Old Kentucky Barn Dance
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|
|---|---|
| Radio show from Louisville, Kentucky | |
| publication | 1949 - at least 1959 |
| production | WHAS |
| Contributors | |
| Moderation | Randy Atcher, Tom Brooks |
The Old Kentucky Barn Dance was an American country show broadcast by WHAS of Louisville , Kentucky .
history
Beginnings
WHAS was the first radio station in Kentucky and presented many old-time and country musicians such as the guitar and vocal duo Cliff Carlisle & Wilbur Ball in the early 1930s .
In 1949, WHAS initiated the Old Kentucky Barn Dance to follow the trend of successful barn dance shows. The show was first streamed from an old barn in Lexington , Kentucky, but later moved to Louisville, where the show ran from 6pm to 7pm. The star of the show was Randy Atcher , who already had his own show on WHAS and WHAS-TV and his companion group, the Red River Ramblers, provided the show's house band. The Barn Dance was initially sponsored by the local Eureka Flour Company, later sponsors such as Lucky Strike (from 1954) followed.
Ascent
The show grew in popularity, and by the 1950s the Old Kentucky Barn Dance was one of the major country live shows in America. Starting in 1952, the Columbia Broadcasting System took the show in their Saturday Night Country Style segment, in which one of six country shows were broadcast nationally each week. In addition, one could follow the Barn Dance via AFN in weekly alternation with the Louisiana Hayride , the Big D Jamboree and the Old Dominion Barn Dance in Germany ; this was set up primarily for soldiers stationed in the Federal Republic.
On September 12 and 19, there were two special shows at the Kentucky State Fair that were repeated at the Indiana State Fair. The Old Kentucky Barn Dance was also broadcast from other cities in Kentucky and Indiana . During the show's most successful times, over 100,000 people attended the Old Kentucky Barn Dance.
The End
At the end of the 1950s, the "golden age" of the Barn Dance Show was over and over time WHAS changed its format largely to a news channel. The last show of the Old Kentucky Barn Dance was on December 23rd.
Guests and members
- Randy Atcher and the Red River Ramblers
- Bobby Lewis
- Flatt and Scruggs
- Randall Parker
- Buddy Bell & the Bell Family
- Oscar Goobertooth Shagnasty
- Sleepy Marlin
- Sharp twins
- Tiny tomail
- Shorty Chester
- Judy Marshall
- Bernie Smith
- Bill Pickett
- Martha Ford
- Mary Ann Johnson
- Cactus Tom Brooks
- The House Sisters
- Maggie May
Web links
- Old Kentucky Barn Dance, WHAS on Hillbilly-Music.com
- The Old Kentucky Barn Dance (RadiogoldIndex)