Don Messer's Jubilee

Don Messer's Jubilee was a television folk musical variety show produced at station CBHT in Halifax, Nova Scotia and broadcast by CBC Television nationwide from 1957 until 1969. Taking its name from band leader and fiddler Don Messer, the half-hour weekly program featured Messer and his band "Don Messer and His Islanders", as well as a guest performer. The show followed a consistent format throughout its years, beginning with a tune named "Goin' to the Barndance Tonight", followed by fiddle tunes by Messer, songs from some of his "Islanders" including singers Marg Osburne and Charlie Chamberlain, the featured guest performance, and a closing hymn. It ended with "Till We Meet Again". The series began 7 November 1957 as a regional program limited to CBC's Nova Scotia and New Brunswick stations. On 7 August 1959, CBC stations throughout Canada carried the show as a summer replacement for Country Hoedown's Friday evening time slot. That fall, Don Messer's Jubilee became a regular season CBC series as of 28 September 1959, becoming a Monday night fixture until its final 1968-1969 season when it returned to the Friday evening timeslot. Outside of Hockey Night In Canada, in the mid-1960s Don Messer's Jubilee was the #1 show in the country, earning higher ratings than even the imported CBS variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show. The guest performance slot gave national exposure to numerous Canadian folk musicians, including Stompin' Tom Connors and Catherine McKinnon.