Town Hall Party

Town Hall Party was an American country music radio and television show broadcast over KXLA-AM, Pasadena, California, KFI-AM, Los Angeles, California, and KTTV-TV. The first radio broadcast was in the autumn of 1951. Promoter William B. Wagnon, Jr., had been booking such acts as Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys in ballrooms between Bakersfield and Sacramento for several years when he decided to extend his operations to Los Angeles. Bert "Foreman" Phillips had been promoting country and Western barn dance programs at the old Town Hall building, situated at 400 South Long Beach Boulevard in Compton, near Long Beach. Wagnon acquired Phillips' lease and commenced promoting a combined dance-and-show, featuring any and all country & western recording artists working in the area and available on Saturday nights. An estimated 3,000 patrons could be accommodated in the Town Hall Ballroom. Wagnon instructed the performers to play only music which could be danced to, and to keep individual songs short and plentiful, in order to satisfy everyone's tastes.

Johnny Cash created his own sub-genre, fusing the blunt emotional honesty of folk, the rebelliousness of rock & roll, and the world weariness of country. The Johnny Cash you hear on these two remarkable live performances is not the venerable legend of today. This was the young, feral Cash, full of piss and sly orneriness. Even to those who know every note, joke and guitar lick on Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison or San Quentin, hearing Cash in his prime, aided and abetted by the Tennessee Two, guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant, is a revelation. These historic documents, sourced directly from the 1958 and 1959 kinescope reels, capture Cash in his most revolutionary days, laying the bedrock of all that was to come.

Town Hall Party was California's largest country music barn dance, and it ran from early 1952 until early 1961. The show was broadcast every Saturday night from a theater made up to look like an old barn, in the Compton suburb of Los Angeles. The guest list was a "who's who" of country, rockabilly, and rock 'n roll. Here's incredibly rare footage of Eddie Cochran filmed Feb. 7th, 1959. This DVD includes a rare interview with Cochran, and he performs C'mon Everybody, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, Don't Blame It on Me, Summertime Blues, School Days, Be Honest with Me, Money Honey and others.

Influential country music legend Marty Robbins takes the stage of the popular "Town Hall Party" TV series, singing a sample of the many hit songs and beloved fan favorites that made him one of the most popular artists of his time. In addition to his performance of songs such as "I Can't Quit" and "The Story of My Life," Robbins speaks openly about his creative process and influences in a candid interview with host Johnny Bond

This DVD shows Johnny Cash live on stage at the Town Hall Party in the late 1950s performing 24 songs at two different shows (tracks 1-11 are from Nov. 15, 1958, and tracks 12-24 are from Aug. 8, 1959) . Includes the songs Frankie & Johnny, I Walk The Line, Folsom Prison Blues, Heartbreak Hotel, Give My Love To Rose & others.

To date, we've seen the same footage of Gene Vincent and other early stars of rock 'n roll over and over again. It seemed as though there wasn't much...and we'd seen it all. But then Bear Family did an exclusive deal for the rights to the old Town Hall Party show, California's largest country music barn dance. On this DVD, we see Gene with the Blue Caps filmed Oct. 25th, 1958, as well as July 25th and Nov. 7th, 1959. He sings Be-Bop-A-Lula, High Blood Pressure, Rip It Up, Dance to The Bop, You Win Again, For Your Precious Love, Rocky Road Blues, Pretty Pearly, Be-Bop-A-Lula, High School Confidential, Over the Rainbow, Roll Over Beethoven and She She Little Sheila.

Here are priceless performances filmed during the Town Hall Party show, broadcast every Saturday night in the Compton suburb of Los Angeles. Bob performs on shows taped on Sept. 21st & 27th, 1958, as well as Oct. 4th & 25th 1958. Here, we see why Luman was one of rock 'n roll's all-time great performers as he sings Svengali, I Walk the Line, Blue Suede Shoes, Ready Teddy, Shake, Rattle & Roll, Rockin' Robin, Early in the Morning, Folsom Prison Blues, Precious, Oh Lonesome Me, Itchy Twitchy Feeling, Love Makes the World Go Round, Stagger Lee, A Lover's Question, I Got a Woman and My Baby Walks All Over Me.

We've heard so much about how great the Collins Kids were on the old Town Hall Party shows, but now there's finally a chance for us all to see just how great they really were. Lorrie looked like an angel and sang like an angel. Larry was among the era's most dynamic performers. He could run, jump, and duckwalk…all while playing a guitar that was almost as big as he was. This DVD really sets the record straight. The Collins Kids might have had no hits, but they were among the brightest stars in early rock 'n roll. Here (from 1954-58) they're mostly playing other peoples' hits, blues hits, and pop classics, but they're never outclassed by the originals.