Network: CTV Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1974
Broadcast Medium: Television
As each new popular music craze came along in the sixties and seventies, and variety shows could still potentially draw big audiences, CTV could usually be relied upon to see if they could get on the bandwagon with a half-hour series featuring the new ‘in’ sound. Banjo Parlor was another such effort, and it met a fate similar to that of several – though not all – others of its kind.
Hosted by Marty Gillan, and featuring a band led by Don Clark, with banjo player Craig Wood, and Kathleen Payne, Banjo Parlor was produced on the west coast in the studios of CTV affiliate CHAN-TV Vancouver.
Critic Roy Shields compared it favourably with the CFTO success Pig and Whistle, with its complement of “…old favourites and contemporary songs in a flashy setting, with classic cars and dancing girls”.
It played on CTV for less than a full season, debuting in September 1974 on Wednesdays at 10:30pm (where hockey over-runs and consequent “joined-in-progress” situations probably contributed to its ultimate downfall). It disappeared from the CTV schedule. in April 1945.