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Photograph of a promotional advertisement featuring performers for the 1954 Suwannee River Jamboree
Image Number
Collection
Series 1640, RG158, Suwannee River Jamboree, Original; Box 3, FF7
Geographic Term
Subject Term
Personal Subjects
Bonds, Johnnie, 1915-2003.
Brim, Arnold
Coffee, Paul
Cox, Bennie
Crews, Willie James
Cross, Jack
Ellison, Betty Ann
Fleetwood, Blackey
Herring, Dan
Herring, Lemuel
Hines, Shellie Norris
McDaniel, Leroy
McDonald, Ethel Norris
Morgan, J. M.
Morgan, Lonnie, 1901-1970.
Morgan, Nathan
Noegel, Frank Louis, 1881-1969.
Ogden, R. E.
Parker, Clare
Roberts, Caton
Shiver, Robin
Taylor, A. B.
Videon, Bobbie Norris
Wiggins, Eleanor Norris
Winburn, Al
Physical Description
General Note
Standing, L to R: Al Winburn, Clare Parker, Leroy McDaniel, Willie James Crews, Robin Shiver (The Melody Rangers); Lonnie Morgan, Nathan Morgan, J.M. Morgan (The White Springs Ramblers); Lemuel Herring, Arnold "Red" Brim, Dan Herring, Johnnie Bonds (The Suwannee River Playboys); Claude Bedenbaugh, George McClellan (?), R.E. Ogden, Blackey Fleetwood, Jack Cross (The Florida Orange Pickers); Paul Coffee; Uncle Frank Noegel; Eleanor Norris Wiggins, Bobbie Norris Videon, A.B. Taylor, Ethel Norris McDonald, Shellie Norris Hines (The Norris Sisters); unidentified.
Seated, L to R: Betty Ann Ellison (aka "Bertha Lou"), Bennie Cox, Caton Roberts.
Johnny Bonds, of the Suwannee River Playboys, was from Live Oak. "Red" Brim organized the original Suwannee River Playboys and played slide guitar.
Betty Ann Ellison performed as the character "Bertha Lou" and, along with Clare Parker, provided comedy routines during the Jamboree. Parker later became a preacher in Lee, Florida.
Leroy McDaniel formed The Melody Rangers, which were one of the first regular bands of the Jamboree. He later moved to Ocala and formed the band Rainbow Connection.
The Norris Sisters, of White Springs, sang gospel music and were directed by A.B. Taylor.
The Suwannee River Jamboree was north Florida's largest and best known country music show. The Jamboree began in 1952 and was founded by Norm Prostman, who owned WNER and WQHL Radio in Live Oak. By 1954, the Jamboree featured over 40 performers doing three hour sets every Saturday night. Most of the performers were local North Florida talent. Aubrey Fowler often wrote and produced the shows, which were featured on twenty-seven different radio stations throughout the South. By the mid-1950s, the show had gained national attention, thanks in part to an article in Esquire magazine. The Jamboree began to attract national country music stars such as Ernest Tubb, Ferlin Husky, and Lew Childres. The show reached its peak in popularity in 1956 and began to have problems. In spring 1957 the show had grown too big for its current venue, but did not have a permanent location. The show was forced onto the road into Georgia and Alabama, but the road shows did not attract large crowds. By the fall of 1957, the show had closed and the McReynolds brothers, who had been operating the show, moved on to the Grand Ole Opry. The Jamboree was revived in November 1958, but by the end of 1959 the Jamboree was ended for good. The Florida Folklife Programs revived the Jamboree in 1984 and 1985 and featured many of the original performers in a one day event.
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Chicago Manual of Style
Photograph of a promotional advertisement featuring performers for the 1954 Suwannee River Jamboree. 1953. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/107853>, accessed 12 June 2026.
MLA
Photograph of a promotional advertisement featuring performers for the 1954 Suwannee River Jamboree. 1953. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.<https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/107853>
AP Style Photo Citation
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