Box 25

Abstract The collecting activity reflected in this collection began in the early 1950s and continued well into the 1970s. After Rueben Powell’s 1968 retirement from work as chief utility engineer at Wright Patterson Airforce Base in Ohio, Powell and his wife Retha started the Renfro Valley Tape Club as a means of sharing the fruits of his collecting with other country music fans. Its appeal was particularly substantial among Powell's contemporaries who were disenchanted with the then newer country...

Scope and Contents From the Series: This series consists of 1600 reel-to-reel audio tapes containing both published and unpublished material pertaining to American country and traditional music. Tune titles, performer names, record labels, and names of interviewees are searchable via an in - house database. Powell's broad subject series include Renfro Valley Gatherin', Renfro Valley Barn Dance, Commercial LP Recordings, Commercial 78rpm recordings, Electronic Transcriptions (Radio Program Recordings), Tape Club Recordings,...