''Pop! Goes the Country'' is a weekly half-hour syndicated variety

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

that originally aired from September 7, 1974 through 1982 for a total of 234 episodes. Originally hosted by

Ralph Emery Walter Ralph Emery (March 10, 1933 – January 15, 2022) was an American country music disc jockey, radio and television host from McEwen, Tennessee. Emery promoted numerous stars on his radio and TV shows, and was called the Dick Clark (ent ...

, the series was recorded at the

Grand Ole Opry House The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

and featured performances by and interviews with country music singers, both established celebrities and up and coming singers and musicians. In 1980,

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "The Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 number-one hit songs, with 26 more ...

replaced Emery as the host. The comic actor

Jim Varney James Albert Varney Jr. (June 15, 1949 – February 10, 2000) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his comedic role as Ernest P. Worrell, for which he won an Emmy Award, as well as appearing in films and numerous televis ...

joined the cast in the final season, as the show retooled as a "country music club", with Varney acting in comedy sketches featuring Tom T. Hall and the show's musical guests. The show also moved from the Opry House to

Opryland USA Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially known as Opryland) was a amusement park, theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The park was located between the Cumberland River and Tennessee State Route 155, Briley Pa ...

's Gaslight Theater.The Internet Movie Database
/ref> It is also considered as a spin-off of ''The

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Por ...

Show''.

The Statler Brothers The Statler Brothers (sometimes simply referred to as The Statlers) were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group from Staunton, Virginia. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally, and from 1964 to 1972, they sang as opening a ...

sang the show's original theme song. The series' title referenced the influence

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

was having on country music at the time on artists such as Barbara Mandrell,

Lynn Anderson Lynn René Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, " Rose Garden", was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

, and

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 ...

, all of whom appeared as guests on the program, although performers with more traditional styles such as

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

, and

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

were also featured during the show's run. As of December 2014, the show is being rebroadcast on the cable network

RFD-TV RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United St ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0071035
Episode list at thetvdb.com
1974 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings 1970s American musical comedy television series 1980s American musical comedy television series 1970s American sketch comedy television series 1980s American sketch comedy television series 1970s American variety television series 1980s American variety television series American television spinoffs First-run syndicated television programs in the United States American country music Grand Ole Opry Culture of Nashville, Tennessee Country music television series