# Midwestern Hayride > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Midwestern_Hayride > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Midwestern_Hayride.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_Hayride > Source revision: 1336649962 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | country = United States | network = {{Plain list| *[WLW-T](/source/WLWT) *[NBC](/source/NBC) *[ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company)}} | first_aired = {{Start date|1951}} | last_aired = {{End date|1959}} }} '''''Midwestern Hayride''''', sometimes known as '''''Midwest Hayride''''' and later '''''Hayride''''', is an American [country music](/source/country_music) show originating in the 1930s from radio station [WLW](/source/WLW) and later from television station [WLW-T](/source/WLWT) in [Cincinnati, Ohio](/source/Cincinnati%2C_Ohio). During the 1950s it was carried nationally by [NBC](/source/NBC) and then [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company) television.{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television |date=1997 |publisher=Watson-Guptill Publications |isbn=978-0823083152 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat|url-access=registration |accessdate=22 March 2020|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/288/mode/1up 288]}} The program featured live country music (performed mainly by local musicians but on lesser occasions by national stars) and what was then called "hayseed" comedy, much of which was the inspiration for the later TV series ''[Hee Haw](/source/Hee_Haw)''. It is credited as the first country music program regularly broadcast by a national network.{{cite web|title=Rising Costs Bring 'Hayride" To A Halt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FgsEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22bonnie+lou%22+state+fair&pg=PA18|website=Google Books|publisher=Billboard|accessdate=1 May 2015|page=14|date=November 10, 1956}} ==History== Inspired by the [Shreveport](/source/Shreveport%2C_Louisiana)-based ''[Louisiana Hayride](/source/Louisiana_Hayride)'', the show was originally called '''''Boone County Jamboree''''' (named for nearby [Boone County](/source/Boone_County%2C_Kentucky) in [Northern Kentucky](/source/Northern_Kentucky)). ''Midwestern Hayride'' was first broadcast before 1937 and was carried live on radio each Saturday evening through the early 1970s. Television station WLW-T came on the air in 1948, sharing larger quarters with radio station WLW in the former Elks Building, re-christened Crosley Square. It eventually became the originating studio for the regional network Avco Broadcasting Corporation, which included [WLW-A](/source/WXIA) in [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta%2C_Georgia), [WLW-D](/source/WDTN) in Dayton, [WLW-C](/source/WCMH-TV) in Columbus and later [WLW-I](/source/WTHR) in Indianapolis (after WLW-A was sold) when the program moved to television in the early 1950s. Then originating from WLW-T, ''Midwestern Hayride'' was simulcast on WLW radio until the early 1960s, then was revived in the mid-1960s. At the show's peak, there was a one-year waiting list for tickets to be in the audience (100 people was the limit for each weekly show). In 1951, ''Midwestern Hayride'' was picked up by NBC as a summer replacement for [Sid Caesar](/source/Sid_Caesar)'s ''[Your Show of Shows](/source/Your_Show_of_Shows)''. NBC aired it each of the following summers through 1956, except 1953. ABC then carried it during the summers of 1957–59. For much of its television run ''MH'' was hosted by Dean Richards, lead vocalist of The Lucky Pennies, a local singing group. Richards also introduced a "Polka Time" segment (geared to Cincinnati's German heritage and its local breweries) aired near the program's close until 1969, when he was replaced by [Henson Cargill](/source/Henson_Cargill) riding on the success of his hit song "Skip a Rope". By the early 1970s, then-16 year ''MH'' veteran [Kenny Price](/source/Kenny_Price), a popular musician and comedian nicknamed The Round Mound of Sound, had a string of country hits for [RCA Records](/source/RCA_Records) including local favorite "The Sheriff of Boone County". On the strength of those hits, Price was picked to be the new host of the show, which by then had shortened its name to ''Hayride'' (''Louisiana Hayride'' had succumbed to rock and roll's popularity and left the airwaves by 1960). Like many other locally produced shows of the day, ''Hayride'' become increasingly more expensive to produce, and WLW-TV executives decided to bring the show to an end in 1972. Kenny Price became a regular on Nashville-based ''Hee Haw'' four years later and remained there until his death in 1987. In 2009, [WYNS-FM](/source/WYNS-FM), a low-power community FM station in [Waynesville, Ohio](/source/Waynesville%2C_Ohio) (north of Cincinnati), announced it would commence a similar live weekly country music broadcast, ''The Ohio Hayride'', beginning May 15, 2010. The local program, possibly the first of its kind since the demise of ''Hayride'', was to feature local musicians as well as country music artists from past decades. The program was also to air on WPFB-AM in Middletown, Ohio and stream from the WYNS station website at www.hybridfm.net. == Performers == {| | width="22%" valign="top"| * Herb & Kay Adams * Vic Bellamy * Bobby Bobo * [Girls of The Golden West](/source/Girls_of_the_Golden_West_(country_music_duo)) * Judy Perkins * Skeeter Bonn * [Bonnie Lou](/source/Bonnie_Lou) * Phyllis Brown * Brown's Ferry Four * Slim Bryant * Chris "Milkman" Scheid * [Jerry Byrd](/source/Jerry_Byrd) * The Country Briarhoppers * [Cowboy Copas](/source/Cowboy_Copas) * Hugh Cross * Lazy Jim Day * [The Delmore Brothers](/source/The_Delmore_Brothers) * [The DeZurik Sisters](/source/The_DeZurik_Sisters) * [Little Jimmy Dickens](/source/Little_Jimmy_Dickens) * Smokey Duvall * Too Slim Bobby Simpson * [Clay Eager](/source/Clay_Eager) * Louie Ennis * [Shug Fisher](/source/Shug_Fisher) * Sonny Fleming * Betty FoleyBarry McCloud (1995) ''[http://www.folklib.net/index/discog/bibliog.shtml#fu Definitive Country: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and Its Performers, p. 290]'', {{ISBN|0-399-52144-5}} * [Red Foley](/source/Red_Foley) * [Whitey Ford](/source/The_Duke_of_Paducah) * Geer Sisters | width="22%" valign="top"| * Charlie Gore and the Rangers * Otto Gray * Rudy Hanson * Ted "Gas House" Hensley * Billy Holmes * [Salty Holmes](/source/Salty_Holmes) * [Homer and Jethro](/source/Homer_and_Jethro) * The Hometowners * Louie Innis * Rome Johnson * [Tommy Jackson](/source/Tommy_Jackson_(musician)) * [Grandpa Jones](/source/Grandpa_Jones) * Lee Jones * Judy and Jen * Junior Kentucky Briarhoppers * Harpo Kidwell * [Bradley Kincaid](/source/Bradley_Kincaid) * Slim King * John Lair * [Freddie Langdon](/source/Freddie_Langdon) * [Dixie Lee](/source/Dixie_Lee) * Ernie Lee * [Freddie Langdon](/source/Freddie_Langdon) * Pa and Ma McCormick * [Clayton McMichen](/source/Clayton_McMichen) * [Joe Maphis](/source/Joe_Maphis) * Sleepy Marlin | width="22%" valign="top"| * The Mid-Westerners * Carl Moore * Natchee the Indian Fiddler * Jay Near * [Willie Nelson](/source/Willie_Nelson) * Mattie O'Neil * Jimmy Osborne * [Dolly Parton](/source/Dolly_Parton) * [Hank Penny](/source/Hank_Penny) * Judy Perkins * Prairie Ramblers * [Kenny Price](/source/Kenny_Price) * The Kentucky Boys * [Riley Puckett](/source/Riley_Puckett) * Rangers Quartet * Brownie Reynolds * Dean Richards * Jerry Richards * [Tex Ritter](/source/Tex_Ritter) * Kenny Roberts * Jack Rogers * Mimi Roman * Buddy Ross * Helen and Billy Scott * Colleen Sharp * Billy Strickland * Swannee River Boys | width="22%" valign="top"| * Garry "2 Tall" Grammell * Willie Thall * The Lucky Pennies * The Three Ks * The Trailhands * [Merle Travis](/source/Merle_Travis) * Red Turner * Zeke Turner * [Porter Wagoner](/source/Porter_Wagoner) * Tommy Watson * Tex Walls * Penny West * Joy Whitaker * Willis Brothers * Dom Rockin Horse Mason * [Jim Wood](/source/Jim_Wood_(fiddler)) * Helen Diller * Chuck Wright * John "Gut Bucket" Halcomb * Zeke and Bill * Jeannie Hogan * [Judy Martin](/source/Judy_Martin_(singer)) (Accordion on Saturday broadcast) * Creola Faye Knear-Dorning (midwestern Dancer) * Ky. Briarhoppers |} ==Network television broadcast history== (all times are [Eastern Time](/source/Eastern_Time_Zone)—all running times include [commercial](/source/television_advertising) breaks)
'''NBC''': *June 16–September 1951: Saturday 9–10 p.m. *June–September 1952: Tuesday 8–9 p.m. *June–September 1954: Tuesday 8–8:30 p.m. *May–September 1955: Friday 8–8:30 p.m. *[September 1955–June 1956: Wednesday 10–10:30 p.m.](/source/1955%E2%80%9356_United_States_network_television_schedule) The program was also occasionally carried by NBC outside of [prime time](/source/prime_time) during the regular [season](/source/TV_season).{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Tim |author-link1=Tim Brooks (television historian) |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle |date=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Midwestern+Hayride+Musical+Variety%22&pg=PA894 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present |page=894 |edition=9th |location=New York |publisher=[Ballantine Books](/source/Ballantine_Books) |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 |access-date=2025-11-07 }} '''ABC''': *July–October 1957: Sunday 9:30–10 p.m. *January–September 1958: Saturday 10–10:30 p.m. *May–September 6, 1959: Sunday 7–7:30 p.m. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{citation|first1=Tim|last1=Brooks|first2=Earle|last2=Marsh|title=[The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows](/source/The_Complete_Directory_to_Prime_Time_Network_and_Cable_TV_Shows)|publisher=Ballantine Books|year=2007|isbn=978-0-345-49773-4}}. * [http://www.hillbilly-music.com/programs/story/index.php?prog=180 Hillbilly-Music.com] * [http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/country-history/History-Country-Western%20-%200271.htm Encyclopedia of Country, Western & Gospel Music] == External links == * [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479329 Midwestern Hayride television series information at Internet Movie Database] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX4O3m_Ywj8 YouTube video clip of ''Midwestern Hayride'' singer Bonnie Lou at 1973 Ohio State Fair] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bfk2dcaRM YouTube kinescope clip of Mimi Roman performing "Mama Says" on ''Midwestern Hayride''] * [http://www.keepinitcountryfarm.com Official website of ''The Ohio Hayride'' radio program on WYNS-FM and WPFB-AM] {{DEFAULTSORT:Midwestern Hayride}} Category:1930s American radio programs Category:1940s American radio programs Category:1950s American radio programs Category:1960s American radio programs Category:American country music radio programs Category:1951 American television series debuts Category:1959 American television series endings Category:Country music television series Category:NBC original programming Category:American Broadcasting Company original programming Category:Music of Cincinnati Category:Black-and-white American television shows --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Midwestern Hayride](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_Hayride) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_Hayride?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.