Ted Olson

Olson has received a range of recognition for his work as a music historian, including nine Grammy nominations. He holds a Ph.D. in English and Southern studies and has produced and curated a number of documentary albums of Appalachian music, including five boxed sets for Germany’s acclaimed Bear Family Records label (separate sets featuring the complete recordings from the 1927-1928 Bristol Sessions, from the 1928-1929 Johnson City Sessions, from the 1929-1930 Knoxville Sessions, from the 1946-1954 Rich-R-Tone and Folk Star labels, as well as a compilation of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s early recordings); four albums of Appalachian music for Great Smoky Mountains National Park; four albums for Rhino Records (the 50th anniversary edition of a seminal Elektra/Folkways 1960s-era folk music anthology, the 50th anniversary edition of Love's album Forever Changes, and two anthologies of classic recordings by Carly Simon and other Elektra artists); two albums for Craft Recordings (a retrospective collection of Doc Watson’s recordings and a compilation of historical African American music); an album for June Appal Recordings celebrating contemporary hip-hop music from Appalachia; and an album for Rivermont Records collecting the first commercial recordings made in Appalachia, the 1925 Asheville Sessions.

Additionally, Olson has written or edited numerous books centered around Appalachian music and folklore, along with numerous articles, essays, encyclopedia entries, reviews, poems, creative nonfiction pieces, and oral histories. He was also music section editor for the “Encyclopedia of Appalachia,” and has served as book series editor for the Charles K. Wolfe Music Series (University of Tennessee Press) since 2008. He is presently co-producer and co-host of the seven-part podcast series for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, “Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music.”

Olson was co-chair of the curatorial committee for the 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival's “Appalachia: Heritage and Harmony” exhibition, which drew a million attendees to the National Mall. From 2003-2005 he was president of the Tennessee Folklore Society, and in 2008 he served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in American Studies in Barcelona, Spain. He was the committee chair for “Tell It to Me: The Johnson City Sessions 90th Anniversary Celebration,” which received the Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association’s Pinnacle Award for Event of the Year for 2019.

A solo performer of traditional and contemporary ballads and songs from Appalachia as well as the British Isles, he has performed in a range of music festivals and other educational venues.