Peach State Jamboree (WJAT) 

Peach State Jamboree, WJAT, Swainsboro, Georgia: WJAT had been named by Jack A. Thompson; the local DJ’s often said it stood for Welcome Just Any Time. There were two main events held at the Nancy Auditorium on Moring Street, home of WJAT. The first was the Record Hop which took place on Fridays at first and later both Fridays and Saturdays. During The Record Hop, WJAT would play the newest 45’s at the Nancy Auditorium and people would come from all over to listen and dance.

The second event was the Peach State Jamboree, which took place on Saturdays. The first show was held on February 9, 1955. The Peach State Jamboree was hosted by WJAT Manager Johnnie Bailes (as in the Grand Ole’ Opry’s Bailes Brothers).

During that time, Mr. Thompson sold the station to Mr. Webb Pierce and Mr. Jim Denny. Pierce also owned Cedarwood Publishing which booked shows for the Grand Ole’ Opry. Some of the biggest names in county and western music played shows on Saturday nights in Swainsboro. 

A short list of the performers from that time included Loretta Lynn, Ferlin Husky, Bill Anderson, Merle Haggard, Lester Flat and Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff, Ray Price and Ernest Tubb. In 1957, future country music songwriter Jerry Foster became a regular on Peach State Jamboree.

Pictured left Ernest Tubb

In January that year, he signed a management deal with Johnnie Bailes. Hank Williams Jr. played his first concert, at age 8, singing Lovesick Blues during the Peach Tree Jamboree on March 22, 1958. John Olin (Jodie) Joiner worked with the Dixie Playboys as a fiddler and did vocals. His fiddle playing was perhaps the most outstanding in South Georgia at the time. Jodie went on to become the staff fiddle player for the Peach State Jamboree. 

Johnny Elgin was a Texas native who had moved to Swainsboro, Georgia in 1955 to perform on the Peach State Jamboree radio program.

In 1957 he was approached by record producer Jim Denny who signed him to Roulette Records that year. His first record for the label, Sittin´ Alone With The Blues, was enough of a success to get him started touring the southern states.

Pictured right Loretta Lynn

In 1960 Webb Pierce bought several radio stations in Georgia including WJAT and he hired Johnny to run his station in Sandersville, Georgia where he remained for the next two years. Elgin moved to Nashville in 1962 to get more seriously into the music business and hooked up with singer-songwriter Jerry Foster. 

The jamboree artist stayed at one of a few places when they came to Swainsboro: The Sisco Motel, Durden Hotel, The John C. Coleman Hotel and the People’s Hotel. The crowds for the events were so large, between 1000 and 2000 people, that they had three full time officers working the crowds: Joe Brown Hall, Tar Bucket Braswell and George Woods.

WJAT also did live broadcast from Sam’s Drive Inn on Sunday afternoons and all night Gospel once a month. While the Peach State Jamboree was going on at the Nancy Auditorium, there would often be performances at the North Auditorium on Gumlog Road, where performers like Percy Sledge and James Brown played. 

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