Old Dominion Barn Dance is an American country music radio show broadcast over WRVA , Richmond, Virginia each Saturday night. Mary Workman, better known as " Sunshine Sue " was the host (1946–1957). Gregg Kimball of the Library of Virginia said of the program, "It was unique because it featured a female host and gained a national audience through syndication on CBS radio."
17-695: In 1957, Carlton Haney began the New Dominion Barn Dance , which WRVA broadcast until 1964. The music and humor show was broadcast live on radio in over 38 states and Canada and were transmitted to military personnel overseas via recordings on the Armed Forces Radio Service . The broadcasts originated at the Lyric Theater (later renamed the WRVA Theater) on North 9th Street and East Broad Street. The theater
34-410: A battery plant making automobile batteries, he could go to work for him. Haney worked with Monroe for about a year and a half booking shows and traveling with the band. Haney had another opportunity through Monroe to work at Bean Blossom . He stayed there from June until September 1955. Although Haney still had not developed an appreciation for the music he was promoting, he took pride in the fact that he
51-764: A few of Ernest Tubb 's records, but still disliked country music. He grew up listening to Bill Monroe, but claims to have never understood why people liked to listen to the music. Then he met Clyde Moody, who knew Bill Monroe and introduced the two future partners. Haney was offered a job working for Monroe and took it solely based on monetary reasoning. "I was at Clyde's house, and he [Bill Monroe] come there, in Danville, Virginia. Then I met him and two or three months after that he called me and said he had some show dates canceled and [asked] would I book four or five show dates for him and I did and they turned out real good." Monroe informed Haney that if he ever wanted to quit his job at
68-498: A stroke at the age of 82. Haney was honored with The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)'s Award of Merit in 1990 and was later inducted into The Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1998. The IBMA describe the lasting impact of Haney's multi-day festival: "The event proved to be a prototype and precursor that initiated the festival movement in America and ultimately in other countries, bringing incalculable economic benefits to
85-467: Is an unincorporated community in Jackson Township , Brown County , in the U.S. state of Indiana . The town was named for the nearby Beanblossom Creek , which was in turn named for a person whose surname was Beanblossom. Beanblossom was originally called Georgetown, for George Grove who ran a grist mill in the area and under the latter name was founded in 1833. The first post office in
102-628: The Dickens (Pushing Ernest in the Tub)." Beginning in the 1960s, Haney began to lump some of the bluegrass and country acts together on the same stage. With the help of Ralph Rinzler in 1965, Haney produced the first weekend-long bluegrass music festival, held at Cantrell’s Horse Farm in Fincastle, Virginia. This multi-day model became the standard format for bluegrass festivals and there are now more than 500 such events annually. Haney continued staging
119-532: The band until 1965. Haney was responsible for recruiting fiddler-star Bobby Hicks to band in 1954, initially as a bass player. Haney also managed bluegrass duo Reno and Smiley between 1955 and 1964. While working with Reno and Smiley, he initiated the daily television show, “Top ‘o the Morning,” on WDBJ , Roanoke and wrote and co-wrote Reno & Smiley staples songs "He Will Forgive You," "Kneel Down", "I Never Get To Hold You In My Arms Anymore" and "Jimmy Caught
136-487: The community was established as Bean Blossom in 1842; the post office was discontinued in 1911. Beanblossom is located about four miles (6 km) north of Nashville at the intersection of state roads 45 and 135 . The closest town to Beanblossom is Helmsburg , approximately two miles west. Bean Blossom is best known as the home of the Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park and Campground,
153-565: The festival over the next few years at various locations, including his 160 acres of renovated land in Camp Springs, NC. During the 1970s, Haney published Muleskinner News , a prominent monthly bluegrass magazine and the second of its kind. He co-wrote songs such as The Letter and To See My Angel Cry . Haney died Wednesday on March 16, 2011, at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina , of complications from
170-405: The industry and creating a larger and more diverse audience for the music." Haney was featured prominently in the 1971 movie Bluegrass: Country Soul , which was reissued on DVD in 2006. He can be heard introducing Merle Haggard on two live albums, Okie From Muskogee (1969) and The Fightin' Side of Me (1970) Beanblossom, Indiana Beanblossom , also spelled Bean Blossom ,
187-546: The show on Saturday nights. The Lyric Theater was built in 1913 and demolished in 1963. The show also toured at times. The June 7, 1947, issue of The Free Lance–Star in Fredericksburg, Virginia, carried an advertisement promoting the appearance of "20 Radio Stars," the "entire cast" of the Old Dominion Barn Dance for two shows at James Monroe High School on June 9, 1947. In 1973, an effort
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#1732790323938204-488: Was an American booking agent, festival promoter, and songwriter primarily active in bluegrass music. Once dubbed “The P.T. Barnum of Country Music” for his large personality, Haney is best known for organizing the first multi-day bluegrass music festival as well as influencing the careers of the Osborne Brothers , Porter Wagoner , Conway Twitty , Merle Haggard , The Statler Brothers and Loretta Lynn . He
221-540: Was associated with Monroe and his contributions to this music, which had grown in popularity. When Haney went back to North Carolina he stumbled upon a band that needed someone to help them book shows. They were called the Farm Hands and included Allen Shelton, Curly Howard and Roy Russell. In 1953, Bill Monroe hired Haney as a booking agent for his band, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Haney booked for
238-674: Was broadcast on WTVR. Beginning in 2015, Donna Meade Dean (the widow of Jimmy Dean) brought back the Old Dominion Barn Dance for four performances in the Henrico Theater in Highland Springs, Virginia. Marty Stuart headlined the first show on February 21, 2015. This article about a radio show or program in the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Carlton Haney Lawrence Carlton Haney (September 19, 1928 – March 16, 2011)
255-418: Was filled to capacity every Saturday night, with lines that wrapped around the block. Two shows broadcast, one at 7:30pm and the other at 9:30pm, nationwide and introduced America to Country Music. This show was attended by all ages and classes. A big fan of the Old Dominion Barn Dance, Virginia Governor William "Bill" Munford Tuck (1946-1950) had a private box reserved for him where he would frequently attend
272-777: Was inducted to the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 1998 by the International Bluegrass Music Association . Haney was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina , on September 19, 1928, just as the Bristol Sessions were in full swing. While he was growing up, he didn't like country music at all. In an interview with Fred Bartenstein on August 4, 1971, Haney said he had enjoyed hearing his brother Charles Haney and some friends singing "Rainbow at Midnight" and began to enjoy
289-594: Was made to revive the Old Dominion Barn Dance , but it was unsuccessful. After almost 5,000 people attended the initial performance, attendance dropped to 900 for the second show and went even lower the third week. An article in Billboard magazine's April 7, 1973, issue quoted a spokesman for the show as saying "We can't understand what happened, and we're trying to evaluate the situation, but people just stopped coming after that first show." The program
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