In 1954, Louisville Loved Liberace

In the mid-1950s, Variety tracked the performance of syndicated TV shows by publishing the ratings for those shows in many markets. One of them was Louisville.

This is from July 1954, and as you can see, "Liberace," airing on WAVE on Wednesday nights, was the ratings champ by a mile, more than 24 points ahead of "Ramar of the Jungle," airing on WHAS on Tuesday nights. Noting the competition is also interesting -- "Liberace," a big favorite with women viewers, was outpacing boxing matches known as "Blue Ribbon Bouts" (sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer). "Ramar" was leading, by a wide margin, the network dancing show "Arthur Murray Party." And the hysterical historical anti-Communist drama "I Led Three Lives" led the locally-produced "Pee Wee King Show" on WAVE. Let's also note the connection of longtime WAVE announcer Bob Kay to two items on this list -- he was the announcer on "The Pee Wee King Show," doing commercials for Oertel's 92 Beer, and he was the host of "Pop the Question," a locally produced game show being beaten up by "The Cisco Kid" every Sunday afternoon. ("Question" was gone by the fall.)     

Grandma Dixie Is on the Air!: The Story Continues

My Grandma Dixie was a working musician in the Louisville area from the 1930s until the early 1980s, winding up her career with a weekly gig at the Louisville Boat Club, if memory serves. Her ability to play piano by ear led to her popularity and steady employment over those decades. One of the musicians she performed most often with was Clayton "Pappy" McMichen, leader of the Georgia Wildcats (the group, sans Dixie, is pictured above). Here's a recording from March 1941 of Dixie and the group, with her on vocals and doing a piano solo, playing a kind of country swing song called "I'm a Goin.' " After not hearing her voice in a long time -- she passed in 1998 -- it's a kick for me to hear this. And hey! The song isn't bad, either.

I'm a Goin' (March 3, 1941, WAVE radio -- from Berea College Special Collections and Archives)

Even after she stopped playing for money -- and was made a lifetime member of the local Musician's Union -- Dixie could always be coaxed to sit down and play something at our family gatherings. (Especially if a cold Sterling Beer was involved.) I have some video recordings of her family performances from the mid-1990s. I'll post them when I can dig them up.