''National Barn Dance'', broadcast by

WLS-AM WLS (890 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, through licensee Radio License Holdings LLC, the station airs a talk radio format. WLS studios are in the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

starting in 1924, was one of the first American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

programs and a direct precursor of the ''

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

''. ''National Barn Dance'' also set the stage for other similar programs, in part because the

clear-channel A clear-channel station is a North American AM broadcasting, AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classifi ...

signal of WLS could be received throughout most of the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and even beyond in the late evening and nighttime hours, making much of the

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(and

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) a potential audience. The program was well received and thus widely imitated. ''National Barn Dance'' ended its broadcast in 1968.

History

''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, and ''National 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 by

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

in 1933.Young, William H. and Young, Nancy K. (2007). ''The Great Depression in America'', p. 345. Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. NBC expanded the program's coverage in 1942, adding it to the schedules of international broadcast shortwave stations. In 1946, it switched to the

ABC Radio Network Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which ...

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 WLS ''Barn 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 of WSM Radio c. 1925

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Tennessee. The show regularly featured

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

Henry Burr Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Ale ...

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

, The Three Little Maids,

Jenny Lou Carson Jenny Lou Carson, (January 13, 1915 – December 16, 1978), born Virginia Lucille Overstake, was an American country music singer-songwriter and the first woman to write a No. 1 country music hit. From 1945 to 1955 she was one of the most prolif ...

, Eddie Dean,

Lulu Belle and Scotty Myrtle Eleanor Cooper (December 24, 1913 – February 8, 1999) and Scott Greene Wiseman (November 8, 1909 – January 31, 1981), known professionally as Lulu Belle and Scotty, were one of the major country music acts of the 1930s and 1940s, dubb ...

Pat Buttram Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram (June 19, 1915 – January 8, 1994) was an American character actor. Buttram was known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the television series ''Green Acres''. He had ...

George Gobel George Leslie Goebel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991) was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, ''The George Gobel Show'', on NBC from 1954 to 1959 and o ...

The Williams Brothers The Williams Brothers featuring Andy Williams were a singing quartet formed in the mid 1930s. They initially entertained on radio stations and later appeared in four musical films in the 1940s. After recording with Bing Crosby led to a nightcl ...

(featuring future crooner

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

Arkansas Woodchopper Arkansas Woodchopper, or Arkie (b. Luther Ossenbrink, March 2, 1906 - June 23, 1981) was an American country musician. He was born in the Ozarks near Knob Noster, Missouri, to a family who owned a farm and a general store. He taught himself to ...

The DeZurik Sisters The DeZurik Sisters (also known as The Cackle Sisters) were a country-music duo. They were two of the first women to become stars on both the ''National Barn Dance'' and the ''Grand Ole Opry'', largely a result of their original yodeling style. ...

and the

Hoosier Hot Shots The Hoosier Hot Shots were an American quartet of musicians who entertained on stage, screen, radio, and records from the mid-1930s into the 1970s. The group formed in Indiana where they performed on local radio before moving to Chicago and a ...

. Other guests included

Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and ...

Eddie Peabody Edwin Ellsworth Peabody (February 19, 1902 – November 7, 1970) was an American banjo player, instrument developer, and musical entertainer whose career spanned five decades. He was the most famous plectrum banjoist of his era. Early life ...

and Joe Kelly, best remembered today as the host and moderator of NBC's ''

Quiz Kids ''Quiz Kids'' is a radio and TV series originally broadcast in the 1940s and 1950s. Created by Chicago public relations and advertising man Louis G. Cowan, and originally sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, the series was first broadcast on NBC from ...

''. The announcer was Jack Holden and it was once sponsored by

Alka-Seltzer Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever owned by Bayer since 1978. First marketed by the Dr. Miles Medicine Company of Elkhart, Indiana, United States, Alka-Seltzer contains three active ingredients: aspirin (acetylsalicylic ac ...

. 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 to ''National Barn Dances 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 to

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

, canceling ''National Barn Dance'' outright. The show moved to Chicago's

WGN-AM WGN (720 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a talk radio format. WGN's studios are in the Chicago Loop, while the transmitter is in Elk Grove Village. WGN also features broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hockey ...

, with

Orion Samuelson Orion Samuelson ( ; born March 31, 1934) is a retired American broadcaster, known for his agriculture broadcasts and his ability to explain agribusiness and food production in an understandable way. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in ...

as the show's host, until it finally left the air in 1968.

Chronology

*1924–33: WLS (AM) **1925–28: Two separate versions, WLS-AM (''National Barn Dance'') and

WSM-AM WSM (650 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station, located in Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a country music format (with classic country and Americana leanings, the latter of which is branded as "Route 650") and is known as the home of the ...

(''WSM Barn Dance''); the latter became the ''

'' in 1928 *1933–46: WLS (AM), carried by NBC Radio *1946–52: WLS (AM), carried by ABC Radio *1952–60: WLS (AM) *1960–68:

Performers

Film and TV

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 and Lee Loeb. The film starred

Jean Heather Jean Heather (February 21, 1921 – October 29, 1995 ) was an American actress who appeared in eight feature films during the 1940s. Early years Heather was the only child of Dewey and Florence Heatherington. She was born in Omaha. After ...

Charles Quigley Charles Quigley (February 12, 1906 – August 5, 1964) was an American actor. Early years Quigley was the son of Charles P. Quigley, who was a sales manager for a hardware business. He was a 1924 graduate of New Britain High School, and h ...

Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist, newspaper columnist and actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays ...

Mabel Paige Mabel Paige (December 19, 1880 – February 9, 1954) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Paige was born in New York City. She began acting at age four, when she appeared in ''Van, the Virginian''. Career When she was 11 ...

and

Charles Dingle Charles Dingle (December 28, 1887 – January 19, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early life Dingle was born December 28, 1887, in Wabash, Indiana. His father was John Crockett Dingle, and he was said to be a descendant of Dav ...

, while

and Joe Kelly appeared as themselves. Two acts who were radio show regulars, The Hoosier Hotshots and

The Dinning Sisters The Dinning Sisters were an American sisters singing group, active from the late 1930s to 1955. They made a handful of film appearances and had several hit records at the height of their popularity in the late 1940s. The trio originally consist ...

, also had featured musical spots in the film. Paramount Pictures reportedly paid WLS $75,000 for the rights in 1943. '' ABC Barn Dance'', a filmed TV series featuring some of the radio performers, was telecast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

from February 21–November 14, 1949. Hosted by Jack Stillwell and Hal O'Halloran, the 30-minute musical variety format presented a mix of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

with country and Western tunes. In 1964, it became a nationally syndicated program through Mid-America Video Tape Productions, then a subsidiary of television station

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...

in Chicago (the predecessor of

Tribune Entertainment Tribune Entertainment (formerly Mid-America Video Tape Productions, WGN Continental Productions, Tribune Productions and Tribune Entertainment Company) was a television production and broadcast syndication company owned and operated by Tribune Br ...

Offshoots

In 1925, prior to network radio or syndication, Hay brought his ''Barn Dance'' concept to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The result was a show called the '' WSM Barn Dance''. It became so popular that on December 10, 1927, Hay renamed it the ''

''. WSM became one of the first NBC affiliates in 1927, and the ''Opry'' is still on the air today. A second program was launched in the 1930s by ''National Barn Dances then-president John Lair in

Renfro Valley, Kentucky Renfro Valley is a neighborhood located just off Interstate 75 at the junction of U.S. Route 25 and Kentucky Route 2793 north of Mount Vernon, the county seat of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, United States. The community has its own United St ...

; the ''

Renfro Valley Barn Dance ''Renfro Valley Barn Dance'' was an American country music stage and radio show originally carried by WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday nights. It debuted on October 9, 1937, from the Cincinnati Music Hall and moved to the Memorial Auditoriu ...

'' still takes place weekly but is no longer aired on radio (although a sister program, the ''

Renfro Valley Gatherin' ''Renfro Valley Gatherin' '' (also formerly known as ''Renfro Valley Sunday Morning Gathering '') is a United States radio program based in Renfro Valley, Kentucky. The Gatherin' is the third oldest continually broadcast radio program in Americ ...

'', does still air weekly on Sunday mornings).

References

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.

Listen to

''National Barn Dance'' (October 2, 1943)

External links

WLS National Barn Dance
*{{IMDb title, qid=Q42049101, title=National Barn Dance
PBS: The Hayloft Gang: The Story of the National Barn Dance
1924 radio programme debuts 1968 radio programme endings 1920s American radio programs 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs American country music radio programs Chicago radio shows NBC Blue Network radio programs NBC radio programs ABC radio programs