Ozark Jubilee

Ozark Jubilee
Created by	Ralph Foster
Starring	Red Foley
Opening theme	"Sugar Foot Rag" by Hank Garland
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	297
Production
Camera setup	2; later 3 studio cameras
Running time	60 minutes (also 90 and 30 minute versions)
Production company	Crossroads TV Productions
Original release
Network	ABC-TV
Release	January 22, 1955 – September 24, 1960

Ozark Jubilee (1954-1960) was a national American radio and television program that helped popularize country music and launched or expanded the careers of many artists, including Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Brenda Lee and Porter Wagoner. Originating from Springfield, Missouri on ABC, the weekly live prime time stage show presented a virtual Who's Who of country music and drew up to 20 million viewers and millions more radio listeners across the United States. Carl Perkins first performed "Blue Suede Shoes" on television on the program on November 11, 1956.

Ozark Jubilee debuted on ABC Radio on August 7, 1954 and on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955; was renamed Country Music Jubilee on July 6, 1957; and in 1958 was finally named Jubilee USA. On network television it was a 60-minute program, except for a 90-minute version from July 1955 to September 26, 1956; and a 30-minute version every fourth week during the 1956-57 TV season. Theme music was Hank Garland's "Sugarfoot Rag."

Hosted by "Red" Foley, the program showcased country music's biggest stars performing their latest hits interspersed with a regular cast headlined by Wagoner, Eddy Arnold, Wanda Jackson, Norma Jean, Bobby Lord, Marvin Rainwater and Slim Wilson. The versatile Wilson was also front man for both the "Tall Timber Trio," made up of Speedy Haworth (guitar), Doc Martin (steel guitar) and Bob White (bass guitar); and the "Jubilee Band" composed of Haworth, Martin, White, Johnny Gailey (drums), Paul Mitchell (piano) and Zed Tennis (fiddle).

Wilson was also half of the show's "Flash and Whistler" (with Floyd "Goo Goo" Rutledge); and Rutledge was half of "Lennie and Goo Goo" (with Lennie Aleshire), both comedy duos. Jimmy Gatley (guitar) and Harold Morrison (banjo) comprised a featured bluegrass duo, and Wagoner teamed up with Haworth and Don Warden (steel guitar) for the "Wagoner Trio." Other regular cast members included comedians Pete Stamper, Shug Fisher, KWTO-AM's Bill Ring and husband-wife sketch comedians "Aunt Sap" and "Uncle Cyp" Brasfield; and the "Foggy River Boys," a singing quartert later known as the "Marksmen" (George Richardson, Les Robertson, Don Taylor and Earl Terry).

The house band was "Bill Wimberly and the Country Rhythm Boys," a 7-piece group that initially alternated weekly with Grady Martin and his "Winging Strings" band. The on-camera announcer was Joe Slattery (who would later become president of AFTRA). Substitute hosts included Arnold, Wilson and later Gene Autry. During the 1955-1956 season, Web Pierce hosted a half-hour version every four weeks when ABC-TV devoted the following hour to the Grand Ole Opry. In March 1956 this version was replaced by a spin-off, Junior Jubilee.

Ozark Jubilee promotional image

Ozark Jubilee promotional image

The audience was briefly part of many shows when the Jubilee's cameras swung around from the stage to show the sold-out Jewell Theatre. Attendees were often nearly 90 percent out-of-state, and many would hold up signs and banners bearing the names of their hometowns. The Jubilee regularly mentioned it was carried "coast to coast," and to promote the show, "personal appearance units" performed at state fairs and other venues in 42 states, Alaska (then a U.S. territory) and every Canadian province.

The show was sponsored by American Chicle Co., Massey Ferguson and Williamson-Dickie, and was sold nationally by Ted Bates & Company.

The Jubilee's final telecast was September 24, 1960. That show, like the first TV broadcast in 1955, opened with Foley singing "Hearts of Stone." It was the 297th program, which concluded with Foley performing "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You."

The Jubilee was named "Best Country Music Show" by Fame's annual critics poll in 1957 (TV Daily and Motion Picture Daily) and 1960 (Television Daily).

ABC-TV Schedule

• 1955-56 season (Ozark Jubilee): Saturday, 7:30 p.m - 9:00 p.m ET (from October 15, 1955 to September 26, 1956, the show [and later Junior Jubilee] aired from 7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET every fourth Saturday when ABC televised the Grand Ole Opry from 8:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. ET.)
• 1956-57 season (Ozark Jubilee): Thursday, 10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. ET
• 1957-58 season (Country Music Jubilee): Saturday, 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. ET
• 1958-59 season (Jubilee USA): Saturday, 8:00 p.m - 9:00 p.m. ET
• 1959-60 season (Jubilee USA): Saturday, 10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. ET (final telecast September 24)

Viewership

During the TV show's 1955 premier, Foley asked, "If you folks want us to come and visit at your house like this every Saturday night, why don't you drop me a line in Springfield, Missouri?" In the next week 25,258 cards and letters arrived from 45 of the 48 states. The show typically received 6,000 letters each week.

File:Ozark Jubilee Ticket.jpg

Ticket for Jubilee USA's final performance

• 1955: Largest male U.S. television audience (American Research Bureau)
• 1955: 28% more per-set viewers than all prime time shows (American Research Bureau)
• 1956: Largest per-set U.S. television audience (3.32 persons) (American Research Bureau)

Producers estimated 350,000 people had attended the live performances in Springfield from 1954-1960. Ticket requests had to be made as long as six weeks in advance and it was believed to be the only network TV show with paid admission ($1.00 orchestra, 75 cents balcony and 50 cents standing room).

Radio Roots and Red Foley

Local entrepreneurs Ralph D. Foster, E. E. "Si" Siman, Jr. and John B. Mahaffey were producing syndicated radio shows from Springfield through a production company they dubbed RadiOzark Enterprises and broadcasting them over Foster's KWTO-AM. They wanted to move into televison, and in April 1954, lured Red Foley from Nashville's Grand Ole Opry by promising to build a TV show around him. It was a major coup; Foley was considered by many to be America's top country music star.

Red Foley c. 1957

His first single, 1944's "Smoke on the Water," topped the charts for 13 consecutive weeks; in 1945, he was the first major performer to record in Nashville. He'd already spent nine years on National Barn Dance, and in 1946, he signed on to emcee and perform on The Prince Albert Show, a segment of the Grand Ole Opry on NBC Radio. Foley's popularity was credited with establishing the Opry as America's top country music radio show.

Foster hoped Springfield would dethrone Nashville and become the "crossroads of country music." He named his TV company Crossroads TV Productions, Inc., with Siman and Mahaffey as managing vice presidents and Les Kinnon as VP. To represent the regular performers on KWTO (and later the Jubilee), Foster established Top Talent, Inc., headed by Lou Black; and to publish their compositions he founded Earl Barton Music, Inc. Foster, known by cast and crew as "Skipper," made his only appearance on the final broadcast of Jubilee USA, singing "Woodman, Spare that Tree."

Ironically, federal income tax evasion charges pending against Foley during 1960 likely influenced ABC-TV's decision to not renew the program; although his first trial that fall ended in a hung jury, and after a second trial Foley was quickly acquitted on April 23, 1961. The previous October, ABC had begun airing the popular Fight of the Week in the Jubilee's former time slot.

Performers

The Jubilee featured a regular cast of about 55 performers. Many were natives or residents of the Springfield area.

Lennie Aleshire Suzie Arden Eddy Arnold Chuck Bowers Lawrence "Uncle Cyp" Brasfield Neva "Aunt Sap" Brasfield Bonnie, Maxine and Jim Ed Brown Smiley Burnette Shirley Caddell Bill Carlisle Arlie Duff Shug Fisher

Red Gale Jimmy Gately Johnny Gailey Hawkshaw Hawkins Speedy Haworth Libby Horne Bud Isaacs Wanda Jackson Sonny James Norma Jean Jubilaires Brenda Lee Bobby Lord

Doc Martin Grady Martin Marksmen (Foggy River Boys) Paul Mitchell Harold Morrison Penny Nichols Philharmonics Web Pierce Marvin Rainwater Bill Ring Carla Rowe Floyd "Goo Goo" Rutledge Jean Shepard

Tommy Sosebee Pete Stamper Zed Tennis Leroy Van Dyke Porter Wagoner Don Warden Billy Walker Tabby West Bob White Willis Brothers Slim Wilson Bill Wimberly

Square Dancers

The Jubilee featured two regular square dance groups: the "Promenaders" (with caller L. D. Keller) and the "Tadpoles" (with caller Buford Foster), a children's group from Camdenton, Missouri. Later in the series, the "Wagon Wheelers" also appeared.

Guest Stars

Virtually every major country music star of the day appered on the Jubilee during its five-year run. Among them were:

Roy Acuff "Stringbean" Akeman Rex Allen Fran Allison Chet Atkins Gene Autry Boyd Bennett Johnny Bond Pat Boone Anita Carter Johnny Cash Sanford Clark Patsy Cline Cowboy Copas

Jimmie Davis Jimmy Dean Little Jimmy Dickens Jimmy Driftwood Rusty Draper Tommy Duncan Bobby Helms Johnny Horton Homer & Jethro David Houston Jan Howard Ferlin Husky Stonewall Jackson Betty Johnson

George Jones Louis "Grandpa" Jones Pee Wee King Merl Lindsay Hank Locklin Leon McAuliffe Patsy Montana George Morgan Buck Owens Minnie Pearl Carl Perkins Jim Reeves Don Reno Marty Robbins

Tex Ritter Margie Singleton Tom Tall Hank Thompson Mel Tillis Mitchell Torok Merle Travis Jimmy Wakely Speedy West Kitty Wells Tex Williams Bob Wills Del Wood Faron Young

Other personalities who appeared included St. Louis Cardinals star Stan Musial, actors Betty Ann Grove and Duncan Renaldo, columnist Earl Wilson, and Smokey Bear.

The Jubilee and Brenda Lee

In 1956, 11-year-old Brenda Lee was living in Augusta, Georgia, and in February turned down $30 to sing on an Atlanta TV station to see Foley and a visiting Jubilee promotional unit at Bell Auditorium. A local disc jockey convinced Foley to hear her sing before the show. He was amazed and agreed to let Lee perform "Jambalaya" on stage that night. Foley later recounted his reaction:

File:Brenda lee Ozark Jubilee.jpg

Lee publicity photo for Ozark Jubilee

I still get cold chills thinking about the first time I heard that voice. One foot started patting rhythm as though she was stomping out a prairie fire but not another muscle in that little body even as much as twitched. And when she did that trick of breaking her voice, it jarred me out of my trance enough to realize I'd forgotten to get off the stage. There I stood, after 26 years of supposedly learning how to conduct myself in front of an audience, with my mouth open two miles wide and a glassy stare in my eyes. The way I stood back and enjoyed watching her work I felt guilty for not going out to the box office and buying a ticket.

The audience erupted in applause and refused to let her leave the stage until she had performed three more songs.

Jubilee Producer/Director Bryan Bisney contacted her stepfather, Buell "Jay" Rainwater, who mailed him a tape recording of Lee singing "Jamabalya" on an Augusta radio show with a snapshot of Lee with Jimmie Skinner in Cincinnati, Ohio. She first appeared on March 31, 1956, singing "Jamblaya" on the program's spin-off, Junior Jubilee. The show received three times the usual fan mail with nearly every letter asking to see her again. Jack O'Brien, columnist for the New York Journal American, began his TV review with "I didn't catch the name of the 9-year-old [sic] singer on last night's Ozark Jubilee but she belts a song like a star." Lee's family moved to Springfield and she made regular appearances on the program through the 1960 season.

Production

Ozark Jubilee began as a weekly two-and-a-half hour live radio broadcast on KWTO-AM on July 17, 1954. Three weeks later ABC Radio began carrying 25 minutes of the program nationally. On December 26, 1953, the show made its jump to local television with a simulcast from the studio of Springfield's KYTV-TV. The Jubilee moved to the 1,200-seat Jewell Theatre (a former moviehouse) in downtown Springfield on September 4, 1954 and KYTV-TV continued to broadcast portions live.

It became a weekly program on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, but the first 13 national telecasts were staged at KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri because a transmission line capable of carrying the signal to ABC was not yet available in Springfield. Columbia had a line, however, installed for University of Missouri football games. After AT&T installed a line from Springfield to Chicago (where ABC made its kinescopes and relayed the feed to New York City) the program again originated from the Jewell Theatre beginning on April 23, 1955.

File:Ozark Jubilee Rehersal.jpg

Red Foley (l), with Bryan Bisney and Fran Allison during Ozark Jubilee rehersal

The two-camera show, shot in black-and-white, used equipment and staff from KYTV-TV, which was then a duel ABC/NBC TV network affiliate. Eventually a third studio camera was added.

On June 22, 1957, the program's first remote (after returning to Springfield) originated from the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds during the Oklahoma Semi-Centennial celebration.

The Jubilee was produced by Crossroads TV Productions in association with ABC. Executive producers were Crossroads vice presidents Siman and Mahaffey and the producer/director was Bryan Bisney (nicknamed "Walt"). The co-writers were Bob Tubert and publicist Don Richardson. The scenic designer was Andy Miller, who later did scenic design for nearby Silver Dollar City.

During the Jubilee's tenure, Springfield ranked third in the U.S. for originating national television programming behind New York City and Hollywood.

Spin-offs

Junior Jubilee

In March 1956, ABC-TV first aired a summer spin-off called Junior Jubilee showcasing child country music performers hosted by 10-year-old Libby Horne. It aired from 7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. every fourth Saturday until September 26, 1956, replacing a 30-minute version of the Ozark Jubilee. Brenda Lee first appeared on this show.

Five Star Jubilee

On Friday night, March 17, 1961, NBC-TV began airing a summer spin-off called Five Star Jubilee. The weekly show featured five country music stars who took turns hosting: Rex Allen, Snooky Lanson, Tex Ritter, Carl Smith and Jimmy Wakely. It was the first color television program to originate outside of New York City or Hollywood and was produced through the facilities of KYTY-TV. Barbara Mandrell made her network debut on the program. The show, taped at Springfield's Landers Theatre, was cancelled after 29 broadcasts. The producer was Bryan Bisney and the director was Fred Rains.

Legacy

After cancellation by ABC-TV, live performances of the Jubilee at the Jewell Theatre continued over KWTO-AM (with 15 minutes carried by NBC Radio on Saturday nights) and groups of cast members continued road shows.

The theater was demolished five months later in February 1961; today a small marker in Springfield's Jubilee Park, dedicated in 1988, notes its location at 216 S. Jefferson Street. Cast and production crew members held reunions at the dedication and again in October 1992.

The show was the subject of a 1993 book, Remembering the Ozark Jubilee. In 2003, Ozarks Public Television released an hour-long documentary, Ozark Jubilee: A Living Legacy. Video clips from kinescopes of the Jubilee are available on YouTube.

References

• "Tin Pan Alley in the Ozarks". (January 3, 1955), Broadcasting/Telecasting, p. 35
• "The Red Foley Story". (March, 1955), Country and Western Jamboree
• "Ozark Jubilee" (review). (April 16, 1955), TV Guide, p. 19
• "Ozarks Folk Tunes and Comedy Make Springfield a TV Center". (January 29, 1956), Kansas City Star, p. C1
• "Hillbilly Music Center". (February 5, 1956), St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Everyday Magazine", p. 1
• "Hillbilly TV Show Hits the Big Time". (March 10, 1956), Business Week, p. 30
• "They Love Mountain Music". (May 7, 1956), Time
• "'Taint Hillybilly, Neighbor!". (August 27, 1956), TV Guide, p. 10
• ABC Television Network press releases. (various, 1956)
• Ozark Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album. (first edition)
• Ozark Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album. (second edition) © 1956, Ozark Jubilee's Crossroads Store
• Country Music Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album. (third edition) 1957
• "Springfield, Mo.-Radio City of Country Music". (April, 1957), Coronet, p. 152
• "The Death of TV's Jubilee." (Sept. 18, 1960), Springfield Leader & Press, p. D4
• "Foley Acquitted Of Tax Evasion". (April 23, 1961), Springfield Leader & Press, p. A1
• Spears-Stewart, Rita (1993), Remembering the Ozark Jubilee, Stewart, Dillbeck & White Productions, ISBN 0-9638648-0-7.

External Links

Lennie Aleshire Chuck Bowers "Aunt Sap" and "Uncle Cye" Brasfield Arlie Duff Shug Fisher Jimmy Gately Speedy Haworth Bud Isaacs

Bill Ring Floyd Rutledge Tommy Sosebee Pete Stamper Don Warden Tabby West Willis Brothers Slim Wilson

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees