Anyone remember the Star Route TV show circa 1962 ?

GaryHoetker · Post by **GaryHoetker** » 18 Dec 2000 9:24 am

Hosted by the rugged actor Rod Cameron, this weekly syndicated TV program is an essential collector's item if it is available. This is where I was first exposed to the West Coast Sound and stll remember vividly the shows featuring Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart. The late and great Jelly Sanders was the fiddle sideman and I think Fuzzy Owen (Hag's Manager) was the steeler.

Neil Hilton · Post by **Neil Hilton** » 18 Dec 2000 2:56 pm

I hear ya, if those are in cans on some dusty back shelf somewhere they ought to be broken out- would be about the time Merle was spending some time playing bass with Owens and Stewart --- I'd gladly send the first check for copy of some of that.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 20 Dec 2000 8:59 am

Are you sure it was syndicated, Gary? My research shows it was never carried by any major network...NBC, CBS, ABC, or DuMont. (Maybe it was just a local feed?)

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 30 Dec 2000 8:18 pm

Guys, some comments on Star Route.
Some 1961 appearences by Johnny Cash (with Luther Perkins & Marshall Grant), doing the songs Big River, Pickin’ Time, I Got Stripes, Five Feet high And Rising on the compilation Tennessee Top Cat and were recorded in 1961 on 'Star Route' with an introduction by Red Cameron.

Other regulars included Red Rhodes and Gene Davis. I guess most of the Gene Davis band from the Pal' appeared on the show at one time or another.

On the issue of syndication, the only thing I can offer, is a list of shows that some bootlegger was flogging around various country lists a while back. Wouldn't answer any detailed email questions, so this is about it.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>1964 show STAR ROUTE(musical variety) Faron Young, Collins Kids, Glen Campbell, Carl Smith, Sonny James, Skeeter Davis, Leroy Van Dyke.
Star Route went into Syndication in 1964, hosted by Rod Cameron.
Tapes include
1)w/Glen Campbell, George Morgan, The Collins Kids 30 min B/W EXC #321B
2)w/Glen Campbell, Bob Luman 30 min B/W
3)w/Glen Campbell, Leroy Van Dyke 30 min B/W
4)w/Glen Campbell, Skeeter Davis 30 min B/W
5)w/Glen Campbell, Roger Miller 30 min B/W
6)w/Glen Campbell, Bill Anderson 30 min B/W
7)w/Johnny Cash, Tennessee Three 30 min B/W
8)w/Rex Allen Jr., Glen Campbell 30 min B/W
9)w/Sheb Wooley, Glen Campbell 30 min B/W
10)w/Hank Thompson, Glen Campbell 30 min B/W
11)w/Faron Young, Glen Campbell, Collins Kids 30 min B/W
12)w/Carl Smith, Glen Campbell, Collins Kids 30 min B/W
13)w/Sonny James, Glen Campbell, Collins Kids 30 min B/W<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's about all I can offer on that topic, although I think rockabilly singer Glen Glenn did some recordings that have been used for a compilation CD, that originated from a Star Route broadcast in the early 1960s.

[This message was edited by Jason Odd on 31 December 2000 at 07:54 AM.]

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 31 Dec 2000 10:18 am

There was also an instrumental played by Red Rhodes called "Star Route". It was a kinda up tempo thing which I thought Red played very well. There was a single out by him on the thing too I believe. I think I still remember how to play it but I'd like to hear it again to make sure.

Jason, does any of those taped shows feature this tune? I think it might have been the theme song............

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Have a good 'un! JH U-12

Dave Brophy · Post by **Dave Brophy** » 31 Dec 2000 2:49 pm

Donny,
In TV parlance,"syndication" meant programming that was not carried by one of the major networks,but was seen in more than one city.Come to think of it,it still does.
In TV,I believe the system came to prominence in the early 60's as cities began to have more than 3 (network affiliate)stations.The independant stations needed content,and syndication companies provided it.They would take a local show somewhere and film it,video-tape it,or provide a live feed.They'd then sell it to any station in the country that wanted it.
I think Westinghouse became the most succesful.They had the Mike Douglas show,and at one point one of the incarnations of the Steve Allen show.
If you saw the Flatt & Scruggs Show or the Wilburn Brothers Show in D.C. or Baltimore in the 60's,as I did,those were syndicated shows shot in Nashville.
Lots of country and rock'n'roll dance shows were syndicated.As opposed to American Bandstand,which was bought by a major network
after a couple of years of Philadelphia success.
I don't think the Buddy Deane show in Baltimore was ever syndicated.But it was immortalized in John Waters' movie "Hairspray."

The TV landscape has changed alot with cable and satellite,but a lot of reruns are still syndicated.And it is still widely done in talk radio.

Aaron Schiff · Post by **Aaron Schiff** » 31 Dec 2000 3:15 pm

Gary, how did I miss this show? I was in S. Calif. until the fall of '64. I caught everything country on radio or TV from south of Bakersfield to north of San Diego. To think I missed an opportunity to see the love of my teen years, Lorrie Collins!!! BTW, while lots of people credit Buck Owens with starting the "west coast sound", I think the first big hit was "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Loud Loud Music" by Joe Maphis written after a long night in a Bakersfield honky tonk. And, of course, the Maddox Brothers and Rose were touring the Central Valley when Buck was in knee britches!

Larry Petree · Post by **Larry Petree** » 31 Dec 2000 5:56 pm

Aaron, you have a good memory. The Bakersfield honky tonk, was the famous Blackboard.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 31 Dec 2000 6:49 pm

Jerry, if I can track down an email on the seller I'll do my best. He usually advertises on the country lists and has ACM, CMA and various TV shows, Shindig, etc.
Although I think this is a bootleg setup, I do believe that Shindig is on video now.

I didn't get any videos for two main reasons, as he's not a totally legal biz, I was wary of getting stiffed, or that the videos weren't that great. I mean they could be umpteeenth generation copies.
Also, the US has a totally different video format.
I do however have Red's live LP from the Pal' and he do 'Star Route'.
By the way, I've had a few people tell me that when Gene Davis started as the bandleader on Star Route, Gene Fields was the original steel player, then later Red Rhodes took over and wrote that tune especially for the show, or either had the tune and renamed it for use on the show.
Email me if you want more info on the LP.

Aaron, were you a picker in SoCal at all?
Lorrie pretty much retired after 1964, for a few years at least to raise her kid.
In the late 1960s they reformed the act and actually had a progressive country sort of thing going on.
I don't think they recorded during this period though. (late 1960s-1970s)

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The future ain't what it used to be

Aaron Schiff · Post by **Aaron Schiff** » 1 Jan 2001 12:04 pm

Larry & Jason. I grew up in San Bernardino and started taking guitar lessons in 1954. My family went to the Town Hall Party shows in Compton regularly. My southern mountaineer father was the first "hillbilly" DJ in So. Calif. broadcasting on KPRO Riverside during WWII. (The Marine Corps didn't need a radioman with one leg shot off.) I started taking lessons from a dobro instructor in about '57 or '58 for a year, but quit due to the stench of coffee cans filled with tobacco juice that were all over his garage studio.

My memory is not always so good, because for years I remembered "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette" as a Johnny Bond song instead of Merle Travis. The last thing I heard of the Collins kids was when I noticed that Larry had written "Delta Dawn". He, Joe Maphis and Merle Travis were my guitar heros growing up. Joaquin Murphy with Spade Cooley and Speedy West were my local favorites on steel. I never performed for a paying audience until after I moved back to Va. in the fall of '64. I am going to have to look into the new recordings available from the THP days. I also liked Cal Worthington's Corral, Ranch Party and Doyle O'Dell's show on KTLA-TV. --Aaron

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 1 Jan 2001 12:35 pm

I used to be on a mailing list of a music retailer called "Longhorn" records from somewhere in California. They listed all of those old recordings and radio transcriptions from the 40's & 50's, but at some point I stopped getting advertisements. Does anyone know about this company?

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 1 Jan 2001 1:21 pm

Dave...

Many shows that were "syndicated" were never big hits, or distributed on a large scale. Syndicated shows were simply shows available to anyone (for a fee). Private companies (or sometimes major networks!) sell certain show's licenses (broadcast rights) to others. Thus, they might turn up anywhere...on independent stations, or on large networks as well. A syndicated show might appear on several stations, or it could show up on hundreds of stations across the country ("Nationally Syndicated"). The idea began in radio in the 1930's, and spread to TV in the late 1950's with the advent of UHF stations and pay-TV. Though there were regional television networks, the only ones who were ever really considered "national" were CBS, NBC, ABC, and Dumont. (DuMont didn't last because they had no radio network, their main business was manufacturing.)

Apparently, "Star Route" was never nationally syndicated, or was never carried by a major network.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 1 Jan 2001 4:15 pm

I remember Star Route the show very well, and I play Red's tune of the same name. Key of F, as Red did it. The fast chromatic part on the second bridge is tricky, the first bridge is much easier.

<pre>
F F F F
Bb C7 F F
F F F F7
Bb C7 F F

A7 A7 Bb7 Bb7
B7 B7 C7 C7

F F F F7
Bb C7 F F</pre>

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 1 Jan 2001 7:37 pm

The thing I've noticed about SoCal is the wonderful eclectic mix of music. I've noticed with a lot of the guys from Herb Steiner's age group, born circa the 1940s, that they were exposed to a wonderful mix of cowboy, country and easy listening on tlelevision via various Hollywood TV shows, and there were various stations in surrounding areas in CA with their own country shows.
I used Herb for an example, as he was part of the bluegrass scene and like Chris Darrow, Bernie Leadon, Bob Warford, Clarence White, Chris Hillman, Pete Grant, Jerry Garcia and others, he took it somewhere else, musically speaking that is.

Cal's Corral, the Trading Post and the Sqeakin Deacon Show, seem the most popular although that may be due to the fact that half of the Calfornina forumites played on it at one stage or another. (at least it seems that way). There was the Melody Ranch, Town Hall Party, Western Varieties, Tex Williams TV show, etc.
Where else could you find a state where surf music, honky tonk, cowboys and bluegrass where all over the place, yet not the main industry.
I couldn't even begin to touch on it here alone.

Gene, I heard some rumours that the Longhorn label had gone bust, but then I found out that a 'Longhorn' label has been reissuing various classic country LPs from the 1960s, but I haven't found out anything abut it as yet.
To be honest I assumed it was some sort of spin-off or revival of Dewey Groom's old Texas label.

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 2 Jan 2001 1:46 pm

Regarding the bootlegger: If you want some of his stuff you'd better hurry up before somebody turns him in and his stuff is confiscated.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 2 Jan 2001 6:22 pm

Tom, I can't find his email anywhere, but he posts a lot on the alt.newsgroups thingies that our own Janice frequents.

I think it's the classic country one, anyway I think that most of these guys get away with it for years, there's record labels in Japan that blatantly rip off US artists and there's plenty of reissue labels that aren't exactly keen to pay royalties, although some are good.
I noticed at the All Music Guide website they've started to list bootlegs in the artists biographies!

John Steele · Post by **John Steele** » 5 Jan 2001 12:15 pm

When I first took up the steel, one of my musician buddies kept asking me "Have you learned Star Route yet ?"
He explained that it was a hugely popular instrumental tune in the 60's, (In Canada,
anyway) and was used often as a segway sort of tune, to bring artists on and off the stage. He also said any steel player worth his salt ought to know how to play it.
I never heard the tune until I bought Neil Flanz's two instrumental albums. One of the albums was actually titled "Get on the Star Route".
My buddy Chuck insists that it was also the theme song of some T.V. music show here in Canada during the 60's. FWIW
-John
p.s. I'm still not worth my salt, but I can play it a bit.

Tele · Post by **Tele** » 6 Jan 2001 1:32 pm

funny, I bought a "Star route" bootleg back in the 80s in Germany.....very low quality but worth every cent !

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 25 Nov 2010 6:13 am

Google research indicates this show originated from Toronto Canada. Was this show taped in Toronto,(Rod Cameron being Canadian)or California? Would all of the California musicians have trekked to Toronto to tape this show, or were the owners of the show from Toronto, and taped the show in California? I'm bumfuzzled.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 25 Nov 2010 11:11 pm

Star Route was filmed in Hollywood and Toronto, there was a Los Angeles Band (The Gene Davis Band, augmented with Glen Campbell and Billy Armstrong), and a Canadian band. The Canadian one had a famous Canadian fidler, graham Townsend in the band.

The host, guests, the Collins Kids, Gene Davis and a few others were flown up for the segments filmed in Canada.

I think the West Coast episodes are easier to spot, if you can see Red Rhodes on steel = Hollywood.
Archie Francis on drums with Starrouters or Gene Davis Band on his drum head = Hollywood.

J.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 26 Nov 2010 6:02 am

Thanks Oddy! Here is a youtube clip from said show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtznA8yKyAA

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 26 Nov 2010 8:52 pm

Hey Larry thanks for the link. that one the George Morgan episode, is one they filmed in Toronto.

This is from the same episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBUnqpOl ... re=related

Behind the Collins Kids is Gene Davis, so Rod, The Collins Kids, Gene and Glen Campbell were flown in at least.

J.

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 27 Nov 2010 11:27 am

OOPs double post

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 27 Nov 2010 11:27 am

I have the LP Red Rhodes and the Detours (Happy Tiger records)..Star Route by Red along withe Palomino boys Dennis Rhromek,Biff Adams..Its a Live album.I transfered it to CD..rather Smiley did it for me and I gave him the LP...I wouldn't mind running off a few copies..

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 27 Nov 2010 2:02 pm

That Gene Davis band was a smokin band. They were there to play. Glen Cambell is cookin.