Blue Monday Jamboree
| Genre | Variety show |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | KFRC |
| Syndicates | Don Lee Network CBS |
| Announcer | Harrison Hollaway |
| Air dates | January 24, 1927 to 1935 |
Blue Monday Jamboree is an old-time radio variety program in the United States. It was broadcast initially (beginning January 24, 1927) on KFRC in San Francisco, California, then was distributed on the West Coast by the Don Lee Network and was later carried nationwide on CBS. Bill Oates wrote, in his biography of Meredith Willson, that the program was "one of the most popular West Coast originated radio shows in the early 1930's."
Radio historian John Dunning wrote that the program was "known in the West as 'the daddy of all variety shows.'"Blue Monday Jamboree "contained music, comedy and a dramatic sketch (a detective story)."
A contemporary newspaper article (August 27, 1928, in the Oakland Tribune) described a typical broadcast as follows:
Light entertainment will be the order of the evening on the bay city stations with frolics in evidence at many of the stations. Chief among these in point of seniority and general quality is the KFRC Blue Monday Jamboree which is attended by most of the entertainers appearing on the station throughout the week. These artists gather in an informal sort of meeting bandying jests and songs from 8 to 10 p.m.
The initial version of Blue Monday Jamboree in 1927 featured Juliette Dunne, Harvey Austin and the Hawaiians and Mac's Haywire Orchestra. The announcer was Harrison Hollaway. Meredith Willson made his radio debut on the program in 1928.Al Pearce was one of the entertainers featured on the program. He eventually starred in a spinoff program, Happy Go Lucky Hour, that began on KFRC, later moving to NBC and being renamed Al Pearce and His Gang. Other members of the troupe included Jane Green,Midge Williams and Bea Benaderet.
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