''Don Messer's Jubilee'' was a Canadian

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musical

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

first broadcast on radio and later on television. The radio version aired from produced from 1939 to 1958 in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

for

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. The Television version show shot at the studios of CBHT in

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, Canada. It was broadcast by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

nationwide from 1957 until 1969, after almost two decades in various formats on CBC radio. Taking its name from band leader and fiddler Don Messer, the half-hour weekly program featured Messer and his band "Don Messer and His Islanders", as well as a guest performer. The show followed a consistent format throughout its years, beginning with a tune named "Goin' to the Barndance Tonight", followed by fiddle tunes by Messer, songs from some of his "Islanders" including singers Marg Osburne and Charlie Chamberlain, numbers by the Buchta Dancers, the featured guest performance, and a closing

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

. It ended with " Till We Meet Again". The series began 7 November 1957 as a regional program limited to CBC's

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and

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stations. On 7 August 1959, CBC stations throughout Canada carried the show as a summer replacement for ''

Country Hoedown ''Country Hoedown'' was a Canadian country music television series which aired on CBC Television from 1956 to 1965. Premise Gordie Tapp hosted the series and also performed in sketches portraying characters such as Cousin Clem which he later r ...

s Friday evening time slot. That fall, ''Don Messer's Jubilee'' became a regular season CBC series as of 28 September 1959, becoming a Monday night fixture until its final 1968-1969 season when it returned to the Friday evening timeslot. Outside of ''

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'', in the mid-1960s ''Don Messer's Jubilee'' was the #1 show in the country, earning higher ratings than even the imported

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

variety show, ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

''. The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including

Stompin' Tom Connors Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, Order of Canada, OC (February 9, 1936 – March 6, 2013) was a Canadian country music, country and folk music, folk singer-songwriter. Focusing his career exclusively on his native Canada, he is credited wi ...

, Catherine McKinnon,

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

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and Canadian singer Bud Spencer. The cancellation of the show by the public broadcaster in 1969 caused a nationwide protest, including the raising of questions by Members of Parliament in the

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. The last CBC broadcast was on 20 June 1969. Independent TV station

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picked up the show for about four years. It was distributed to stations throughout Canada in syndication. The show ended following Messer's death in 1973.

References

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External links

Don Messer's Violin: Frank LeahyDon Messer's Jubilee
- Canadian Communication Foundation

accessed 4 February 2007 * {{IMDb title, 0199210, Don Messer's Jubilee 1957 Canadian television series debuts 1973 Canadian television series endings 1950s Canadian variety television series Black-and-white Canadian television shows CBC Television original programming Canadian country music Country music television series Canadian folk music Folk music mass media Television shows filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia Television shows filmed in Hamilton, Ontario 1950s Canadian music television series 1960s Canadian variety television series 1960s Canadian music television series

See also

References

External links