 A few decades ago Nashville began a love affair with the exciting new medium of television. During the 1960’s and 70’s it seems like every country music star either had a television show or wanted one. Unfortunately many of the shows were seen in only a limited area of the country, yet they contain unforgettable moments in country music. Moments which in many instances symbolize new directions or reflections in the roots of today’s country music? They are an important slice of American country music history which should not be forgotten.
One day Willie Nelson was in Nashville on the bus with his sidekick, Frank Oakley, who with his wife Jeanie, is the storekeeper for Willie Nelson’s General Store and Museum which was founded on July 4, 1979. The sidekick was bringing Willie up to date about what was happening in Nashville since his last visit. One of the bits of news was that Norman Lear ( creator of the “All in the Family” TV sitcom) had bought a satellite TV station in Nashville, and along with the station the old Show Biz, Inc. video tape library was part of the assets.
Norman wasn’t interested in owning a bunch of old hillbilly shows and wanted to sell them because it was costing him money to rent space to store them. A local TV station and a TV production company were interested in buying them. But, after hearing this news, Willie Said, “Hell, why don’t we buy them?”
The Show Biz Tape Library consists of the following shows:
The Porter Wagoner Show
(1960-1980)
This 20 year series is in many ways the most successful country music half-hour show in history. Produced in Nashville, virtually every country music performer in the business appeared over the years:
Hank Williams, Jr. |
Mel Tillis |
Jerry Reed |
Willie Nelson |
Waylon Jennings |
Lester Flatt |
Bill Monroe |
George Jones |
and many others… |
Marty Robbins |
Merle Haggard |
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And hundreds more; including many now deceased performers such as:
Lefty Frizzell, Webb Pierce, George Morgan, Roy Acuff, Tex Ritter, Conway Twitty, Archie Campbell, Dottie West and many, many more.
It is also of interest as Dolly Parton was the girl singer with the show form 1967 to 1974. The production values are good and the flavor of the show is up and lively. There were 686 thirty minute episodes filmed, the first 104 being shot in black and white, the remainder in color.
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