The National Barn Dance was a country music radio program first heard on WLS (AM) in Chicago, Illinois and later on NBC. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... WLS is a pioneer Chicago radio station. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... This article is about the television network. ...

It was a precursor to many similar programs, in part because the clear channel signal of WLS was audible throughout most of the Midwest and even beyond in the late evening and nighttime hours, making much of the United States (and Canada) a potential audience and the program was well-received; thus it was very widely imitated. The show was founded by broadcaster George D. Hay and aired from 1924 to 1968. A clear channel, in the general sense, is a communications channel (such as a radio frequency) on which only one transmitter operates at a time. ... The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... George Dewey Hay (November 9, 1895, Attica, Indiana - May 8, 1968, Virginia Beach, Virginia) was the founder of the original Grand Ole Opry radio program on WSM (AM) in Nashville, Tennessee, from which todays country music stage show of the same name has evolved. ...

Regularly featured were Gene Autry, Lulu Belle and Scotty, Pat Buttram, George Gobel, Andy Williams (in a quartet with his three brothers), The DeZurik Sisters and the Hoosier Hot Shots. Orvon Gene Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998) was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television. ... Lulu Belle and Scotty were one of the major country music acts of the 1930s and 1940s, known as The Sweethearts of Country Music. Lulu Belle was born Myrtle Eleanor Cooper, December 24, 1914 in Boone, North Carolina. ... Emmett Maxwell Pat Buttram (born June 19, 1915 in Addison, Alabama, died January 8, 1994 in Los Angeles, California of kidney failure was an American actor, famous for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry. ... George Leslie Gobel (May 20, 1919 - February 24, 1991) was an American comedian, best known as the star of his own weekly NBC television show, The George Gobel Show, from 1954 to 1960. ... For other persons named Andrew Williams, see Andrew Williams (disambiguation). ... Mary Jane (l) and Carolyn Dezurik. ... The Hoosier Hot Shots were an American quartet of madcap musicians who entertained on stage, screen, radio, and records from the mid 1930s into the 1970s. ...

In 1925, Hay brought his Barn Dance franchise to Nashville, Tennessee. The result was a spinoff called the WSM Barn Dance. The WSM version of the show was renamed in 1928 as the Grand Ole Opry and is still on the air today. “Nashville” redirects here. ... WSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. ... The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly Saturday night country music radio program broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee, and televised on Great American Country network. ...

By the late 1950s, audiences finally began to wane, and the National Barn Dance ceased its live performances after 1957. The show continued to air on WLS until 1959 when the station was sold to ABC which changed the format to Top 40 Rock and Roll music. The show moved to station WGN where it continued until finally leaving the air permanently in 1968. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

The National Barn Dance went on the air on WLS on April 19, 1924 and was picked up by the NBC network in 1933. In 1946, the show switched to the ABC network, and aired until 1952. In 1949, a television version, ABC Barn Dance, appeared, but it only lasted for a few months. is the 109th day of the year (110th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the television network. ... 2002 identity of the ABC Circle logo, designed by Paul Rand in 1962. ... ABC Barn Dance was an early television program spun off from the popular radio program National Barn Dance. ...

The radio program aired on Saturday nights from 6:30pm until midnight.

A fictionalized account of the show's origins, The National Barn Dance (1944), was filmed by director Hugh Bennett from a screenplay by Hal Fimberg and Lee Loeb. The film starred Jean Heather, Charles Quigley, Robert Benchley, Mabel Paige and Charles Dingle. Pat Buttram and Joe Kelly appeared as themselves. Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. ... Charles Dingle (born 28 December 1887 in Wabash, Indiana – died 19 January 1956 in Worcester, Massachusetts) was an American film actor. ... Emmett Maxwell Pat Buttram (born June 19, 1915 in Addison, Alabama, died January 8, 1994 in Los Angeles, California of kidney failure was an American actor, famous for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry. ... Joe Kelly (1913 - 1993) was a Formula One driver from Ireland, born in Dublin, although he lived for much of his formative years in Gdansk, Poland, where he learned to drive. ...

Broadcast history of the Barn Dance

• 1924-33: WLS Radio
  • 1925-28: Two separate versions, WLS version (National Barn Dance) and WSM version (WSM Barn Dance), later became Grand Ole Opry in 1928
• 1933-46: WLS radio, syndicated by NBC
• 1946-52: WLS radio, syndicated by ABC
• 1952-59: WLS radio
• 1959-68: WGN radio

The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly Saturday night country music radio program broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee, and televised on Great American Country network. ...

Listen to

• National Barn Dance (October 2, 1943)

External links

• WLS National Barn Dance
• National Barn Dance at the Internet Movie Database