College of the Ozarks is scheduled to host Kitty Ledbetter, co-author of Broadcasting the Ozarks: Si Siman and Country Music at the Crossroads, for a book signing on Friday, May 3.
The book explores the country music scene which emerged in Springfield in the 1930s and thrived for half a century. Central to the scene was the Ozark jubilee, the first regularly broadcasted live country music show on network television. The show ran from 1955 to 1960, and introduced viewers across the country to the local country music scene, competing with Nashville for dominance. The producer of the show was Si Siman.
Siman was booking acts like Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Glenn Miller during the mid-1930s while still a high school student. He produced nationally syndicated country music radio shows in the following decades and had ties to the careers of many future Country Music Hall of Famers including Chet Atkins, Porter Wagoner, the Browns, and Brenda Lee.
Ledbetter, who co-authored the book with Scott Foster Siman, will give a presentation at the Ralph Foster Museum at 2:30 p.m. and will have books for purchase afterwards. She will be signing until 4 p.m. The presentation is free, and regular ticket prices will apply for those who wish to visit the museum afterwards.
Ledbetter, an emerita professor of English at Texas State University, was a disc jockey at country radio stations in Houston, Charlotte, Shreveport, and Springfield before entering academia. She is also a former editor of the Journal of Texas Music History.
Ralph Foster Museum Curator Tom Debo said the museum’s connection to Siman and his family goes back decades.
“The Si Siman Music Room is an essential part of the experience of visiting the museum,” Debo said. “Many of the displays in the room have recently been undergoing renovation and expanded interpretation. Kitty’s program is the icing on the cake. Those attending will leave with a greater appreciation of what an incredible individual Si was, and they will do so with a laugh and a smile, as I’m sure Si wouldn’t have had it any other way.”