Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys – The RC Cola Shows, Vol. 1
In 1954, Roy Acuff & His Smoky Mountain Boys recorded 52 different 15-minute radio shows for RC Cola, a sponsor of the Grand Ole Opry. Each show was unique, and all 52 were recorded during one seven-to-ten-day session (nobody remembers, exactly). These shows were pressed onto 16-inch acetate discs (one show per side) and shipped to radio stations for broadcast. The acetates were intended to be broadcast weekly and were subsequently to be returned to RC Cola. Not every radio station complied, and tiny RME Music recently acquired a complete set from a collector. RME plans to reissue all 52 transcriptions on 10 CDs.
At the time of these shows, the 50-year-old Acuff was a major star, but his singles were no longer receiving the tremendous airplay that they had in the 1940s. He was certainly still in fine voice, as shown by his soulful lead vocal on the hymn “Hold To God’s Unchanging Hand”. Spirited harmonica accompaniment by Jimmy Riddle and intricate dobro lines from Pete Kirby (“Bashful Brother Oswald”) make this cut a highlight.
Vol. 1 is clearly for Acuff buffs, not novices. Only one of his better-known songs is represented, but it happens to be a moving rendition of “Wreck On The Highway” (which the Waco Brothers covered on 1997’s Cowboy In Flames). Also included are jug band routines and “Crawdad Song”, which shares the melody of “Froggie Went A-Courtin'”.
This disc’s appeal lies in its rarities and its preservation of the old-time radio shtick that evolved from vaudeville tradition. Vol. 1 contains 11 songs that were never commercially recorded by the band, and future volumes will contain many more heretofore unheard gems.
Although the disc’s running time is 56 minutes, less than half of that is devoted to music. The rest of the disc is filled with onstage banter, the show’s theme music, corny comedy monologues by Whitey Ford (in the persona of The Duke of Paducah), and a whopping 12 advertisements for the show’s sponsor.
These frequent cola plugs are either charming or annoying, depending on one’s view of advertising history. Acuff and WSM announcer Louie Buck make numerous pronouncements, such as: “Best by taste-test flavor: That’s what you get when you call for a frosty bottle of RC Cola!” (For their part, the RC Cola head office had never heard of these shows when RME called to obtain permission.)
The ratio of music to showbiz shenanigans is far from ideal, but this disc accurately captures a dying era. As Grand Ole Opry announcer Eddie Stubbs’ liner notes explain, in 1954, a television set was a luxury unknown to most of Acuff’s Southern, working-class fan base. Live radio shows were still popular, but they would soon be replaced by DJs playing records. And that kid named Elvis had not yet exploded on the national scene.