Lum and Abner: Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio (New Directions in Southern History) [Hardcover]

Randal L. Hall (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813124697 | ISBN-13: 978-0813124698 | Publication Date: September 7, 2007

In the 1930s radio stations filled the airwaves with programs and musical performances about rural Americans -- farmers and small-town residents struggling through the Great Depression. One of the most popular of these shows was Lum and Abner, the brainchild of Chester "Chet" Lauck and Norris "Tuffy" Goff, two young businessmen from Arkansas. Beginning in 1931 and lasting for more than two decades, the show revolved around the lives of ordinary people in the fictional community of Pine Ridge, based on the hamlet of Waters, Arkansas. The title characters, who are farmers, local officials, and the keepers of the Jot 'Em Down Store, manage to entangle themselves in a variety of hilarious dilemmas. The program's gentle humor and often complex characters had wide appeal both to rural southerners, who were accustomed to being the butt of jokes in the national media, and to urban listeners who were fascinated by descriptions of life in the American countryside. Lum and Abner was characterized by the snappy, verbal comedic dueling that became popular on radio programs of the 1930s. Using this format, Lauck and Goff allowed their characters to subvert traditional authority and to poke fun at common misconceptions about rural life. The show also featured hillbilly and other popular music, an innovation that drew a bigger audience. As a result, Arkansas experienced a boom in tourism, and southern listeners began to immerse themselves in a new national popular culture. In Lum and Abner: Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio, historian Randal L. Hall explains the history and importance of the program, its creators, and its national audience. He also presents a treasure trove of twenty-nine previously unavailable scripts from the show's earliest period, scripts that reveal much about the Great Depression, rural life, hillbilly stereotypes, and a seminal period of American radio.

Editorial Reviews

Review

""As a longtime fan of the wonderful comedy team of Lum and Abner, I couldn't be more pleased with Randal L. Hall's new book, which captures the true 'characters' behind the characters. Mr. Hall effectively highlights the social importance and social contributions of the program and its stars, Chester Lauck and Norris Goff, recognizing that the duo did more than simply entertain radio audiences across the nation; they also accurately introduced Southern culture to many areas of the country unfamiliar with it. By including a number of the original scripts as well, Hall provides listeners with their own opportunity to see (and speak) the language of Lum and Abner." --Greg Bell, host of XM Satellite Radio's Old Time Radio channel 164" --

""An original look at mass culture and rural America during the 1930s through the lens of one of the most popular radio programs of all time." --Lu Ann Jones, author of Mama Learned Us to Work: Farm Women in the New South" --

""A delightful and engaging study of one of the rare national radio shows that explored rural themes.... Instead of portraying the hillbilly as a degenerate and violent drunkard and rube, the southern mountaineer of Lum and Abner was forward-looking, likable, ambitious, and authentically rural. The show may have tapped the audience's attraction to what Hall calls 'mountain exoticism,' but it did so in a way that celebrated rural values and character." --Melissa Walker, author of Southern Farmers and Their Stories: Memory and Meanin" --

""Hall shows how Lum and Abner gave dignity to a group of people, the 'hillbillies,' that were otherwise maligned and stereotyped by other radio programs of the era." --Carl E. Feather, Cleveland (OH) Star Beacon" --

""Hall offers a rare scholarly discussion of Lauck and Goff's successful radio duo, as well as ruminations on the show's symbolic role during an era of sweeping change for rural Americans." --Arkansas Historical Quarterly" --

""The book contains nearly 300 pages of joy for radio history fans." --Radio Recall" --

""Randal Hall is a perceptive interpreter and introducer of the lessons." --David Stricklin,Southwest Historical Quarterly" --

""Lum & Abner attains Hall's goal of recapturing a time when radio entertainment was vital and important to United States culture. [The book] is entertaining, informative, and enjoyable. Just like the radio program." --John H. Barnhill, Material Culture" --

About the Author

Randal L. Hall, managing editor of the Journal of Southern History at Rice University, is the author of William Louis Poteat: A Leader of the Progressive-Era South.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (September 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813124697
• ISBN-13: 978-0813124698
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,742,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If Dostoevsky had written Lum 'n' Abner, December 13, 2007

By 

R. Clarke "Rodion" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lum and Abner: Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio (New Directions in Southern History) (Hardcover)

Hall's introduction is a little to brief, or maybe not brief enough. The selling point is the transcripts of the early shows; indeed, 'a treasure trove'. He describes them as 'dark' -- I am quite series about my title. If Goff and Lauck had continued in the manner of their lengthy convolved political near-murder tales of December 1933 through January 1934, Lum and Abner would now be recalled for their portrayal of a wry view of the upper south.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lum and Abner Book review, September 25, 2008

By 

Dennis Parham (Tallahassee, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lum and Abner: Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio (New Directions in Southern History) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed getting this book and will be giving it to my father. The book is pretty good in that it gives you a lot of info about the Lum and Abner radio show. I was interested in this book because my father had told me before how his dad used to really enjoy listening to Lum and Abner on the radio during the 40's. The bad thing about the book is that the "book" part is very short, only about 45 pages I think and then most of the rest of the book is scripts from the show. Those are fine but I doubt I will ever read through more than one or two of them. I also bought a DVD through Amazon that had audio of almost all of their shows which I have enjoyed listening to. The book could have been better if it had gone more into the details of what families back in the 30's and 40's listened to on the radio and the connection between the radio and the public back then. The book was ok but it could have been better and offered more insight. The title says something about rural american and the golden age of radio but there were not too many facts, figures or details about that subject. I enjoyed this book though and I guess I will just need to search for a more definitive history of radio if I want to learn more about the major media of those days.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lum and Abner Book, November 5, 2007

By 

D. Mantor - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lum and Abner: Rural America and the Golden Age of Radio (New Directions in Southern History) (Hardcover)

While it is quite a very good resource on Lum and Abner, I believe it's a bit over-priced for what the final product is. The author did tend to use vocabulary that causes one to have to run to a dictionary to determine what is being said.
Other than those 2 draw-backs, again, I liked the book very well.