Long before American Idol and America's Got Talent, Ted Mack's Amateur Hour ran on radio until 1952 and until 1970 on television. Every week our whole family was glued to the blonde Magnavox that set in our living room. My Dad especially loved the show, he would sing along with the opera singers and comment he could do the plate spinning tricks that were sometimes on!
Even local talent from the Ozarks traveled to NYC to be on the show!
Maybe that's the reason I developed a love of all kinds of music. I try to choose music that doesn't interfere with reading, like piano. But I can't help myself and that's why sometimes you have to listen to "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" or "Homegrown Tomatoes!" It's all that opera I listened to on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour that made me warped!
Have you heard Miranda Lambert's song "The House That Built Me?" I was running errands the other day and nearly had to stop to wipe my eyes and blow my nose when it was over! It's about the house you grew up in and the heartstrings that pull you back to that house. For me it's the house on Summit Street in Springfield, Mo. I loved that house. It was old and the rooms were big. On the corner of Summit and Division, the yard was two lots. Maple trees surrounded the house and big evergreens made the house look Christmas-y even when it wasn't. It had an attic and a basement, lots of hidey holes to explore. I learned to climb a tree and ride a bike there. It was an old neighborhood filled with families and retired people. Kids played outside until dark, rode their bikes around the block and visited neighbors. It wasn't Leave it to Beaver, but it was close! I lived there until I was 15.
Lots of birthdays, Christmases and celebrations... I have to go blow my nose now!
Wow! do you know how to stir up old memories! Do you remember an old TV show called Town Hall Party? That was one of my Mom's favorites. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet post, Joycee...aren't we the lucky ones to have experienced a great childhook...like you say not Leave it to Beaver perfect ...but close.
ReplyDeletechildhood...lol
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm not a huge fan of Miranda Lambert, "The House That Built Me" sure pulls at my heartstrings. I think it's the best song she's ever done. Many acts were "discovered" on the Amateur Hour.
ReplyDeleteSweet song ~ I was unfamiliar with it. Sweet post too. I recently made a fast post draft of the house I grew up in. My dad built it. It is so true that these places hold a special place in our hearts and memories.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I was thinking about childhood memories today. Those were the good old days Joycee. My Father used to say the same thing:-)
ReplyDeleteRon, I just Googled Town Hall Party and it seems it was a similar show out of Pasadena and Los Angeles in 1951! I was a midwest kid...
ReplyDeleteGreat memories. Loved the Ted Mack Amateur Hour along with the Ed Sullivan Show and Your Hit Parade.
ReplyDeleteI remember Town Hall Party. I think that's the show Molly Bee and Joe and Rose Lee Mavis were on. You really did stir up some old memories and now I will have to blog about them! Thanks--as always.
ReplyDeleteI love to hear Miranda sing that and the video reduces me to tears everytime I see it.. She said when she read it she knew she had to sing it and boy does she do a good job on it!!! I have been wanting to go to Crossett, AR and see the house that built me....I've got to go there soon!
ReplyDeleteI remember watching a TV show at my Grandma's...we didn't have one! I loved to watch the square dancers on Lee Mace's show--was it "Ozark Jubilee", or something like that? I think it broadcast out of the Lake of the Ozarks area. I can't dance a lick but love to watch square dancers!
ReplyDelete