A "Rosie" January from 1996 (for Jan. 24th newsletter)

50th Anniversary Website

Our small group has been hard at work building out a few web pages to mark the 50th Anniversary of our old show, featuring a few reflections from guest performers and other stakeholders who helped create and distribute the broadcast each week.

Visit the site and you will also find a page with audio highlights of a few fan and staff favorite moments from live broadcasts. There are some great performances captured here for your enjoyment, like Chet Atkins’ stunning performance of “Vincent,” among others. Also, a page of photos from the archive highlighting favorite moments or locations from the show’s history.

Keep visiting — more will be added as we approach the actual anniversary on July 6th! Click here > > >

Listen to the classic show from January 27, 1996

This week, we revisit a classic from 1996 with the legendary voice of Rosemary Clooney, The Ensemble Singers of the Plymouth Music Series (now VocalEssence), Janis Hardy, Maria Jette, Helen Bonchek Schneyer, and Vern Sutton.

Highlights include talk of the Winter Carnival, a sonnet for Mozart, “When October Goes” and “Hey There” from Rosemary Clooney, the opera “La Influenza,” featuring VocalEssence, Maria Jette, and Janis Hardy, Famous Celebrities, Fred Farrell and the latest News from Lake Wobegon. Listen to the show.

Rosemary Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky, where there now is a street named after her, but her career began in Cincinnati, where she sang duets with her sister, Betty, on WLW Radio and appeared with local bands. The duo grabbed the attention of bandleader Tony Pastor as he passed through Ohio and he asked them to join his band. They played with Pastor for two years as “The Clooney Sisters” and then Betty decided to return to Cincinnati. Rosemary struck out on her own, heading for New York, where Columbia Records signed her. Clooney’s timing was perfect — it was 1949, and “girl singers” such as Doris Day and Peggy Lee were becoming rising stars. Columbia Records was bandleader Mitch Miller's territory, and he convinced Clooney to record “Come On-a My House,” a song that Clooney thought too tawdry and nonsensical. This song catapulted her to stardom — she landed on the cover of Time in 1953 and crossed over to become a movie actress in 1954, when she co-starred with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in White Christmas. Rosemary passed away in 2002 after entertaining audiences for more than 50 years.

Philip Brunelle is an internationally renowned conductor, choral scholar, and performer. He is also the founder and artistic director of Minneapolis-based VocalEssence, one of America’s premier choral arts organizations. His many awards include the Royal Order of the Polar Star from the King of Sweden and Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. In July of 1974, Philip appeared on the very first live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion.

Mezzo-soprano Janis Hardy has performed major roles at leading opera houses around the country, including the Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Minnesota Opera, where she created roles in more than 20 world premieres. She has been a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and VocalEssence with Philip Brunelle. And she has mentored numerous students as Associate Professor of Music at St. Olaf College.

Versatile soprano Maria Jette can sing dozens of operatic roles. She also performs pop songs, chamber music, oratorio, and show tunes. She has appeared with orchestras nationwide, including the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra.

Comedy Theater from A Prairie Home Companion

Enjoy the best of Garrison Keillor's comic fables from A Prairie Home Companion, all about true love and other tribulations, brought to life by a cast of brilliant radio actors and guests. Revisit classic sketches such as the full-cast version of the opera “La Influenza,” a visit with a few of your favorite famous celebrities brought to voice by Tim Russell, a few animal calls from Fred Newman and Tom Keith, Bertha’s, Catchup, BeeBop, the Bemidji Ice Fishing Opener Song, and so much more in the 3-plus hours on 3 CDs. 1997 Grammy Award Nominee. Get the CD or download.

A Prairie Home Companion Original Logo Hoodie

Like the men and women of Lake Wobegon, this comfortable shirt is strong and good-looking, and it features a spot-on reproduction of the original sign that anchored the stage during the live shows from 1974 to 1979. Handsomely re-created and screened onto the front of the black hoodie. 

Hoodie is a cotton/poly blend and available in sizes S – XXL. Getthe hoodie.

Also available: 100%cotton T-shirt. Buy