''Talent Varieties'' is a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

network television Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

in 1955 that featured performers hoping to achieve fame in the entertainment business. The weekly ABC-TV program was a live half-hour summer replacement series hosted by

Slim Wilson Clyde Carol Wilson (July 14, 1910 – July 15, 1990), better known as Slim Wilson, was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and radio and TV personality who was a cornerstone of country music in the Ozarks for more than 50 years beginning ...

. Wilson introduced the amateur and professional talent, including music and comedy acts (many from the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

); and his Tall Timber Trio, composed of

Speedy Haworth Herschel Haworth Jr. (May 16, 1922 – February 26, 2008), better known as Speedy Haworth, was an American guitarist and singer who was involved with the golden age of country music broadcasting in the Ozarks. He was a featured cast member ...

(guitar), Bob White (upright bass) and Bryan "Doc" Martin (

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

) provided

accompaniment Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...

. Auditions were handled by Bill Ring. The Westport Kids appeared July 12, and

Buck Griffin Albert C. "Buck" Griffin (February 23, 1923 – February 14, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. He was a popular performer live and on radio, though he never scored a hit on record, and was compared to Hank Williams and Conway Twitty. G ...

appeared August 2. The show aired on Tuesday nights from June 28–November 1. Its original time slot was 7:30–8 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

, replacing ''

Cavalcade of America ''Cavalcade of America'' is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented musicals, such as an adaptation of ''Show Boat'', and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially ...

'', but moved to 10–10:30 p.m. in September to briefly replace '' Break the Bank''. ABC Radio simulcast the program under the name ''Talent Round-Up'' from 7:30 p.m., as well as carrying an additional half-hour until 8:30. The program originated from the Jewell Theatre in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, home to ABC's ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s United States network television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ' ...

''; and was produced and directed by the ''Jubilee's'' Bryan Bisney, who took over from Ring in September.Sachs, Bill "Folk Talent & Tunes" (July 23, 1955), ''The Billboard'', p. 93

Notes

References

* . * . *Sachs, Bill "Folk Talent & Tunes" (May 28, 1955), ''

The Billboard The Billboard () is a massive granite monolith in the Sarnoff Mountains of the Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica, standing just west of Mount Rea between Arthur Glacier and Boyd Glacier. It was discovered in November 1934 by a Secon ...

'', p. 56 *Sachs, Bill "Folk Talent & Tunes" (July 23, 1955), ''The Billboard'', p. 93 *Sachs, Bill "Folk Talent & Tunes" (October 1, 1955), ''The Billboard'', p. 64

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0124263 1950s American music television series 1955 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows Country music television series English-language television shows Talent shows