If you lived within broadcast range of Nashville TN in the 1960s through 80s`you would have watched the annual Outhouse races on WSM-TV. The races and a number of other features were part of the Ralph Emery show which was on from 5:30 am to 7:00 am weekdays)

Ralph presided over a hilarious assortment of crew and guests. Both aspiring and established musicians and songwriters would drop in for an early morning visit, and of course get to play their newest releases. A pair of senior ladies ("Maude and Dorothy&quot became part of the mayhem; they just started showing up with donuts for the crew and stayed.

The morning weather, farm reports, school closings for weather, traffic reports were all part of the show. Also part of the show was the excellent (and hilarious) house band, & the local businessmen who did their own live commercials. Pat Sajak, and Jon Tesh were both part of the show from time to time filling in for the regular weather and sports personalities. (sidebar: at the same time Sajak and Tesh were on WSM, Oprah was just getting started as a street reporter on the CBS station WLAC)

Outhouse races, Paddle boat regattas, & "chalk-off" tournaments were annual events. The outhouses were not mechanized; they were usually hauled by local athletes. They were sponsored by the same local businesses, and the business owners rode in them for the race.

The house band, weatherman and traffic reporter also popped up on the live morning drive radio show "The Waking Crew" which was broadcast from the same studio. Different host and format same lively entertainment. They all resurfaced again at midday for "The Noon Show" on live TV.

There is not as much on the web for this delightful program as there should be but here are a couple of links
https://thoughtsfromthebacksideofmybrain.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/the-ralph-emery-show/
https://www.honestabe.com/blog/ralph-emery-show/
https://danmiller.typepad.com/dan_millers_notebook/2008/05/channel-4-in-the-1970s.html

crimycarny

(1,351 posts)

4. Thanks for sharing this!

Reply to yellowdogintexas (Reply #2)

Wed Dec 29, 2021, 11:13 PM

Dec 2021

I grew up in Indiana in the 70's which was close to Tennessee but not close enough to have seen the Ralph Emery show. It sounds like it was ahead of its time though. I do remember a brief period of time watching David Letterman as our local weatherman. We'd tune in, Channel 13, just to watch the "crazy weatherman"

Here's short clip, David Letterman's weather broadcast is at about the :48 second mark.

Man, with all that's going on right now those times seemed so much less complicated. I keep telling my husband that I'm grateful we didn't grow up with social media and our kids were in high school before it started taking off. Geez, I remember looking forward to Friday nights to watch the next episode of Star Trek. And staying up late to watch Johnny Carson.

Sigh..the good ole days.

yellowdogintexas

(22,292 posts)

5. Letterman would have fit right in on the Emery show!

Reply to crimycarny (Reply #4)

Sat Jan 1, 2022, 03:10 AM

Jan 2022

I can see him tossing chalk into the pocket of the regulation green blazer in the "chalk-off" tournament.

See, there was this weatherman who finished off his segment by tossing his weatherboard chalk up in the air and catching it in the breast pocket of his green blazer.

This evolved into an annual event in which all staff, crew and other station personalities would compete to catch chalk. There were brackets and everything. All contestants wore the same jacket for their toss. It was hilarious.

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