Television viewers of a certain age might remember “Hee Haw,” a variety show based on a theme of country music and hillbilly comedy. The program debuted on the CBS network in 1969, before settling in at its long-term home, TNN. Over the next twenty-five years, Hee Haw would go on record an amazing 655 episodes.
“Hee Haw” began as a carbon copy of the era’s other variety shows, such as Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, though its rural “Kornfield Kounty” setting helped set it apart from the pack. Hosted by Buck Owens and Roy Clark, the show’s deep supporting cast also included stars of music and comedy, like Grandpa Jones, Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff and Junior Samples. Over the course of its run, the show also managed to snare a prodigious amount of guest talent, including household names like Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and Garth Brooks.
And, oh, who could forget that time Johnny Bench stopped by during baseball’s off-season?
The show featured a number of recurring gags and sketches, nearly a decade before “Saturday Night Live” would make this type of comedy cool. Classic scenes like Archie’s Barber Shop, Grandpa’s Kitchen, The Joke Fence or The Haystack are probably all deserving of their own article, but my favorite bit had to have been the “Hee Haw Salute.”
See, it’s easy to recognize a good joke. They tend to be simple, straightforward, and most usually get funnier each time you hear them. So maybe that’s why, every episode, Buck and Roy made a point of picking out some random town and pulling it into the national spotlight. The hosts would briefly announce the name of this lucky burg, along with its official population, before the entire cast would leap up from the cornfield, shouting “Sa-lute!”
Simple, yet popular. Eventually the skit came to be repeated twice, or even three times during the course of each broadcast. And as a rule, it was the tiniest whistle-stop towns, the ones that boasted a single-digit population, which would receive the loudest applause.
A cheesy bit, sure. But the Hee Haw Salute was a way of drawing in fans from all over the country, long before big-hair rock musicians made it a practice to shout, “How you doin’ out there tonight, [INSERT CITY NAME HERE]” at every live concert. And I guess that’s why, whenever my family tuned in on Sunday nights, I always held my breath during this segment, hoping against hope that somehow my own small hometown might get the nod.
But of course, that was a futile hope. For I had been born in New England, a culture-less land, located far north of the Mason-Dixon line. The entire region was a big, black spot on Grandpa Jones’ railroad maps, relics from his service in the Great War of Northern Aggression.
Back then, I hardly noticed the slight. I took joy in the happiness of others, thrilled that tiny towns from Oklahoma to Tennessee were garnering recognition. Nowadays, however, I’m convinced omitting northern towns was an intentional choice, done to preserve the show’s rural character.
Or maybe, it was just a friendly reminder from Buck and Roy to all of their viewers. A safety warning, but in not so many words. Like what they were really saying was, “Hey, kids! Now don’t forget, you never want to stray past Baltimore without your parents! It’s wasteland of moral turpitude up there. Now, let’s see what’s going on back at the barn!”
Looking back now, it’s amazing to learn just how much Hee Haw history escaped my notice. In November 1973, for example, the show’s banjoist, Grand Ole Opry star David “Stringbean” Akeman, was killed alongside his wife Estelle during a tragic home invasion. That story is a true crime legend, and the inspiration behind at least one dark country ballad.
And apparently, Elvis Presley was also a huge fan of the show! Who knew? The King tuned in every week, hoping to make an appearance someday, but his promoter, Colonel Tom Parker, thought that it’d be bad for his career. In the end, Elvis had to be content with dating not one, but two, of the show’s “Hee Haw Honeys.”
Crazy stuff.
Because of the show’s longevity, it’d be impossible to go back and binge-watch the entire series, and I’m not sure anyone would want to. But if you ever do find yourself nostalgic for the supposed “good ol’ days,” and want to revisit a time when there was absolutely nothing controversial about going to Cracker Barrel for Sunday brunch, you can still find highlights from the series on Amazon or Youtube.
A classic show that the whole family can actually watch together?
Yeah, I’d say that’s worthy of a shout-out.
SAA-LUTE!