Yesterday I received this greatly anticipated Bear Family 20CD box set:
I was born and grew up in Shreveport, LA, and the
Louisiana Hayride was a big part of my personal history. However its glory days were largely before my time. This collection was lovingly produced with a 200+ hardcover book outlining the history of the Hayride and comprehensive discographical information of all the tracks and acts in addition to 20 CDs of the music, which was performed by most of the great country artists of the '40s, '50s, and '60s.
The Hayride was something of a farm club for the Opry. Hank Williams did two stints there, first before he had "made it" and then after he blew it, the last months before his death. It is widely believed that Elvis Presley killed the Hayride. When he appeared the audience became more teenagers and rock 'n' roll fans, to the point that the traditional country audience began to stay away. Then after Presley's short stay, the country acts had lost traction and the Hayride had lost its audience. It limped along until about 1965, but was nothing like it had been prior to the mid-50s rock 'n' roll phenomenon. I think an investor group brought it back for a while in the '80s - but I have no knowledge of how that went.
Bear Family boxes are lavishly done but issued in limited numbers and go out of print in a few years after being released. They can usually be found in the secondary market, but often at highly inflated costs. I must have bought one of the last copies on Amazon, since the day after I ordered mine the price jumped up double to what I paid.
I have a bunch of these Bear Family boxes, and will buy one every now and then - they are fantastic.
