- Item 6: EW-CT-001-110
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and country music: Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers / Callahan Brothers / Oklahoma Ridge Runners / Freeman Stowers / Herbert Sweet / Virginia Mountain Boomers / Shore's Southern Trio / Carolina Twins / Fiddlin' Powers & Family / Jimmie Rodgers / Doc Roberts / Lulu Belle & Scotty / others
- Item 7: EW-CT-001-111
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and country music: Jimmie Johnson String Band / Hack's String band / Taylor's Kentucky Boys / Rutherford & Foster / Madisonville String Band / H. L. Bandy / Doc Roberts / others
- Item 8: EW-CT-001-112
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and country music: Bennie & Vallie Cain & the Country Clan / Billy Baker / Narmour & Smith / Stripling Brothers / Luke Highnight & His Ozark Strutters / others
- Item 9: EW-CT-001-113
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and country music: Canadian fiddle music by Jim Swann[?] andf the Music Makers
- Item 10: EW-CT-001-114
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and country music: Arkansas Corn Dodgers / Fruit Jar Guzzlers / Cartwright Brothers / Fred Stanley / Kessinger Brothers / Darby and Tarlton / Ben Jarrell / Doc Roberts & Asa Martin / others
- Item 11: EW-CT-001-115
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and country music: Side A: Jerry and Evelyn Hyatt / Side B: Jerry & Jerry (sacred solos)
- Item 12: EW-CT-001-116
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and sacred music: Marion Brock / Blue Sky Boys / Leverett Brothers / Price Family / Monroe Brothers / Hank and Audrey Williams / Ernest Phipps / others
- Item 13: EW-CT-001-117
- Miscellaneous dubs of recorded gospel and sacred music: Doc & Chickie Williams / Carl Story / Hank & Audrey Williams / Lonzo & Oscar / Blind Willie Davis / Washington Phillips / Rev. Edward Clayborne / Crook Brothers / Frances Reedy / others
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]
