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"You looked so pretty when you dressed up on Sunday/and Saturday night while dancing a jig/But Monday when you started to slop the hogs darlin'/It was so hard to tell you from a pig/Where, oh where, are you tonight/Why did you leave me here all alone/I searched the world over and thought I found true love/But you met another and pfft you were gone" - Archie Campbell and Gordie Tapp

A Salute to Hee Haw: Collector's Edition DVD Review

By Jude Clement

After the 1970-71 season, CBS decided to put several of its hit series out to pasture. Shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Mayberry RFD still garnered good ratings, but their audiences were considered too rural, too poor, and too old. Trying to attract better demographics, the network instead decided to concentrate on more sophisticated shows like All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

One of CBS' countrified hits refused to die, though. When Hee Haw, a cornpone take on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was cancelled, it ranked sixteenth in the Nielsen ratings. With the show still immensely popular, its producers decided to make the risky jump to first-run syndication. As it turns out, it wasn't so risky - the series ran for another twenty-two years.

Hosted by Roy Clark and Buck Owens, Hee Haw is a country music hoedown mixed with sketches, jokes, and skits performed by a crack team of comedic performers, including Archie Campbell, "Grandpa" Jones, Junior Samples, Lulu Roman, Stringbean, Gordie Tapp, George "Goober" Lindsey, and Roni Stoneman. The jokes are often so bad that they wouldn't even be seen printed on any self-respecting Popsicle stick. The series' rep company may have changed over the years, but its hillbilly humor pretty much remained the same. Recurring sketches include a Mark Twain-esque gentleman who delivers front-porch philosophy before getting beaned over the head by a rubber chicken; groan-inducing jokes told in a cornfield ("If you want to make antifreeze, hide her woolen underwear"); and "The Culhanes," a soap opera parody that features a listless family that can barely gather the energy to discuss the terrible things happening around them.

Because the show stuck to a charmingly consistent formula, please be sure to refer to our review of The Hee Haw Collection: Premier Episode for our thoughts on its comedic stylings. I could just restate everything here - or even do a cut and paste job - but I'd rather laze atop a sack of cotton with a jug of moonshine on one side of me and Kingfish the Wonder Dog on the other. That way I can better concentrate on Hee Haw's biggest strength: country music. This set contains a number of great musical performances, even if some of them are accompanied by can-can dancing, bikini-clad animated pigs. Many of these country greats have moved on to that Grand Ole Opry house in the sky, making this set an important historical collection for country fans.

Buck Owens and Roy Clark are the show's musical cornerstones. Owens, with his iconic red, white, and blue guitar, was a forefather of country's "Bakersfield Sound," a style of country music developed by Dust Bowl migrants in the area around Bakersfield, CA. Clark, who is equally adept on the banjo, guitar, and mandolin, first appeared at the Grand Ole Opry at the age of seventeen. In each episode, both are given ample opportunity to show off their talents.

Several of the series' other cutups had musical roots. Grandpa Jones was an accomplished banjo player. Stringbean (aka David Akeman) played banjo for Bill Monroe. Roni Stoneman (who often appears with her teeth blackened and her hair in plaits) had her first professional singing gig at age ten. Twins Jim and John Hager were discovered by Buck Owens when they were featured performers at Disneyland. The Hagers - who perform in almost every episode included here - are a pleasing mix of folk, country, and pop.

It's the guest stars, however, who really shine. How can you top Ray Charles performing "Don't Change on Me"? Perhaps with a duet between Charles and Buck Owens on "Crying Time." Jerry Lee Lewis scorches through "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On" and "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Made a Loser Out of Me)." The legendary Loretta Lynn makes several appearances, performing such hits as "Hey Loretta," "Fist City," and "Dear Uncle Sam." She also duets with Conway Twitty on "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man." Twitty performs several of his biggest hits, including "It's Only Make Believe," "You've Never Been This Far Before," and "I Love You More Today." Country music fans will be over the moon with numbers by Hank Williams, Jr., Dottie West, Merle Haggard, Lynn Anderson, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker, and Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

Want to know which performers and songs are on which discs? Here's a handy guide:

Disc One
Episode 15 (Original Airdate: 12/31/69)
Buck Owens: "Gonna Let the Good Times Roll"
Grandpa and Ramona Jones: "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"
The Hagers: "Lodi"
Dottie West: "Clinging to My Baby's Hand"
Roy Clark: "Yesterday When I was Young"
Hank Williams, Jr.: "Cajun Baby"
Dottie West: "Silver Threads and Golden Needles"
Hank Williams, Jr.: "I'd Rather Be Gone"
Buck Owens: "Charlie Brown"
Episode 19 (Original Airdate: 1/28/70)
Buck Owens: "We Were Made for Each Other"
Merle Haggard: "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am"
The Hagers: "Six Days on the Road"
Loretta Lynn: "Fist City"
Roy Clark: "Meet Mister Callaghan"
Merle Haggard: "Today I Started Loving You Again"
Loretta Lynn: "Dear Uncle Sam"
Buck Owens: "Love is Strange"

Disc Two
Episode 9 (Original Airdate: 8/17/69)
Buck Owens: "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass?"
Jerry Lee Lewis: "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On"
Susan Raye: "It's Over"
Conway Twitty: "I Love You More Today"
Roy Clark: "Do You Believe This Town?"
Grandpa Jones: "Are You From Dixie?"
Jerry Lee Lewis: "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Made a Loser Out of Me)"
Buck Owens: "Together Again"
Sheb Wooley: "Tie a Tiger Down"
Conway Twitty: "It's Only Make Believe"
Episode 32 (Original Airdate: 9/29/70)
Buck Owens: "Stay a Little Longer"
Roy Clark: "Blues in the Night"
Ray Charles: "Don't Change On Me"
Lynn Anderson: "Stay There Till I Get There"
The Hagers: "California Cotton Fields"
Roy Clark: "Thank God and Greyhound"
Lynn Anderson: "Rocky Top"
Grandpa Jones: "The Kickin' Mule"
Ray Charles and Buck Owens: "Crying Time"

Disc Three
Episode 42 (Original Airdate: 12/15/70)
Buck Owens: "You Gotta Have a License"
Waylon Jennings: "Kentucky Woman"
Diana Trask: "All I Have to Offer You is Me"
Grandpa Jones: "Arkansas Traveler"
The Hagers: "That's My Love"
Johnny Duncan: "Let Me Go (Set Me Free)"
Diana Trask: "I Fall to Pieces"
Waylon Jennings: "Six Strings Away"
Buck Owens and Buddy Alan: "Bye, Bye Love"
Episode 43 (Original Airdate: 12/29/70)
Buck Owens: "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms"
Roy Rogers: "Lovenworth"
The Hagers: "Palausa County Girl"
Dale Evans: "Heavenly Sunshine"
Roy Clark: "Nine Pound Hammer"
Gordie Tapp: "Nobody's Singin' Them Cowboy Songs No More"
Roy Clark: "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line"
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans: "Friendship Medley"
Buck Owens: "I Wouldn't Live in New York City"

Disc Four
Episode 108 (Original Airdate: 10/13/73)
Buck Owens: "The Crawdad Song"
Tanya Tucker: "Delta Dawn"
Roy Clark: "Roy's Blues"
Buddy Alan: "Caribbean"
Buck Owens: "Songwriter's Lament"
Tanya Tucker: "What's Your Mama's Name?"
Buck Owens and Buddy Alan: "White Lightnin'"
George Lindsey: "Unluckiest Songwriter in Nashville"
Roy Clark and Family: "Log Cabin in the Lane"
Episode 126 (Original Airdate: 3/2/74)
Buck Owens: "Uncle Pen"
Loretta Lynn: "Hey Loretta"
The Hagers: "Six Days on the Road"
Roy Clark: "Things That Might Have Been"
Conway Twitty: "You've Never Been This Far Before"
David Houston: "The Lady of the Night"
Buck Owens: "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It"
Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty: "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man"
Stringbean: "Uncle Ephs Got the Coon"

EDITOR'S NOTE: As of this writing, A Salute to Hee Haw: Collector's Edition is available only through Wal-Mart.

The eight episodes that make up A Salute to Hee Haw: Collector's Edition are divided onto four discs. A fifth disc holds the set's extras. The discs are housed in a foldout case decorated with production stills, publicity photos as well as current photos of the cast. Two of the panels list the musical performances included in each episode. The musical performances are also printed on the discs themselves. Another panel lists the cast and crew interviews included on the fifth disc.

The simple full-motion menus employ the first season's opening credit sequence. Viewers can choose to play both episodes on each disc consecutively or individually. The index menu allows viewers to choose specific chapters from either episode. The episode chapters are keyed in to musical performances.

Video and Audio

Kornfield Kounty ain't got no fancy electronics equipment. Shot on videotape at a Nashville CBS affiliate, the images have a soft, unfocused quality. There are also occasional lines - horizontal and vertical - which resemble VHS flaws.

The audio isn't very impressive, but it isn't terrible.

This is probably as good as these episodes will ever look and sound, and even these flaws don't detract from the cornball fun.

Extras

"Guest Stars" on the extras menu of disc one provides a show-by-show listing of the musical guests from Hee Haw's first season. Viewers can click on the names of the guest performers featured on this disc to see them in action. This extra is only found on disc one.

Also on disc one is "Cornfield Knee-Slappers," a list of the first few words of several cornfield jokes featured on the disc. Viewers can play video footage of the joke of their choice.

The main extras, however, are found on disc five. Several members of the show's cast and crew - Roy Clark, Roni Stoneman, George Yanok, Charlie McCoy, Lulu Roman, George Lindsey, and Jim & John Hager - are rounded up for individual interviews. The interviews can be watched separately or as a whole. Running almost an hour and twenty minutes, this is a treasure-trove of information for Hee Haw fans. Clark talks about how he came to be involved with the show and admits that the jokes were so bad he thought given fifteen minutes, he could come up with better material. He also reveals Junior Samples' habit of chasing his liquor with a can of pork and beans and reminisces about Minnie Pearl, Grandpa Jones, and the series' other legendary performers.

Roni Stoneman discusses her mother's reaction to her rather unique Hee Haw look of blackened teeth and pigtails. She also reveals that Junior Samples used part of his earnings from Hee Haw to inlay his driveway with silver dollars.

Writer/performer George Yanok talks about the origins of Hee Haw as a country and western Laugh-In. The series was developed in the offices of The Jonathan Winters Show during the off season before the creators hopped on a train to film the show in Nashville. He provides great insight to the filming of the series, including the fact that two studios were used - one for comedy and one for musical performances.

Music director Charlie McCoy was initially reluctant to work on the series because it would interfere with his session work. He had so much fun, though, that he stayed with Hee Haw for eighteen years. He also reflects on several of the show's musical guests, including Sammy Davis, Jr. and Marie Osmond.

Lulu Roman "ate LSD and ran around in water fountains" before her friend Buck Owens recruited her for Hee Haw. She discusses her first meeting at CBS which took place backstage at The Carol Burnett Show. It's nice to know that she is just as funny and charming as she appears to be on the show.

George Lindsey appeared as a guest early on in the series and then never left. He also discusses some of the show's unlikeliest guests, including Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman.

Jim and John Hager joined the show thanks to their manager, Buck Owens. The twins are quite engaging in this lively interview.

Taken as a whole, these interviews are sure to please Hee Haw fans. There is really only one flaw - specific moments from the series are often discussed, and it would be nice to see the actual clips. Roy Clark's description of Junior Samples trying to say "trigonometry," for example, can never be as funny as the clip itself.

Summary

Some people might argue that Hee Haw perpetuates negative hick stereotypes. A Salute to Hee Haw: Collector's Edition proves them wrong. The cast seems to be having so much fun that it is practically impossible to take any offense. The collection also serves as a time capsule of 1970s country music sounds. But be warned - you're going to have to learn to tap your feet and laugh at the same time!

9/28/06