Hootenanny

To be sure - At "Hootenanny" rock'n'roll was definitely O-U-T - (OUT!).

Hosted by Jack Linkletter - "Hootenanny" was strictly all folk music (with some enjoyable stand-up comedy thrown into the mix for good measure).

This "Best Of" compilation is a 3-disc set featuring nearly 60 musical acts performing live at various university venues across the USA.

Filmed between 1963-1964 - "Hootenanny" is a nostalgic look back at the folk music scene of yesteryear, showcasing such budding, young artists as - Ian & Sylvia, Judy Collins, Johnny Cash, and Trini Lopez, to name but a few.

*Note* - The visual quality of these performances is definitely on the poor side - But, all the same - It was especially enjoyable for me to watch when the performers encouraged the audience members to sing along with them (and most everybody did).

I, along with many other people, was introduced to folk music via this network TV show, an exposure that was welcome and unfortunately apparently forgotten, given the zero comments and lack of IMDb votes (not a reliable barometer, but certainly an indicator of lack of sustained interest).

As a young jazz fan back then, more likely to be attending performances in my home town of Cleveland by Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Roland Kirk, Les McCann or Jimmy Smith rather than by vocalists, I was deeply impressed by the musical performances on this show, and the sincerity of the performers. I recall the Bill Cosby episode, and also one not listed in IMDb, that spotlighted the duo Joe and Eddie, whose hit song "There's a Meeting Here Tonight" still resonates with me so many decades later.

This was a quality presentation, live on campus, and without the hokum that ruins more modern showcases on TV of what I guess we could call "alternative" musical forms (just watch those hokey Public Television specials let alone pledge week crap to see what I mean). Nostalgia had not set in yet, and in fact many of these performers, such as Cosby and Mama Cass, were brand new faces to the general public.

Growing up with jazz I was always thrilled to see it spotlighted by Steve Allen and others, but both jazz & folk music have gotten short shrift on network TV in recent decades with the rise of inferior talk shows (take your pick) addicted to rock. The diversity of music available in the '60s when I was growing up was pretty amazing, given the fact that commercialism was king back then just as it is today. I guess the mechanisms to weed out any hint of quality or life in "mass" programming have become more sophisticated over the years.