Crazy Barn Dance
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|---|---|
| Radio show from Charlotte, North Carolina | |
| publication | 1934 - ca.1939 |
| production | WBT |
| Contributors | |
| Moderation | "Uncle Tom" Fincher |
The Crazy Barn Dance was an American country show broadcast by WBT and WPTF from North Carolina .
history
At WBT
Crazy Water Chrystals opened a subsidiary in Charlotte in 1933 . They quickly began to sponsor radio broadcasts via the widely audible broadcaster WBT. In March 1934 the Crazy Barn Dance, named after Crazy Water Chrystals, was broadcast. The show's ensemble consisted of amateur and professional string bands from the region who played traditional old-time music .
In addition to groups like the Dixon Brothers , Mainer's Mountaineers , the Blue Sky Boys , Homer "Pappy" Sherill and his Crazy Blue Ridge Hillbillies , the Crazy Tennessee Ramblers and others, the Monroe Brothers in particular attracted attention with their lightning-fast instrumental performances. It was they who ensured the Barn Danc good ratings and an auditorium that was always sold out. Even so, the show was far more popular in Raleigh , North Carolina than in Charlotte.
In the fall of 1935, the Crazy Barn Dance on WBT came to an end as the broadcaster and Crazy Water Chrystals had disputes over finances.
At WPTF
Crazy Water Chrystals moved the Crazy Barn Dance to WPTF, a rising station in Raleigh. With the presenter Hubert Thomas "Uncle Tom" Fincher, the ensemble traveled through the eastern part of North Carolina and held their shows, which were broadcast live over the radio, in various auditoriums. The success was still resounding for the conditions at the time; On the evening of June 20, 1936, 3000 spectators stood in front of a Crazy Barn Dance, although the auditorium could only hold 1500 people, so that half had to leave.
WBTF brought in some new musicians like the Alamence Ramblers, Roxboro's Allensville Stringband, the Lonesome Trailers and many more. It was later broadcast via WHAS from Louisville , Kentucky . Newcomers here included the Log Cabin Boys .
The Crazy Barn Dance likely came to an end in the late 1930s or early 1940s.
Guests and members
- The Monroe Brothers
- The Blue Sky Boys
- The Dixon Brothers
- The Three Tobacco Tags
- Mainer's Mountaineers
- Homer Sherrill and his Crazy Blue Ridge Hillbillies
- Log cabin boys
- The Crazy Tennessee Ramblers
- The Alamence Ramblers
- Roxboro's Allensville Stringband
- The Lonesome Trailers
- CR Pittman's Nite Owl Band
- Benson's Johnston County Ramblers
- The Midnight Ramblers
- JH Bledsoe's and his Melon Growers
literature
- Tom Warlick, Lucy Warlick, Robert Inman: The WBT Briarhoppers (2007), p. 13; McFarland, ISBN 078643144X
- Bob Carlin, Steve Terrill: String Bands in the North Carolina Piedmont (2004), pp. 181-183; McFarland, ISBN 0786418265