Don Messer
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Don Messer's Jubilee, like many early television programs, had its roots in radio. In 1934, Messer formed a band, The Lumberjacks, in his native province of New Brunswick; along with lead singer Charlie Chamberlain, he developed the musical format and style which he would later translate to television. In 1939, he moved to Prince Edward Island where they were joined by Marge Osborne and changed the band's name to The Islanders. His television career began locally in the Maritimes in 1957. One year later, the show was broadcast nationally as a summer replacement for the country and western music show Country Hoedown. It was an "instant success" and remained consistently in the top 10 throughout its run. The show's popularity was so strong, that its ratings in 1961 were even higher than the formidable Ed Sullivan Show.
The show's success, according to Messer himself, lay in its down-home sincerity and simplicity. The show's style contrasted sharply with the more "showbiz" variety programs which were being made in Canada's larger urban centers which more often than not emulated the more appealing American programs. Jubilee offered its Canadian viewers a "made-in-Canada" variety show. It reflected what one commentator called "an echo of our country and people as they used to be in simpler days."
Don Messer was shy and retiring and rarely spoke in front of the cameras, preferring to let the show's announcer introduce the songs. The two lead singers appeared more ordinary and down-home than glamorous and glitzy. The show's set, format and staging was simple, straight-forward and inexpensive to produce. Settings were often fixed and a "book" (two flats hinged together) was often used to provide variety. Its appeal was largely among Canada's far-flung rural population, reaching nearly one-half of Canadian farm homes and its greatest appeal was among the fishing population of the Maritimes.
The decision to cancel the show in 1969 in favor of a "younger look" brought such a storm of protest that the CBC Board of Directors decreed that in the future, such popular shows were not to be canceled without justifiable reasons. Attempts were quickly made to revive the show on Hamilton's local television station CHCH; but without its national timeslot it quickly lost its magic. Don Messer passed away three years later on 26 March 1973.
The appeal of Don Messer's Jubilee has survived even to this day. Since the 1970s, it has come to symbolize the "made in-Canada" music variety show. Many artists have had successful television careers using the formula and sincere style that Don Messer pioneered. Shows such as The Tommy Hunter Show, a country-western music program, The Irish Rovers, featuring Irish folk music and Rita MacNeill and Friends, another Maritime musician have carved out successful programs based on Messer's own conviction that musicians wished only to be judged on their ability to make music rather than the glitz and glamour of their programming. In the mid-l980s, John Gray, composer and songwriter of the stage play Billy Bishop Goes to War revived a stage play based on the television show as a celebration of a Canadian cultural treasure.
Don Messer was the star of his own music variety program, Don Messer's Jubilee which ran on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada's public broadcaster from 1958 to 1969. The program featured the "Down-East" fiddling style of Messer and his band as well as a medley of old-time favorite folk songs sung by the show's two lead singers Marge Osborne and Charlie Chamberlain. During its run, it was one of the most popular television programs in Canada, and in the mid-1960s ranked second only to Hockey Night in Canada in national ratings.
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