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Current mood:  nostalgic
The Louisiana Hayride was a radio broadcast from the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped launch the careers of the some of the greatest names in American music. Within a year of its debut, the program was so popular that a regional 25-station network was set up to broadcast portions of the show.
Beginning with the successful first show on April 3, 1948, for more than a decade the Louisiana Hayride ranked second only to the Grand Ole Opry in terms of importance. While both showcased established stars, the Louisiana Hayride was where talented, but virtual unknowns, were also given exposure to a large audience. Over the years, country music greats such as Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, Jimmie Davis, Slim Whitman, Floyd Cramer, Sonny James, Hank Snow, Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, Claude King, George Jones, John and The Three Wise Men, Johnny Cash, and even Elvis Presley were heard on the Hayride. Presley's performance of his newly released song from Sun Records called "That's All Right Mama" brought a tepid response, according to former Hayride emcee Frank Page, but soon after Elvis was nonetheless signed to a one-year contract for future appearances. The immediate and enormous demand for more of Presley's new kind of Rockabilly music actually resulted in a sharp decline in the popularity of the Louisiana Hayride that until that point had been strictly a country music venue.
Within a few years, Rock and roll dominated the music scene and on August 27, 1960, the Louisiana Hayride put on its final performance, though there have been attempts in the years since to revive it, and some strictly local performances have been done in the Shreveport area under the name, but the concept was far from its old glory.
That's til Shreveport native Matt Miller moved to the Halifax Country of Florida and revived the show under the new auspices, Halifax Hayride. Though the show had conciderable talent on hand, the local community became outraged that the Hayride was a music show and not an actual hayride. Miller and the other producers quickly got themselves a flatbed trailer and several bails of hay to appease the angry mob. Though the musical aspect of the venture failed completely the Halifax Hayride is now one of the great new tourist attractions of Daytona Beach and the surrounding Halifax Country. With tours daily, private rides, and equestrian catering, the hayride rides again.
8:54 PM
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