Smithville Fiddlers' Jamboree

You You You From the town square in

Smithville, Tennessee. This is the 25th annual Smithville fiddlers jamboree Featuring the best in amateur singing dancing and entertainment. So sit back relax and enjoy the down -home atmosphere of the Smithville fiddlers jamboree Welcome to the silver anniversary of the Smithville fiddlers jamboree and craft festival. It's a wonderful time here in Smithville, Tennessee located in the heart of middle Tennessee. I'm Becky McGuru and I'm Steve Boots and we're certainly glad that you've joined us. We want to say hi to folks around the country. Ralph Vaughan is our on -stage host. We he's going to be introducing some outstanding contests coming up in just a moment. Senior fiddlers square dancing and then the junior senior fiddle off with a championship of the upper cumberland and also the Barry C. Williams memorial trophy. see the stage behind us. They're standing by. Let's Thanks us to make history. This is the 25th annual

Smithville fiddlers jamboree. It has been estimated thanks to your attendance that we have over well over 100 ,000 people who have attended this weekend. Thank you for being a part of our history. Right now we're moving into the finals of the senior fiddling competition. Our contestants are Dick Crawford, Sonny Buchanan and Claude Lucas. Let's bring to the stage right now Mr. Dick Crawford. Dick if you will. Dick Crawford ladies and gentlemen. Following Dick will be Sonny Buchanan and Claude Lucas. All

right for our team tonight we wouldn't like to play one call the coming mountain breakdown. Wonderful, wonderful.

Fabulous entertainment. Dick Crawford with his fiddle. Now on our stage the second of our three finalists. Let's bring to the stage and let's give him a thank you and welcome. This is Sonny Buchanan. I'm going to do one call the Darns Bowl. Sonny Buchanan. You have done yourself

proud Sonny. Sonny Buchanan the second of our three finalists and now ladies and gentlemen the third finalist. We bring to our stage from Gaston, South Carolina Let's welcome Claude Lucas. Sonny Sonny Buchanan.

Claude Lucas

from Gaston, South Carolina. Coming up next here is the order of business. Coming up next the square dancing finals. We have the Tennessee Code. Square dancing finals coming up next. know you're looking forward to that. Before that though we wanted to take a moment to say hi to all the PBS stations across the country our colleagues who put this program on and we certainly do appreciate them airing the Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree and we're glad that you're watching across the country and hope that you enjoy it and you'll take a moment next year take a few days to come down to Smithville and enjoy this in person. Don Millian has come to the Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree from Springfield, Missouri. Don tell us how you got here and why you decided Smithville was the place to be. Well I've watched it on TV for the last two or three years and I just told my wife I said when I retire I'm going to go down there and see what goes on because it looked like a lot of fun and this is my type of music. I love it. You just retired now. Where did you watch the Jamboree? We watched it out of

Springfield, Missouri. We're out of close to Branson down around Shell Knob and we pick up Springfield Public TV station then we pick up the Arkansas Public TV station and we've seen it on both of them. Now you've watched it on television and now you've seen it in person. Which is best? Well you pick up the highlights on the TV but I like to get around and listen to the rest of them play and talk to the people. They're all great people. All right thanks Don. You bet. Steve you know this year marked the bicentennial of Tennessee so it was a terrific year to be here but next year will be just as promising and just as much fun so we hope that you'll join us and it's a two -day event we want to remind you on Friday and Saturday and you know on Friday night a performer that absolutely I think I just adore to watch every time he gets on stage is Waylon Wood because no one can play a harmonica like he can. I'd to play Daryl Dixie for you.

Okay

we're going to go back to the stage now. We're going to have more of the finals. This is the square dancing competition. The finals they have narrowed it down to three groups. Three groups will be competing for the square dancing championship of the Smithfield Fiddler's Jamboree and Crafts Festival. Let's go back to the stage. The square dancing finals are next during the 25th annual Old Time Fiddler's Jamboree here in Smithfield Tennessee. Our band is ready. Our dancers are ready. Let's welcome to our stage Harpeth River. Harpeth River take a

bow. Contestants 258. Harpeth River. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you right now on our stage in Smithfield Tennessee the Tennessee Toe Tappers. Thank you. The Tennessee

Toe Tappers. Wonderful. The last of our finalists and the square dance competition for 1996. The Little Rock Preview coming on stage. It's right now. Let's welcome the Little Rock Preview. The The Little

Preview. The

Little Thank you. The Little Rock Preview. Well they start young in Tennessee and you know that's part of the mission here with the Smithfield Fiddler Chamboree is to preserve the heritage of this kind of music and dance and in the afternoon on Saturday they have the national championship for the country musician beginners. I'm going to be playing the Wildwood Flower. The You can see they

certainly do a great job at any age. And going to the other end of the spectrum the senior fiddlers competition this year feature three men who have been battling for many years in the senior fiddlers competition and the winner of the senior fiddlers competition is going to go against the winner of the junior fiddlers competition which was held earlier. Now the junior fiddlers are aged 13 to 36 or 13 to 35 and the senior fiddlers are 36 and over so this is going to be a competition between the two champions of those divisions for the championship of the Smithfield Fiddlers Chamboree and the Barry C Williams Memorial trophy which means so much to the people here in Smithfield Tennessee. Barry C Williams one of the original founders of the Smithfield Fiddlers Chamboree 25 years ago. In 1972 did you ever envision that you would have like last year 90 ,000 people here and so many crafts booths and so many things to do. No I did not believe

well I just couldn't conceive that it would do it but last year after seeing all that crowd and booths and the people enjoy themselves I won't pass it 100 this year and that's what we're looking for. Walter Burton is the assistant coordinator and he wears a lot of other hats including the physical layout Walter it looks like another great jamboree this year. Well the 25th year and hopefully we're going to get it right this time but we've had a lot of practice and we try to do something every year to make it a little better and we've gone to a portable stage this time and we're learning how it's reacting to the cloggers and and the dancers so we're about to get it worked out. How's it holding up? Fine we just had to do a few minor insert a few extra screws so far. I heard your name call once or twice already now we're back here behind the stage lots of shade around here this is the place

to go well wouldn't you say get in the shade for the afternoon performances. Right we've got most of our crowd is under the trees and as soon as the shade starts to come over they'll move out into the chairs and with the grill picking as you know from being here in the past is under the back under the trees on the west side of the courthouse. Ralph Vaughn is one of the gentlemen that you see on stage throughout the jamborees one of the mcs. Ralph you've been an mc for several years but you were really involved in the very beginning of this as a disc jockey here in Smithville at the radio station. I was managing the local radio station WJLE at the time and Barry Williams came to me and Barry said I have this idea for an old time 4th of July celebration. And you said oh great something else to do on the floor. Yeah another fun -filled thing to do but but Barry Williams and about six or seven of us sat down and literally conceived the Smithville Fiddler's jamboree about 1970 I guess because we began in 1971 72 yeah 72 now

71 71 yeah 25 years ago yeah the very first jamboree when you look at the crowd that was here for that one and then you look at the 90 ,000 that were here last year what goes through your mind what have we done here. Well I think well to give you a capsule of what happened 25 years ago we had almost more contestants than we did in the audience well I think we had probably 1500 contestants and maybe 2000 fans who were in the audience watching the first show and I think Bobo driver the late James Bobo driver put it best Bobo said somehow we've got to preserve and perpetuate old -time music we've got to keep this craft alive and I think in our own small way we're trying to do that we're trying to carry on an American tradition you know the founding fathers of America said that on the 4th of July we ought to have celebrations we ought to have music and sports and games and and this is part of carrying on the the heritage of America and also I

think helping to preserve and perpetuate old -time Americana music. Why the show coming up for you next. The junior fiddler champion Jennifer Lynn Hobbs will be competing against the senior fiddler champion Sonny Buchanan and that is going to be for the Barry C. Williams memorial trophy. Barry C. Williams along with Congressman Joe L. Evans one of the original founders of the Smithville Fiddlers jamboree and they along with several other people formed a committee said let's have this old -time festival and it has grown just geometrically over the years. You know it's amazing the contributions those folks made the contributions that people continue to make each and every year to make this one of the top 20 tourist events in the country and we really hope that you'll make your way to see Smithville next year. Okay Ralph Vaughn is on the stage they're going to flip the coin to find out who goes first let's go to the

stage. We're back on stage the 25th annual Smithville Fiddlers jamboree thank you for being with us. We are down now to the finale this is the moment we have been waiting for and we've got some 20 or 25 ,000 of you out there right now to witness the championship the fiddle off for the upper cumberlands and for the Barry C. Williams memorial trophy. Our two contenders the junior fiddler for 1996 is Jennifer Lynn Hobbs. Jennifer please come up here. Our senior fiddler Sonny Buchanan please come forward. Now here's what you'll be performing you'll do a waltz a

breakdown and a number of your choice in other words you'll do three numbers a waltz a fast tune a breakdown and then one of your choice whichever you want to do those are the rules okay who wants to call the coin Jennifer Lynn you want to call it in the air she says heads and it is heads you make the choice Jennifer Lynn she wants to go last. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you our senior fiddler for 1996 at the Smithville Fiddlers jamboree the 25th annual Mr Sonny Buchanan thank you I'm gonna do the breakdown first I'm gonna do one call Katie Hill so

so thank you for my waltz I'm gonna do I'll be all smiles tonight waltz

so so so for the tune of

my choice I'm gonna do maiden's prayer

Sonny Buchanan Sonny is our senior fiddler for 1996 and now our junior fiddler Jennifer Lynn Hobbs my first tune is gonna be one called I don't love no body

thank you and now for my waltz I'm gonna play one called dreamers waltz

thank

you very much for the tune of my choice I'm gonna do one for y 'all called the orange blossom special

Lynn Hobbs thank you so much Jennifer Lynn Hobbs our 1996 junior fiddling champion

and Sonny Buchanan our 1996 senior fiddling champion the destiny of our event now live well that certainly was a performance not only by Sonny but certainly Jennifer Lynn Hobbs has always sort of been the darling of Smithville but she has a lot of talent to back that up she's got a terrific personality and on stage as well as off but I think you can tell she certainly is the crowd favorite that's no surprise there well obviously there's no doubt that she's a crowd favorite here in Smithville and this is the final competition in just a moment we'll find out who the grand champion fiddler of the Smithville fiddlers jamboree is and who takes home that Barry C. Williams Memorial trophy and that's quite an honor for folks in the upper cumberland for folks across the state and around the country who compete here because there are several competitors from several different states right now we're going to honor Barry C. Williams

and honor all of you for making history with us as I tell you that our champion fiddler for 1996 is Jennifer Lynn Hobbs Jennifer Lynn please come forward let me escort you I'm proud of you lady come right up here now that's not fair I want to hug too congratulations I know you're you probably are almost speechless at this moment but I would like for you to say a few words please well I want to thank all the people who come out and support this festival because it is one of the greatest that there is and without you all who come to see us and support the musicians and holler for us and give us some pay up there wouldn't be any competitions like this so thank you everyone very much so Jennifer Lynn Hobbs the silver anniversary winner of the Barry C. Williams Memorial trophy and certainly a fitting tribute to this

competition as she started out as a country music beginner champion and she's succeeded all the way up we certainly are proud of her and proud of this competition and certainly in this 25th anniversary year and we hope that you'll be with us next year July 4th and 5th for the 26th annual Smithville fiddlers jamboree you all come to Smithville and see us okay be sure to be here we'll be looking for you

for

a two -hour copy of the complete 25th annual Smithville fiddlers jamboree program which includes this show send 2995 to WCTE TV post office box 2040 Cookville Tennessee 38502 or call 1 -800 -282 -9283

for a toe tap and knee slap in good time what's the 25th annual Smithville fiddlers jamboree each year the small town of Smithville Tennessee becomes host to people from across the United States and several foreign countries as they crowd into the town square to watch the best in amateur bluegrass competition don't miss the fun watch the Smithville fiddlers jamboree

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