Title:

The National Barn Dance

Type:

Country/Western musical variety

Length:

60 minutes and 30 minutes

Broadcast history:

Apr 19, 1924 - Sep 23, 1933 Locally on WLS in Chicago. Sponsored by Alka-Seltzer

beginning about 1929.

Sep 30, 1933 - June 22, 1940 NBC Blue network. Saturdays at 10:30 PM.

June 29, 1940 - Sep 28, 1946 NBC Red network. Saturdays at 9:00 PM. Became a 30

minute program beginning July 4, 1942.

Mar 19, 1949 - Mar 11, 1950 ABC. Saturdays at 10:00 PM for 30 minutes. Sponsored

by Phillips Milk of Magnesia.

Mar 18, 1950 - April 30, 1960 Locally on station WLW in Cincinnati.

1960 - 1970 Locally on station WGN in Chicago.

Cast:

Hal O'Halloran as Host (at WLS)

Joe Kelly as Host (from Sept 30, 1933 on)

Glenn Welty Orchestra

This mainstay of the airwaves was so popular that it was one of the few radio shows able to charge admission. In 1928 it had to move out of its WLS home into the 1200 seat Eighth Street Theater in Chicago. Its growth and popularity equaled that of Grand Ole Opry. For much of its run the ratings battle between the two was neck-and-neck….one show winning one year and the other winning the next year. Surveys showed the show with a national audience exceeding ten million. But those figures are misleading. The show was rated just like any other network program…by surveys of metropolitan urban areas. If listeners in the Deep South and the American farming heartland had been counted, it's strength and popularity would have been much much larger.

The shows stage was dressed out like a country barn, complete with hayloft and bales of hay for the performers to sit on. The talent was decidedly rustic. Many of them were from the boondocks with little formal training. Kazoo's, slide whistles, washboards, and klazons were all part of the mix. But the orchestra also included musicians from the Chicago Symphony, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Chicago Civic Opera Company. This country mix of music, comedy, and dance had a long long radio life.

Announcer: Jack Holden

Sources:

On the Air - John Dunning

The Big Broadcast - Buxton and Owen

The 2^nd Ultimate History…. - Jay Hickerson