Don Messer's Jubilee was a television folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 musical variety show

Variety show

A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...

 produced at station CBHT

CBHT

CBHT is the flagship station of CBC Television in the Atlantic Time Zone of Canada. CBHT broadcasts on terrestrial channel 39 at 157.54 kW and cable channel 11 in the Halifax metro area...

 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and broadcast by 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...

 nationwide from 1957 until 1969.

Taking its name from band leader and fiddler Don Messer

Donald Charles Frederick Messer

Donald Charles Frederick Messer was a Canadian musician and defining icon of folk music during the 1960s....

, the half-hour weekly program featured Messer and his band "Don Messer and His Islanders", as well as a guest performer. The show followed a consistent format throughout its years, beginning with a tune named "Goin' to the Barndance Tonight", followed by fiddle tunes by Messer, songs from some of his "Islanders" including singers Marg Osburne

Marg Osburne

Marg Osburne was a Canadian country, folk and gospel singer.-History:She was born in Moncton, New Brunswick and received her vocal training as a member of a community choir. When she was 17 her cousin made her a bet that she did not have the nerve to answer a newspaper advertisement for a female...

 and Charlie Chamberlain

Charlie Chamberlain

Charlie Chamberlain was a featured entertainer on Don Messer's Jubilee, which ran from 1957 through 1969 on CBC Television.-Death:...

, the featured guest performance, and a closing hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

. It ended with "Till We Meet Again".

The series began 7 November 1957 as a regional program limited to CBC's Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 and New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

 stations. On 7 August 1959, CBC stations throughout Canada carried the show as a summer replacement for Country Hoedown

Country Hoedown

Country Hoedown was a Canadian country music television series which aired on CBC Television from 1956 to 1965.-Premise:Gordie Tapp 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...

s Friday evening time slot. That fall, Don Messer's Jubilee became a regular season CBC series as of 28 September 1959, becoming a Monday night fixture until its final 1968-1969 season when it returned to the Friday evening timeslot.

Outside of Hockey Night In Canada

Hockey Night in Canada

Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...

, in the mid-1960s Don Messer's Jubilee was the #1 show in the country, earning higher ratings than even the imported CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....

. The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including Stompin' Tom Connors

Stompin' Tom Connors

Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known country and folk singers.He lives in Wellington County, Ontario.- Early life :...

 and Catherine McKinnon

Catherine McKinnon (actress)

Catherine McKinnon is a Canadian actress and folk/pop singer.McKinnon began as a child performer, making her first radio appearance at age eight and her television debut at age 12. She subsequently studied music at Mount St...

.

The cancellation of the show by the public broadcaster in 1969 caused a nationwide protest, including the raising of questions by Members of Parliament in the House of Commons. The last CBC broadcast was on June 20, 1969. Independent TV station CHCH-TV

CHCH-TV

CHCH-DT, channel 11, is a television station originating in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with transmitters located throughout Ontario. CHCH currently operates as an independent station, having previously served as a CBC Television affiliate, and more recently as the flagship station of the...

 in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

 picked up the show for about four years and was distributed to stations throughout Canada in syndication—the show ended following Messer's death in 1973.

See Also

• Singalong Jubilee
  Singalong Jubilee
  Singalong Jubilee was a CBC Television program produced between 1961 and 1974. It featured musical performances by local talent, playing folk, country and gospel music, in studio on stage, and on location...
  
  , another musical series produced at CBC Halifax at the same time as Don Messer's program, and which featured many of the same performers.

External links

• Don Messer's Violin: Frank Leahy
• Queen's University Directory of CBC Television Series, accessed 4 February 2007