Ozark Jubilee is a 1950s American television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri."Hillbilly TV Show Hits the Big Time" (March 10, 1956), Business Week, p. 30: "...Springfield has gone a long way toward replacing Nashville as the recognized center of the country music world." The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed Country Music Jubilee on July 6, 1957, and was finally named Jubilee USA on August 2, 1958.Program listing (August 2, 1958), TV Guide, Vol. 6, No. 31, p. A-12 Originating "from the heart of the Ozarks", the Saturday nightExcept for brief runs on Thursday and Monday variety series helped popularize country music in America's cities and suburbs,Shulman, Art "Dynamo–Country Style" (July 7, 1956), TV Guide, p. 28 drawing more than nine million viewers. The ABC Radio version was heard by millions more starting in August 1954.
A typical program included a mix of vocal and instrumental performances, comedy routines, square dancing and an occasional novelty act. The host was Red Foley, one of the nation's top country music personalities having been ranked by Billboard as the #5 Top Country Artist for the 1940s and #5 in the 1950s."Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs 1944-2017" Big names such as Patsy Cline, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash and Faron Young were interspersed with a regular cast, including a group of young talent the Jubilee brought to national fame: 11-year-old Brenda Lee, Porter Wagoner, Wanda Jackson, Sonny James, Jean Shepard and The Browns. Other featured cast members were Webb Pierce, Bobby Lord, Leroy Van Dyke, Norma Jean and Carl Smith.
Carl Perkins, singing "Blue Suede Shoes", made his TV debut on the series, which showcased hundreds of popular artists performing everything from rockabilly, country and western, bluegrass and honky tonk to the Nashville sound, gospel and folk. Several now-legendary session musicians provided accompaniment at times during the show's run, including Grady Martin, Hank Garland, Bob Moore, Charlie Haden, Cecil Brower, Tommy Jackson and Bud Isaacs. The genial Foley closed each show from the Jewell Theatre in downtown Springfield with a "song of inspiration" or a recitation from his Keepsake Album;A small softbound booklet offered to viewers containing inspirational anecdotes and poetry Foley had collected. WSM sold a similar booklet when he was with the Grand Ole Opry titled, Red Foley's Sacred Album. and his sign-off was "Goodnight mama, goodnight papa", before walking into the audience to shake hands as the credits rolled.
The Jubilee was canceled after almost six years as rock and roll grew in popularity, and in part because of publicity surrounding tax evasion charges against Foley, who was later acquitted. On September 24, 1960, the final telecast, like the first in 1955, opened with Foley's singing of "Hearts of Stone". The program concluded with his performance of "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You". The series was voted Best Country Music Show by Fame magazine's annual TV critics poll in 1957 and 1960. In 1961, NBC-TV carried a spin-off, Five Star Jubilee.
Earlier country music television programs
The first (and first live) country music program on network television was Village Barn, broadcast from 1948–50 by NBC from a New York City nightclub. From the late 1940s through the 1950s, the U.S. networks carried a handful of other country music shows, including Hayloft Hoedown and ABC Barn Dance (ABC); Saturday Night Jamboree (NBC); and Windy City Jamboree and The Old American Barn Dance (DuMont). NBC and later ABC also aired Midwestern Hayride. The shows, however, were generally short-lived summer replacements and had few if any well-known performers.
Ozark Jubilee was the first network TV program to feature America's top country music stars, and as a result, was the first country music program to attract a significant national viewership."'Ozark Jubilee' Hits ARB Top for May TV" (June 11, 1955), The Billboard, p. 22 At five years and eight months, it also holds the record for the longest-running country music series on network television (Hee Haw was syndicated after two years on CBS, and Austin City Limits presents a much broader variety of music).
ABC-TV schedules (all times are Eastern Time—all running times include commercial breaks) 1954–55 season (Ozark Jubilee) Starting January 22, 1955: Saturday, 9–10 p.m. Starting July 2, 1955: Saturday, 7:30–9 p.m. 1955–56 season (Ozark Jubilee): Saturday, 7:30–9 p.m. 1956–57 season (Ozark Jubilee) Starting October 4, 1956: Thursday, 10–11 p.m. Starting December 29, 1956: Saturday, 8–9 p.m. 1957–58 season (Country Music Jubilee): Saturday, 8–9 p.m. 1958–59 season (Jubilee USA) Starting September 29, 1958: Monday, 8–8:30 p.m. Starting November 1, 1958: Saturday, 8–9 p.m. 1959–60 season (Jubilee USA) Starting October 3, 1959: Saturday, 10–11 p.m. – September 24, 1960
From October 15, 1955, to September 15, 1956, the program aired from 7:30–8 p.m. every fourth Saturday when ABC televised The Grand Ole Opry live from 8–9 p.m. From March through September 1956, the "Junior Jubilee" edition aired in the 7:30–8 p.m. time slot.Weekly program listings (1955–1960), TV Guide, Vols. 3–8 In contrast to many network series which went on summer hiatus, the Jubilee was live throughout the year.
Red Foley and the rise of Springfield
During the late 1940s and 1950s, Springfield broadcasters Ralph Foster, Si Siman, John Mahaffey (Foster's nephew), and Lester E. Cox produced nationally syndicated radio shows through their company, RadiOzark Enterprises. The programs were aired locally over KWTO, also a stepping-stone for numerous country stars.Misurrell, Ed "How a Local Boy's Hobby Brought TV to the Ozarks" (October 2, 1955), "Pictorial TView", New York Journal American, p. 9 Their stable of country music shows and talent grew, and Foster believed Springfield could dethrone Nashville to become the "crossroads of country music."Misurrell, Ed "How a Local Boy's Hobby Brought TV to the Ozarks" (October 2, 1955), "Pictorial TView", New York Journal American, p. 9 He realized television was the key, and named his new company Crossroads TV Productions, Inc., with Siman, Cox, and Mahaffey as managing vice presidents. In December 1953, they launched Ozark Jubilee on Springfield's KYTV-TV, of which Cox was also co-owner."Hillbilly TV Show Hits the Big Time" (March 10, 1956), Business Week, p. 30
In April 1954, after extensive negotiations, Siman lured Red Foley from Nashville to host the show with a one-year contract, renewed for three more in 1955.Sachs, Bill "Folk Talent & Tunes" (July 30, 1955), The Billboard, p. 20 It was a major coup; Foley was considered by many to be America's top country music star. In 1946 he replaced Roy Acuff as emcee of the Grand Ole Opry segment carried by NBC Radio, and his popularity during the following eight years was credited with establishing it as the number one country music show. Three months later, in July 1954, ABC-TV agreed to buy the Jubilee;"Hillbilly TV Show Hits the Big Time" (March 10, 1956), Business Week, p. 30 and by August, was carrying a radio version hosted by Foley that had begun in July on KWTO.
To represent the regular performers on KWTO and the Jubilee, in March 1955 Foster established Top Talent, Inc., in partnership with Siman; and to publish their songs, Siman established Earl Barton Music, Inc. with partners Foster, Mahaffey and Cox.Misurrell, Ed "How a Local Boy's Hobby Brought TV to the Ozarks" (October 2, 1955), "Pictorial TView", New York Journal American, p. 9 Siman also handled talent bookings for the show. Foster, known by cast and crew as "the Skipper", made an appearance on the final broadcast of Jubilee USA, singing "Woodman, Spare that Tree".
By 1956, Springfield, with two other ABC shows,The Eddy Arnold Show (1956) and Talent Varieties (1955) ranked behind only New York and Hollywood for originating network television programming. Top Talent was booking Jubilee artists across the country, and that April, the Jubilee had finished third among men."ARB Top Shows Among Men" (May 26, 1956), The Billboard, p. 9 According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that February, "Springfield has become the recognized center of the country music world. In fact, it is generally agreed in television, recording and radio circles, that Springfield, now a city of 90,000, has shaken Nashville, Tennessee, home of The Grand Ole Opry and long-time mecca of hillbilly musicians, to its very foundations."Terry, Dickson "Hillbilly Music Center" (February 5, 1956) St. Louis Post-Dispatch "The Everyday Magazine", p. 1 But the 1957 departures of Porter Wagoner and Brenda Lee to the Music City signaled the shift would not be permanent, and Springfield never generated the business or revenues of Nashville.
Publicity surrounding federal income tax evasion charges pending against Foley during 1960 influenced ABC's decision to cancel the program, although his first trial that fall ended in a hung jury; and after a second trial he was quickly acquitted on April 23, 1961."Foley Acquitted Of Tax Evasion" (April 23, 1961), Springfield Leader & Press, p. A1 The previous October, ABC had begun airing the popular Fight of the Week in the Jubilee's former time slot (the show had replaced The Saturday Night Fights in 1955).
Performers
Cast
The Ozark Jubilee cast was originally headlined by Wanda Jackson, Norma Jean, Bobby Lord, Webb Pierce, Marvin Rainwater, Porter Wagoner and Slim Wilson, who was also front man for both the Tall Timber Trio, made up of "Speedy" Haworth (guitar), Bob White (bass guitar) and "Doc" Martin (steel guitar); and the Jubilee Band, composed of Haworth, Martin, White, Johnny Gailey (drums), Paul Mitchell (piano) and Zed Tennis (fiddle). Featured vocalists included Leroy Van Dyke, Suzi Arden, Chuck Bowers, Sonny James, Tommy Sosebee and Tabby West.Ozark Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album (second edition, 1956), © Ozark Jubilee's Crossroads Store Singers Hawkshaw Hawkins and Jean Shepard, who met on the show, later married.
The versatile 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 country music comedy duos. Other comedians were Pete Stamper, Shug Fisher, KWTO's Bill Ring, Uncle Cyp and Aunt Sap Brasfield, and Luke Warmwater.
The cast also included The Foggy River Boys, a singing quartet later known as The Marksmen (George Richardson, Les Robertson, Don Taylor and Earl Terry); Harold Morrison (banjo) and Jimmy Gately (guitar), a bluegrass duo; and The Wagoner Trio, made up of Wagoner, Haworth and Don Warden (steel guitar).
The house band was first known as The Crossroads Boys, composed of Grady Martin, Billy Burke, Bud Isaacs, Tommy Jackson, Paul Mitchell, Jimmy Selph, Bob Moore and Mel Bly; but the name was soon changed to Bill Wimberly and His Country Rhythm Boys, a seven-piece group that alternated weekly during 1955 with Grady Martin and His Winging Strings, featuring Moore, Jackson, Isaacs and Hank Garland.
Pierce hosted the first half-hour of the 90-minute programs once a month beginning October 15, 1955;Sachs, Bill "Folk Talent & Tunes" (October 15, 1955), The Billboard, p. 47 Wagoner and James joined him in monthly rotation from January through at least July 1956.Weekly program listings (1955–1956), TV Guide, Vols. 3–4 Substitute hosts included Wilson, Eddy Arnold, and Jim Reeves (May–July 1958). The on-camera announcer was Joe Slattery, a former Pan Am and US Army Air Forces pilot who later became president of AFTRA.