The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
The Porter Wagoner Show #123 with special guest Faron Young.
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
Promo for Porter Wagoner Show #123 with special guest Faron Young. Spot opens with Faron playing guitar and singing a little bit of "Unmitigated Gall," then camera pulls out to reveal his pedal steel player Sonny Burnette and red Nudie-suit wearing Wagoner who says, "That's my special guest this week, Faron Young... join us, it'll be right on this channel."
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
Introduction to Porter Wagoner show #123. Program opens with Wagoner and Wagonmasters Mack Magaha, Buck Trent, Speck Rhodes, Don Warden, and George McCormick as well as Norma Jean onscreen singing "Howdy Neighbor Howdy" in front of a barnyard set painted a glowing lime green. Over brightly colored title card decorated with drawing of Wagoner, announcer Don Howser exclaims: "And now, in color, it's The Porter Wagoner Show, starring Porter Wagoner and The Wagonmasters, with Speck Rhodes and Norma Jean, and special guest star Faron Young. Bringing you your favorite songs and stars of the Grand Ole Opry!" Howser enters and shakes hands with Porter, describing him as "The head wheel of the Wagonmasters, in living color." Wearing a garish rhinestone-studded red Nudie suit and backed by The Wagonmasters (in matching western-themed blue suits of their own), Porter plays guitar and sings an abbreviated version of "Tennessee Border." CU Don's steel guitar.
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
Porter introduces Faron Young, saying "I don't think I've ever worked a show with this gentleman where there's not been a full house," and Young is heard saying from off screen: "That's why I like to work with you." On a set decorated with fake foliage and backed by The Wagonmasters and his own band's pedal steel player Sonny Burnette, Young plays guitar and sings "I Guess I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night." Afterwards Porter returns and Faron says hello to his mother in Shreveport, LA. Porter makes a point of telling the audience the reason Faron hasn't been on the show before is that Young is so busy on the road. Then Porter ribs Young, telling him he's got all the money he needs, but Young says he wants to pay off everyone he owes money to, then sit back and do nothing.
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
Playing us out of the commercial break, Buck and Mack trade sizzling electric banjo and fiddle leads on a short version of the Wagonmasters' own single, the instrumental "Stampede."
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
Porter calls Faron Young back to introduce Pretty Miss Norma Jean, but before he does so, Young makes a crack about how he didn't realize the show was in color now and here he is wearing a black and white suit. "So for the benefit of all you poor folks who don't have a color TV set," Young says, "I'm in black and white-- living black and white." Faron finally gets around to introducing Norma Jean, joking that they played their first show together in 1923. Backed by The Wagonmasters, Norma Jean plays guitar and sings "Don't Let That Doorknob Hit You" from her 1967 LP "Jackson Ain't A Very Big Town." Buck and Mack solo.
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
Porter introduces a song that has been "mighty mighty kind myself and The Wagonmasters, and I hope you'll enjoy hearing it again." Backed by the boys, Porter plays guitar and sings "Green Green Grass Of Home."
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
Imitating a horse race announcer, Porter says: "Comin' in here, comin' outta chute five-- Speck Rhodes!" Gap-toothed comedian Speck Rhodes charges in like a race horse, if horses wore checkered suits with bowler hats. Speck: "I had the worst dream I ever had in my life, a regular nightmare. I dreamed I was stranded on a little island way out in the middle of the ocean with 300 beautiful girls." Porter: "And you call that a bad dream?" Speck: "Yeah, I dreamed I was a girl, too." Backed by The Wagonmasters, Speck sings a silly novelty version of "Please Help Me I'm Falling." Afterwards Porter returns and plugs the show's souvenir booklet (the fifth so far), which contains songs and pictures taken right there on the set, and can be yours for just fifty cents by mail in a "en-vellup." Graphic of envelope addressed to Porter.
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
It's sacred song time now, and Porter plays guitar and sings a short version of one of his favorites, "I Thought Of God," backed by The Wagonmasters.
The Porter Wagoner Show No. 123
Porter introduces Faron Young's pedal steel player Sonny Burnette, saying how sorry he is that Faron's whole band couldn't be present. Faron comes in and says he's glad that Porter introduced Burnette because now he doesn't have to pay him. Young makes a joke about Burnette being one of Hank Snow's Rainbow Ranch Boys, slipping into a brief but hilarious impersonation of Snow that has Porter in stitches. Porter asks Faron to play his new song and Young says: "You know, if this show gets rerun in 1979 or something it ain't gonna be a new song, you realize that," then plays guitar and sings "Unmitigated Gall" backed by The Wagonmasters, but not before tricking Buck with a false start. Near the end of the song Porter comes back in and tries to wrap it up, but Faron's having none of it, refusing to end the number and even sneaking in a little of "Howdy Neighbor Howdy." As Faron plays on Porter says to audience "We decided to just stay on, folks." Finally Young relents just in time for the wrap-up and end credits. Over end title card Don Howser signs off, and as we get a last glimpse of the set, we see Young pulls Speck's hat off his head and neatly balance it on his nose, then let it fall perfectly on his head to audience applause. Great high-spirited clip!