When Country Music Variety Shows Were a Mainstay of TV
Since the CMA Awards were first telecast in 1968, the ceremony has been the place to celebrate the best in country music, with memorable performances and, courtesy of the hosts, a sense of humor. This year’s CMAs are set to air Nov. 20 at 8pm ET on ABC with Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning and Lainey Wilson hosting the hottest night in country music this year. Now is a good time to remember that fans didn’t always have to wait a full year to see a star-studded country variety show on TV. For a foot-stomping good time, take a look back at the history of these classic country variety shows.
Where Dolly Parton Got Her Start
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Parton scored her big break on The Porter Wagoner Show, a syndicated half-hour that had already been airing for six years when she joined its cast in 1967. Though the show featured guests like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings (donning suits, no less!) when it was still filmed in black and white, Parton was the undeniable draw after it switched to color. She sparkled brighter than Wagoner’s rhinestone-covered duds as they sang duets and she performed solo hits, including “I Will Always Love You,” which she penned for Wagoner ahead of leaving the program in 1974.
Sausage King Jimmy Dean Hosted Many Stars
Everett Collection
Equally influential was the hourlong Jimmy Dean Show, which ran from 1963-66 on ABC. The “Big Bad John” singer was just as comfortable getting upstaged by his ol’ buddy Rowlf the Dog (the first Jim Henson puppet to become a household name) and sitting on his porch set alongside young comic George Carlin as he was introducing musical guests like Johnny Cash, George Jones and Buck Owens and watching guitarist Chet Atkins play “Yankee Doodle” and “Dixie” simultaneously.
The Rhinestone Cowboy Rode in a New Era
Both of these shows predated the CMAs. It was actually a year after the awards’ inaugural broadcast that TV saw a boom in country music variety series with three high-profile debuts. First, in January 1969, came The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS. The “Wichita Lineman” singer, then the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year, amassed an eclectic guest list over four seasons: Glen Campbell sang a soaring, soulful cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” with Stevie Wonder, encouraged Merle Haggard to do his impersonations of Cash and Owens in front of the icons, poked fun at his own clean-cut image with Dean Martin and acted in a swashbuckling pirate sketch opposite Liberace.
Hello, I’m Johnny Cash
Two more touchstones bowed that year: ABC’s two-season wonder The Johnny Cash Show and the mainstream hit Hee Haw, which aired on CBS until 1971 (when the network purged its “rural”-set comedies) before finding a long, happy life in first-run syndication from 1971-93. Johnny Cash’s show marked his return to the Ryman Auditorium, where he taped the series after being banned from the historic Grand Ole Opry back in 1965 for drunkenly smashing lights on the front of the Opry stage. Now sober, he too was known for his wide-ranging guests — trumpet legend Louis Armstrong accompanied him on “Blue Yodel No. 9,” and Dylan traded verses with him on “Girl From the North Country” — but also for pushing back against the network when he felt it truly mattered. Most notorious: his insistence on keeping the word “stoned” in the lyrics when he performed Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” and on having antiwar folksinger Pete Seeger appear on the show.
Cornpone at Its Finest
Everett Collection
Hee Haw, hosted by the pickin’ and grinnin’ Buck Owens and Roy Clark, leaned heavily into the hillbilly humor you’d expect to crop up in the fictional setting of Kornfield Kounty, with residents like Minnie Pearl and Grandpa Jones. Its quick-zinger pace, inspired by Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, helped make it a Saturday night staple for the whole family — and a favorite stop for A-list country artists, well into the ’90s. Sure, they’d all deliver serious performances, but greats like Cash, Jones, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, George Strait and Garth Brooks also sported overalls and cracked jokes in the infamous cornfield or sang “Pfft! You Were Gone” at the signature fence. Both Parton and Reba McEntire were repeat Hee Haw guests — McEntire even guest-hosted after Owens moved on.
When Country Music Got a Dedicated TV Station
TNN/courtesy Everett Collection
In early 1983 came the launch of The Nashville Network (TNN), which was purchased by Gaylord Entertainment later that year. When Gaylord purchased competitor Country Music Television (CMT) in 1991, programming for the two networks aired in conjunction — including music videos, taped concerts, syndicated series, and talk and variety shows — programming originally geared to reflect a country lifestyle. During TNN’s reign, its flagship show was Nashville Now, a live variety show hosted by Ralph Emery that ran from 1983-93. Everybody who was anybody showed up to talk to Emery, as respect for the music and the artists was his mantra. When Emery retired, the show was replaced with Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase’s more contemporary, long-running talker Crook & Chase (1986-99).
Heading into 2025, TV still celebrates country artists with a multitude of award shows, but nothing compares to the older Hee Haw heyday.
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Variety Shows
April 2023
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