The National Barn Dance was the nation's most popular country music radio show during the 1930s and 1940s, defining country and western entertainment until it was supplanted by the Grand Ole Opry and rock 'n' roll in the 1950s.  For more than three decades, from the 50,000-watt signal of Chicago station WLS, the show reached listeners throughout the Midwest, the East Coast, and large regions of the South, delivering popular entertainment to rural and urban areas and celebrating the folk traditions that were fading in an increasingly urbanized America. 
Drawing on the colorful commentary of performers and former listeners,  this volume analyzes the National Barn Dance and its audience, traces the history of barn dance radio, and explores the paradox of country music in a major urban center and provocative issues raised by the barn dance phenomenon.​
Softcover, 7 x 10, 215 pgs.