WLS Chicago

WLS Chicago: WLS Barn Dance/National Barn Dance

Begun in 1924 this variety program ranked as America's most popular Country Music radio show through the 1930s and 1940s. By 1931 increased power meant its broadcast could be heard throughout the United States and Canada. In 1932 it moved to the Eighth Street Theater; a year later it was renamed The National Barn Dance, when the NBC network nationally broadcast a segment. Stars included Bradley Kincaid, Gene Autry, George Gobel, Red Foley, Homer and Jethro, Lulu Belle, and Scotty, Delmore Bothers and the Hoosier Hot Shots. Lack of success on TV signaled the end in 1957, but limited editions survived until 1971 (finally on WGN radio).

The National Barn Dance was a Country music radio program first heard on WLS (AM) in Chicago, Illinois and later on NBC. John Lair was the driving force behind WLS Barn Dance and later founded the Renfro Valley Barn Dance.
It was a precursor to many similar programs, in part because the clear channel signal of WLS was audible throughout most of the Midwest and even beyond in the late evening and nighttime hours, making much of the United States (and Canada) a potential audience. The program was well-received and thus very widely imitated. The show was founded by broadcaster George D. Hay and aired from 1924 to 1968.

In 1925, Hay brought his Barn Dance franchise to Nashville, Tennessee. The result was a spinoff called the WSM Barn Dance. The WSM version of the show was renamed in 1928 as the Grand Ole Opry and is still on the air today.
By the late 1950s, audiences finally began to wane, and the National Barn Dance ceased its live performances after 1957. The show continued to air on WLS until 1959 when the station was sold to ABC which changed the format to Top 40 Rock and Roll music. The show moved to station WGN where it continued until finally leaving the air permanently in 1968.

The National Barn Dance went on the air on WLS on April 19, 1924 and was picked up by the NBC network in 1933. In 1946, the show switched to the ABC network, and aired until 1952. In 1949, a television version, ABC Barn Dance, appeared, but it only lasted for a few months. The radio program aired on Saturday nights from 6:30pm until midnight.
A fictionalized account of the show's origins, The National Barn Dance (1944), was filmed by director Hugh Bennett from a screenplay by Hal Fimberg and Lee Loeb. The film starred Jean Heather, Charles Quigley, Robert Benchley, Mabel Paige and Charles Dingle. Pat Buttram and Joe Kelly appeared as themselves.