Louisiana Hayride and Other Vintage Songs

Folk Music & Beyond Playlist for May 26, 2018
Hour 1: Louisiana Hayride with Sandy Miranda

From 1948 to 1960, the Louisiana Hayride served as a launching pad for many of the greatest stars in country roots music, with artists such as Hank Williams, Jim Reeves, and Johnny Cash appearing on the powerful radio airwaves of KWKH AM 1130 in Shreveport, Louisiana.

In addition to those artists—who later found their fame and fortune in Nashville—the show also proved to be beneficial to a truck driver from Memphis named Elvis Presley who was told by Grand Ole Opry management not to give up his day job. Those artists and others like them made country music history, but for the most part, many of those Hayride performances haven’t been heard since their initial broadcast.

Thanks to Bear Family Records in Germany, we now have the chance to hear a little bit of history with the release of the expansive 20-CD set titled At the Louisiana Hayride Tonight. The box contains a staggering 559 cuts, with many rarities, including a 224-page hardcover book with rare photos. We’ll just hear a few selections and some now very entertaining intros.

KWKH still broadcasts at 50,000-watts clear-channel. It can be heard across much of the central portion of North America at night.

I...look to BEAR FAMILY, always, for the history that sends me forward.—David Fricke, Rolling Stone

[4:00]

Hank Williams / #9 Mind Your Own Business / Louisiana Hayride Tonight / Bear Family 2:08

Kitty Wells / #7 The Singing Waterfall / ″ / ″ 2:41

Hank Williams / #8 My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It / ″ / ″ 2:00

Tony Douglas / #11 Blue Monday / ″ / ″ 2:47

George Jones / #12 Why Baby Why / ″ / ″ 2:07

Norma Jean Beasler / #13 The Lady & the Gambler / ″ / ″ 2:40

Roger Miller / #14 House Is Not a Home / ″ / ″ 2:37

Johnny Cash / #17 Give My Love to Rose / ″ / ″ 3:39

[22:00]

Heaven Set

Willie Nelson / #7 Heaven Is Closed / Last Man Standing / Sony Legacy 3:10

Hoyt Axton / #16 Flash of Fire / Fearless / Raven Records / 2:45

Bob Dylan / #7 Disc 2, Solid Rock / Bootleg Series 13: Trouble No More / Columbia 4:18

Bob Dylan / #8 Disc 2, Are You Ready? / ″ / ″ 6:18

[16:22]

And speaking of Bob Dylan, here is LOVE, gone right and gone wrong:

Bettye Lavette / #1 Things Have Changed / Things Have Changed / Verve 6:52

The songs of Bob Dylan with Steve Jordan, Larry Campbell (Dylan), Keith Richards, Trombone Shorty, Ivan Neville, et al. woo woo.

Joan Baez / #8 Silver Blade / Whistle Down the Wind / Razor & Tie 3:50

Robert Plant / #9 Keep It Hid / Carry Fire / Nonesuch 4:00

[15:00]

[59:00]