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What these spectators—and TV watchers—see is a casual, slow-paced operation that goes on without a rehearsal until a few hours before show time. Red Foley, the M. C, sings, plays the guitar, recites Edgar Guest-type poems and likes to indulge in such homely expressions as "Well, bless yore heart" or "That just shows to go ya." He introduces acts with the air of a man, who hopes he hasn't forgotten what comes next, and you never know when a number will be interrupted to let the audience help with the singing.
The whole meandering affair seems like a family reunion at which somebody has just suggested, "Let's all put on a show" which is exactly the impression the "Jubilee" producers want to give. They take the view that there are plenty of straining, panting television shows; and what the nation's audience needs is a good rest, with music and funny sayings. The theme is expressed best by "Uncle Cyp" Bras-field, one of the comics, who winds up his routine with: Hope I didn't spoil your supper or scare your young'uns.
This just-plain-folks approach did its work so thoroughly on one teenage boy that he ran away from his foster home in Minnesota and hitchhiked to Springfield to be near the show. "I wanted to be with the friendliest people on earth," he explained earnestly.
More impressive from a business standpoint has been "Jubilee's" drawing power on TV. National surveys showed that it held its own when ABC placed it opposite those Saturday night titans, Jackie Gleason and Perry Como. Shortly after it went on TV, the American Research Bureau reported it was drawing the largest male audience of any network program. Another monthly survey found it to be the No. 1 family show on the air, and it has consistently stayed in the top half-dozen in this category.
Country music carries a simple, direct appeal that has the freshness of folk songs and often tells a story. A good example is one of Foley's current favorites, "Don't Blame It on the Girl," whose theme is "Wherever there's heartache there's a man to share the blame." If some of this music is "corny," the "Jubilee" people like to think of it as high-class corn.
By New York and Hollywood standards, stars of the |
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