Broadcasting the Ozarks - Si Siman and Country Music at the Crossroads

Broadcasting the Ozarks explores the vibrant country music scene that emerged in Springfield, Missouri, in the 1930s and thrived for half a century. Central to this history is the Ozark Jubilee (1955-60), the first regularly broadcast live country music show on network television. Dubbed the -king of the televised barn dances,- the show introduced the Ozarks region to viewers across America and put Springfield in the running with Nashville for dominance of the country music industry-with the Jubilee-s producer, Si Siman, at the helm. Siman-s life story is almost as remarkable as the show he produced. He was booking Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Glenn Miller during the mid-1930s while still a high school student and produced nationally syndicated country music radio shows in the decades that followed. Siman was a promotional genius with an ear for talent, a persuasive gift for gab, and the energy and persistence to make things happen for many future Country Music Hall of Famers, in