College of the Ozarks is hosting Kitty Ledbetter co-author of Broadcasting the Ozarks: Si Siman and Country Music

POINT LOOKOUT, MO — College of the Ozarks is hosting Kitty Ledbetter co-author of Broadcasting the Ozarks: Si Siman and Country Music at the Crossroads May 3, at the Ralph Foster Museum. Ledbetter will give a presentation at 2:30 p.m. afterwards she will have books for purchase and signing until 4 p.m. The presentation is free. Regular ticket prices will apply for those who wish to visit the museum after.

Kitty Ledbetter is emerita professor of English at Texas State University. Before entering academia, she was a disc jockey at country radio stations in Houston, Charlotte, Shreveport, and Springfield, Missouri. She is a former editor of the Journal of Texas Music History. Ledbetter will be giving a talk on The Ozark Jubilee: Si Siman and the ABC Television Network.

"The connection of the Ralph Foster Museum to Si Siman and his family goes back decades,” said Tom Debo, Ralph Foster Museum Curator. “The Si Siman Music Room is an essential part of the experience of visiting the museum. Many of the displays in the room have recently been undergoing renovation and expanded interpretation. Kitty's program is the icing on the cake. Those attending will leave with a greater appreciation of what an incredible individual Si was, and they will do so with a laugh and a smile, as I'm sure Si wouldn't have had it any other way."

Broadcasting the Ozarks explores the vibrant country music scene that emerged in Springfield, Missouri, in the 1930s and thrived for half a century. Central to this history is the Ozark Jubilee (1955–60), the first regularly broadcast live country music show on network television. Dubbed the “king of the televised barn dances,” the show introduced the Ozarks region to viewers across America and put Springfield in the running with Nashville for dominance of the country music industry—with the Jubilee’s producer, Si Siman, at the helm.

Siman’s life story is almost as remarkable as the show he produced. He was booking Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Glenn Miller during the mid-1930s while still a high school student and produced nationally syndicated country music radio shows in the decades that followed. Siman was a promotional genius with an ear for talent, a persuasive gift for gab, and the energy and persistence to make things happen for many future Country Music Hall of Famers, including Chet Atkins, Porter Wagoner, the Browns, and Brenda Lee. Although Siman had numerous opportunities to find success in bigger cities, he chose to do it all from his home in the Ozarks.