National Barn Dance, broadcast byWLS-AM inChicago,Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first Americancountry musicradio programs and a direct precursor of theGrand Ole Opry.[1]
National Barn Dance also set the stage for other similar programs, in part because theclear-channel signal of WLS could be received throughout most of theMidwest and even beyond in the late evening and nighttime hours, making much of theUnited States (andCanada) a potential audience. The program was well received and thus widely imitated.National Barn Dance ended its broadcast in 1968.
National Barn Dance was founded by Edgar L. Bill. To him goes the credit for arranging to have a program of "down-home" tunes broadcast from radio station WLS, of which Bill was then director. Having lived on a farm, he knew how people loved the familiar sound and informal spirit of old-fashioned barn dance music. The first broadcast was an impromptu sustaining program. An avalanche of telephone calls and letters indicated a definite demand from the public for this type of broadcast, andNational Barn Dance was born. It first aired on WLS on April 19, 1924, and originated from the Eighth Street Theater starting in 1931. The show was picked up byNBC Radio in 1933.[2] NBC expanded the program's coverage in 1942, adding it to the schedules ofinternational broadcastshortwave stations.[3] In 1946, it switched to theABC Radio Network and aired until 1952 on Saturday nights from 6:30 p.m. to midnight.
George D. Hay (a.k.a. The Solemn Ole Judge) has always claimed that he started the WLSBarn Dance when he worked for them as an announcer, but research is showing that this was a falsehood of documented history and that his claim was to help him get a job as the first director ofWSM Radio c. 1925Nashville, Tennessee.
The show regularly featuredGene Autry,Henry Burr,Red Foley,The Three Little Maids,Jenny Lou Carson,Eddie Dean,Lulu Belle and Scotty,Pat Buttram,George Gobel,The Williams Brothers (featuring future croonerAndy Williams),Arkansas Woodchopper,The DeZurik Sisters and theHoosier Hot Shots. Other guests includedSmiley Burnette,Eddie Peabody and Joe Kelly, best remembered today as the host and moderator of NBC'sQuiz Kids. The announcer was Jack Holden and it was once sponsored byAlka-Seltzer. The program aired from The Center Theater in Chicago, and people used to stand outside in the snow and cold waiting to get in. The National Barn Dance was the only known radio program to charge an admission fee.
ABC made two moves that ultimately led toNational Barn Dance's slow demise. The first was the cancellation of the network broadcast in 1952. After a few years, audiences finally began to wane, and the program ceased live performances after 1957. The show continued to air on WLS until 1959 when ABC bought the station and changed the format toTop 40rock and roll, cancelingNational Barn Dance outright. The show moved to Chicago'sWGN-AM, withOrion Samuelson as the show's host, until it finally left the air in 1968.[4]
A fictionalized account of the show's origins,The National Barn Dance (1944), was filmed by director Hugh Bennett from a screenplay by Hal Fimberg andLee Loeb. The film starredJean Heather,Charles Quigley,Robert Benchley,Mabel Paige andCharles Dingle, whilePat Buttram and Joe Kelly appeared as themselves. Two acts who were radio show regulars,The Hoosier Hotshots andThe Dinning Sisters, also had featured musical spots in the film. Paramount Pictures reportedly paid WLS $75,000 for the rights in 1943.[6]
ABC Barn Dance, a filmed TV series featuring some of the radio performers, was telecast onABC from February 21–November 14, 1949. Hosted by Jack Stillwell andHal O'Halloran, the 30-minute musical variety format presented a mix offolk music with country and Western tunes.
In 1964, it became a nationally syndicated program through Mid-America Video Tape Productions, then a subsidiary of television stationWGN-TV in Chicago (the predecessor ofTribune Entertainment).[7]
In 1925, prior to network radio or syndication, Hay brought hisBarn Dance concept toNashville, Tennessee. The result was a show called theWSM Barn Dance. It became so popular that on December 10, 1927, Hay renamed it theGrand Ole Opry. WSM became one of the first NBC affiliates in 1927, and theOpry is still on the air today.
A second program was launched in the 1930s byNational Barn Dance's then-president John Lair inRenfro Valley, Kentucky; theRenfro Valley Barn Dance still takes place weekly but is no longer aired on radio (although a sister program, theRenfro Valley Gatherin', does still air weekly on Sunday mornings).
Prairie Farmer WLS National Barn Dance Crew photograph dated June 16, 1934 in "WLS Family Album 1935." Chicago: The Prairie Farmer Publishing Company, 1934, p. 30.
