Louisiana Hayride Ad, The Shreveport Times September 12, 1970.
The Queen of Country Music Loretta Lynn passed away Tuesday at the age of 90. She was among the many up-and-coming country music singers that appeared in Shreveport on KWKH’s Louisiana Hayride. Chris Brown Archivist at Centenary College said the first time Lynn performed in 1963 at the Hayride she wasn’t the headliner.
“It’s advertised with this flashy headline, it’s a Johnny Cash show, it’s also featuring Faron Young, George Jones, June Carter, and the Carter Family and it also has Loretta Lynn performing,” said Brown.
Lynn appeared again in August of 1965 and performed Hank Williams’ “Mind Your Own Business.” And while modern audiences remember Lynn for her songs celebrating independent women, Brown said this performance at the Municipal Auditorium was a bit different.
“And curiously this particular concert is billed as a double-feature and it’s preceded by the Annual Miss KWKH beauty contest, which I found interesting,” said Brown.
The Louisiana Hayride began as a weekly show from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium in 1948 and by the fall of 1960, Brown said it transitioned to monthly performances. The show ended its primary run in 1970 but not before Lynn made one last appearance, this time at the top of the bill.
“In the month of September, she shows up again as the headliner and you see her alongside more kind of regional Louisiana groups and some Shreveport musicians,” said Brown.
Lynn died Tuesday at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
Louisiana Hayride Ad, The Shreveport Times June 15, 1963.
Louisiana Hayride Ad, The Shreveport Times August 19, 1965.
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