On this day (April 3) in 1948, The Louisiana Hayride broadcast for the first time. The show was one of the most successful live radio shows in history. It helped to launch the careers of legendary artists like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and many more.
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Often called the Cradle of the Stars, the show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The radio station KWKH pushed the show, which featured up-and-coming country acts to listeners in 28 states, according to 64 Parishes. In 1953, CBS Radio picked up the Louisiana Hayride and sent it to 198 affiliate stations. Additionally, Armed Services Radio sent the show to military bases around the world.
When it comes to classic country radio shows, many immediately think of The Grand Ole Opry. The Louisiana Hayride launched more than 20 years after the Opry. KWKH station manager Henry Clay created the Hayride using the Opry template. The shows beamed to the same areas and competed for the same audiences. However, key differences made the Shreveport-based show an important part of musical history.
How The Louisiana Hayride Competed with The Grand Ole Opry
Two key differences set The Louisiana Hayride apart from the Opry. For starters, the Opry banned the use of the electric guitar. The Hayride, on the other hand, welcomed the relatively new instrument on its stage. Maybe, more importantly, Clay was a little more open-minded when it came to booking than the Nashville-based show.
The Opry generally only invited artists who already had a hit record to play. The Hayride didn’t have that restriction. Instead, they took chances on up-and-coming artists. Also, Opry banned Hank Williams for drunkenness and declined to invite Elvis back after his lackluster debut. Clay had no problem welcoming both of those artists on his stage.
As a result, The Louisiana Hayride was a place where up-and-comers got their start. Legends like Presley, Williams, Kitty Wells, Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, and many more A-list country artists of yesteryear gained widespread acclaim on the weekly show. This led many to refer to the Hayride as the Grand Ole Opry’s Farm Team. Clay, on the other hand, referred to the Opry as “the Tennessee branch of the Hayride.”
Unfortunately, the show’s popularity waned as television became more widespread. The Louisiana Hayride broadcast for the last time on August 27, 1960.
Fast Facts About The Louisiana Hayride
The phrase “Elvis has left the building” came from a Hayride broadcast. On December 15, 1958, Presley performed on the show for the last time. After he left the stage, the crowd went wild, hoping the 19-year-old singer would come back for an encore. The show’s emcee announced, “All right, all right, Elvis has left the building. …He left the stage and went out the back with the policemen,” hoping to calm the crowd.
The Louisiana Hayride averaged about 3,300 ticket sales every Saturday. Tickets were only 60 cents and out-of-towners filled most of the seats.
The show’s first broadcast included Kitty Wells and the Tennessee Mountain Boys, Curley Kinsey and the Tennessee Ridge Runners, the Ozark Mountaineers, the Four Deacons, and Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys among others.
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