ROCKABILLY
Rudy Hansen - Just As Long
Not much is known about Rudy Hansen, except that he was raised on a farm in New York (unknown date of birth). Later on, he was one of the stars appearing on the WLA’s Midwestern Jamboree, aired every saturday from Cincinati, Oh. Inspired by the Shreveport-based Louisiana Hayride, the show was originally called Boone County Jamboree (named for nearby Boone County in Northern Kentucky). Midwestern Hayride was first broadcast before 1937 and was carried live on the radio each Saturday evening through the early 1970s.
WLW television came on the air in 1948, sharing larger quarters with WLW-AM in the former Elks Building, re-christened Crosley Square. It eventually became the originating studio for the regional network Avco Broadcasting Corporation, which included WLW-A in Atlanta, WLW-D in Dayton, WLW-C in Columbus and later WLW-I in Indianapolis (after WLW-A was sold) when the program moved to television in the early 1950s. Then originating from WLW-TV, Midwestern Hayride was simulcast on WLW-AM until the early 1960s, then was revived in the mid-60s. At the show’s peak there was a one-year waiting list for tickets to be in the audience (100 people was the limit for each weekly show).
Hansen had much success in New Jersey, and got help from Smokey Warren.
