Country Hoedown
Encyclopedia
Country Hoedown was a Canadian
country music television series which aired on CBC Television
from 1956 to 1965.
hosted the series and also performed in sketches portraying characters such as Cousin Clem which he later reprised for Hee Haw
.
King Ganam and his band, the Sons of the West, were featured from the initial years of the series. Ganam's band included Tommy Hunter
who later starred in his own CBC series.
Performers frequently seen on the series included Al Cherney, Tommy Common, Johnny Davidson, Mary Frances, Pat Hervey and Wally Traugot. Lorraine Foreman and the Hames Sisters came from the Pick the Stars series. Gordon Lightfoot
was at one point a member of the Singing Swinging Eight, the programme's square dance singing ensemble. The Country Hoedown orchestra was led by Lloyd Cooper.
Episodes began with the song "Come Right In. It's Country Hoedown time", then Tapp's welcome message, "Hi there, friends and neighbours." The concluding song, featuring the whole cast, was "Love is the Only Thing".
in 1956. From 28 September 1956, it aired Fridays at 9:30 p.m. as a regular season programme until July 1959. From October 1959, it was rescheduled to 8:00 p.m., still on Fridays, until its final episode was broadcast on 25 June 1965.
International Surveys television ratings in 1960 and 1961 indicated that Country Hoedown and Don Messer's Jubilee
were most popular among rural viewers, and among viewers outside British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Other surveys indicated that the show received higher approval than for the other Toronto-produced CBC variety productions. However, its popularity deteriorated by the mid-1960s despite improvements to the sketch content and the sets. Country Hoedown was later succeeded by the relatively flashy The Tommy Hunter Show.
Television in Canada
Television in Canada officially began with the opening of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, are strongly influenced by the American media, perhaps...
country music television series which aired on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
from 1956 to 1965.
Premise
Gordie TappGordie Tapp
Gordon Robert "Gordie" Tapp, CM, O.Ont is a Canadian entertainer.Tapp studied at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts. He was the host for Main Street Jamboree, a radio program broadcast from Hamilton during the 1950s. Tapp later hosted the CBC television show Country Hoedown...
hosted the series and also performed in sketches portraying characters such as Cousin Clem which he later reprised for Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
.
King Ganam and his band, the Sons of the West, were featured from the initial years of the series. Ganam's band included Tommy Hunter
Tommy Hunter
Thomas James "Tommy" Hunter, CM, O.Ont is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman".-Career:...
who later starred in his own CBC series.
Performers frequently seen on the series included Al Cherney, Tommy Common, Johnny Davidson, Mary Frances, Pat Hervey and Wally Traugot. Lorraine Foreman and the Hames Sisters came from the Pick the Stars series. Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
was at one point a member of the Singing Swinging Eight, the programme's square dance singing ensemble. The Country Hoedown orchestra was led by Lloyd Cooper.
Episodes began with the song "Come Right In. It's Country Hoedown time", then Tapp's welcome message, "Hi there, friends and neighbours." The concluding song, featuring the whole cast, was "Love is the Only Thing".
Scheduling and reception
Country Hoedown aired on Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. as a mid-year substitute for On CameraOn Camera
On Camera was a Canadian dramatic anthology television series which aired on CBC Television from 1954 to 1958.-Premise:Various dramatic and comedic works were featured in On Camera, as written or adapted by Canadian writers.-Scheduling:...
in 1956. From 28 September 1956, it aired Fridays at 9:30 p.m. as a regular season programme until July 1959. From October 1959, it was rescheduled to 8:00 p.m., still on Fridays, until its final episode was broadcast on 25 June 1965.
International Surveys television ratings in 1960 and 1961 indicated that Country Hoedown and Don Messer's Jubilee
Don Messer's Jubilee
Don Messer's Jubilee was a television folk musical variety show produced at station CBHT in Halifax, Nova Scotia and broadcast by CBC Television nationwide from 1957 until 1969....
were most popular among rural viewers, and among viewers outside British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Other surveys indicated that the show received higher approval than for the other Toronto-produced CBC variety productions. However, its popularity deteriorated by the mid-1960s despite improvements to the sketch content and the sets. Country Hoedown was later succeeded by the relatively flashy The Tommy Hunter Show.