Randy McNutt - The Cincinnati Sound

Lloyd Cowboy Copas arrived in Cincinnati in 1929 and by the 1940s was a vocalist on WLWs Boone County Jamboree . Later he sang in Pee Wee Kings Golden West Cowboys and joined the Grand Ole Opry . In 1945, he signed a recording contract with King Records. His hits included Filipino Baby and Signed, Sealed and Delivered. Copas also hosted a WKRC radio program, with accompanying book Cowboys Favorite Songs , as sung by our friend on the air. (Authors collection.)

Entertainers pose on this WLW circular sent to homes in the early 1940s. Their Boone County Jamboree presented talented country and western acts. The comic presence of Ma and Pa McCormick and Lazy Jim Day appealed to the rural members of the vast audience. Entrepreneur Powel Crosley Jr. founded WLW in 1922. Called the Nations Station, its powerful signal reached across many states and its varied programs, including Moon River , entertained millions of people. Many stars and famous people performed on the station, including Red Skelton, Eddie Albert, Rosemary and Betty Clooney, Homer and Jethro, Chet Atkins, the Mills Brothers, and Fats Waller. In 1942, Andy Williams, then only 11 years old, sang on the 15-minute Time to Shine show before heading to school. (Authors collection.)

Ruby Wright, a native of Anderson, Indiana, started singing professionally in her home state in 1930. Later she married bandleader Barney Rapp and toured the nation with his group, the New Englanders. Eventually they settled in Cincinnati and performed at the Lookout House in northern Kentucky and at area hotels and nightclubs. In 1952, Wright joined the staff of WLW and WLW-T. She hosted a radio show, Dixieland Unlimited , and later recorded a regional hit with Ruth Lyonss Lets Light the Christmas Tree for Fraternity Records. For 20 years she appeared on television shows hosted by Lyons and Bob Braun, and became one of Cincinnatis most recognizable television personalities. Before Rapp left the music business to become a local travel agent, he replaced his wife in the band with a younger Cincinnati singer, Doris von Kappelhoff, who changed her name to Doris Day. (Authors collection.)

Boone County Jamboree became one of WLWs more popular programs in the 1940s. Although now remembered for its hot country acts, the show also included some popular singers such as the Williams Brothers. The shows material featured cowboy songs, home songs, western songs, and mountain songs in an era when they were considered individual genres. They now fall under the umbrella of country music. The Jamboree continued until it gave way to a more modern program, the Midwestern Hayride . (Authors collection.)