I'm not a fan of much of country music; but, I like a heck of a lot more from before the 1980s; much of which, I saw on this show. my tastes there swing more to Bluegrass/Hillbilly and Western, than anything else. Hee Haw made great use of Blue Grass/Hillbilly, with the likes of Grandpa Jones, Stringbean and Ronnie Stoneman, who were part of the regular cast. Roy Clark could and did play anything, from standard country, Western, Bluegrass, rockabilly, classical, and straight out rock n roll. He also had pretty good comedic timing and was a great presence in the skits. I noticed Buck Owens mostly stuck to the music, apart from "Pickin' and Grinnin'", the town salutes, and the jump cut commentaries.


We watched because it was the only thing on, before prime time programming came on, on a Saturday (much as we watched Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, on Sundays). However, I always kind of liked it, as it reminded me of visiting my relatives in Southern Illinois (near the Indiana border and not that far from the Kentucky border). Those visits involved a lot of sitting around and telling stories, many humorous and my grandfather occasionally bringing out his fiddle or my grandmother playing the piano, or both, especially if my cousins from Nebraska were there (they love to do family sing-a-longs). A lot of entertainment treats the rural populations as inbred hicks and rubes and bigots, afraid of outsiders and the like. Hee Haw would send up the stereotypes, pushing them into the absurd (munis the more political stereotypes) while also showcasing the rural humor tradition of the country boy who puts one over on the smart aleck city slicker (a staple of the Andy Griffith Show). I miss small town life, as people had a greater sense of community than I have found in more urban environments. I grew up in a town of 700 and everyone knew everyone else and were ready to help, in a crisis. You do find that in urban areas, but it seems to need a nudge or two, at times.

Speaking of Lawrence Welk, here's something surreal: The Chantays ("Pipeline") "playing" surf music on the show:



They are obviously miming, as you can see they aren't plugged into amps and there is no variation from the original recording. Notice the reaction of the band behind them. Not enough accordion, I guess.

and a little bit of Western, from the show...



and Glen Campbell and Roy Clark tearing up the same song...



Seems like there used to be a whole lot more mixing of musical styles before corporate takeover of the record labels. By the 80s and after, it seems like there were far fewer crossover hits.