Branson, Missouri
by Jerry R. Ozee

With a resident population of 6,900, Branson, Missouri definitely fits the mold of "small-town Americana", but the 9 million visitors projected for 2006 make it so much more.

Branson was once a sleeping giant. Back in 1969 when my wife and I traveled through Branson on our honeymoon, there were only two shows in town- the Presleys and the Baldknobbers, the latter named for an infamous group of local post-Civil War vigilantes. In December of 1991 the 60 Minutes TV show declared Branson "The Live Country Music Capital of the Universe". At that time Morley Safer reported that there were 22 theaters in operation with 4 million annual visitors. Today, there are 50-plus theaters in Branson with more being constructed as I write, and 150-plus shows to be seen on any given day March through December, except Sundays.

Now that my wife Shirley and I have retired to a community near Branson, we've come to understand that the evolution of the Live Music Capital of the Universe wasn't an overnight occurrence. It took a few years for all of the wonderful musicians to arrive and establish themselves in appropriate venues. Branson is full of gifted people with talents they love to share with crowds large or small, be it in a huge theater or on a "pickin' porch". There are so many theaters and shows here that, not having seen anywhere near all of them, I hesitate to single out any for special attention. Still, having said that, here's a short list of those that I highly recommend: Presleys' Country Jubilee, Pierce Arrow, The Jim Stafford Show, The Dixie Stampede, and The Magnificent 7.

The summer of 2006 saw some monumental changes in Branson with the opening of the Branson Landing. The Landing is a redevelopment of an area located along the shore of Lake Taneycomo adjacent to the city's historic district. The boardwalk covers approximately 1½ miles of shoreline that is lined with 100 stores and restaurants including such name brands as Bass Pro Shop and Crab Shack, etc. Above the stores are very pricey condominiums, 98% of which have been sold.

The boardwalk is lit with 2 million dollars worth of faux antique streetlights. Walking on the boardwalk you will find yourself approaching an area of dancing water fountains that sway to the music with ever-changing rays of multicolored light. Quite a magnificent show after dark! As you stroll through the Landing shopping area you may be entertained by street musicians, dancers, clowns, or ethnic musicians who perform for tips. The musical talents here range from singer-guitarists to jazz ensembles and barbershop quartets. There is also a small outdoor amphitheatre where band concerts are occasionally scheduled.

Lodging should never be a problem when visiting Branson as there are already approximately 20,000 motel/hotel rooms available in Branson, well before the 2008 completion date for the convention center and a new Hilton Hotel currently in progress. Accommodations in Branson range from mom & pop-owned facilities and bed and breakfast inns, to a five-star hotel- the Chateau on the Lake with its recently completed spa.

About 10 miles south of Branson near the Arkansas border, on the south shore of Table Rock Lake, Bass Pro Shop has established a large resort area known as Big Cedar Lodge. Besides the lodge housing, the many log cabins along the lakeshore make wonderful sites for family reunions and winter retreats. In addition to fishing and boating, the area features stables for horseback riding.

No age group was left out in the planning of Branson. For the youngest children I recommend the Butterfly Palace which has moved to its brand-new domed home at the east end of the Highway 76 strip, right on the edge of an Ozark Mountain cliff. Babies and small children will love the up-close experience as you walk through a bright, beautiful and colorful meadow of live plants where butterflies fly freely about, potentially landing on a flower within arm's reach of your child.

Just west of Branson on Route 76 lies Silver Dollar City, a fee theme park centered around music, food, rides, onsite artisans, shopping and the history of the Ozark countryside. Each day visitors enjoy multiple show times in five theaters throughout the park with an evening concert in an outdoor amphitheater that seats 4,000. Throughout the year the park focuses on various themes for several weeks each, such as cowboy or western music, southern gospel tunes, or a children's emphasis. Rides include several roller coasters and water rides. In 2006, Silver Dollar City inaugurated a new area especially designed for younger children who are too short for the older coaster rides.

In an adjacent area, bubbling water spouts and water cannon provide relief from the hot summer sun. Climbing rope mazes, sandboxes and tree houses add to the adventure for the younger generation. Although this area is designed for children, adults will enjoy the talented musicians, clog dancers, storytellers, magicians, and dog acts plus the music of a Cajun band, a southern gospel group, and a country western band performing songs that take us back to a safer and more carefree era.

Near the entrance to the park you will find an area of old log structures. On the front porch of a home you'll find a storyteller and a bluegrass band performing and spontaneously interacting with the crowd. While at Silver Dollar City, take the family to see the world's largest cave room in Marvel Cave, which is included in your ticket price. The cave room has a resident bat population and could contain a twelve-story building. If you enjoy caves there are several others in the area worthy of exploring; in fact, Missouri's nickname is "The Cave State".

Silver Dollar City offers a 3-park pass good for multiple days that includes the White Water outdoor water park admission and a pass to Celebration City, an evening-only amusement park with lots of rides (the most exciting being an old-fashioned wooden roller coaster), shopping, restaurants, a theater, and a spectacular patriotic laser light show saluting America.

The Ozarks offer a wealth of outdoor activities for all the family. The City of Branson manages 15 parks from 1 acre to as large as 1,574 acres. The Paul Henning Conservation Area, just west of The Shepherd of the Hills Homestead and Outdoor Theater, is a 1,574 acre wooded glade which features hiking trails ½ mile to 3.7 miles in length. The trails take you along historical sites that are mentioned in Harold Bell Wright's book The Shepherd of the Hills.

Next door, at the Shepherd of the Hills Park, the family can take in the epic drama of the same name in an outdoor amphitheater. The production portrays life in the 1800's as recorded in the novel and features a square dance with live musicians, a Baldknobber raid with real fire and expert horsemen, and one obviously fake panther. This park also has a large grounds area with log cabins and shopping areas as well as an indoor luncheon theater.

Table Rock Lake has a surface area of approximately 52,300 acres and 857 miles of shoreline. It is one of three lakes that make up an area called the Tri-Lakes. Visitors can participate in boating, skiing, parasailing, fishing and other water-related activities. Fisherman are drawn to the Tri-Lakes' plentiful largemouth and small mouth bass, crappie, walleye, paddlefish, and catfish.

On the north side of Table Rock Lake you'll find the 650' Moonshine Beach area. This new facility houses restrooms, outdoor showers, water fountains, picnic tables, grills, a playground and a handicapped-accessible ramp.

Lake Taneycomo is a long narrow lake below the Table Rock Lake dam where the water remains at a constant temperature of about 48 degrees. Consequently, it has become a popular trout fishery. You might even see people in their waders fly fishing for rainbow or a trophy brown trout. It's estimated that in 2002, fishermen spent 664,000 hours on Lake Taneycomo, aspiring to having a fishing tale they could recount to friends back home.

Below the dam is a USDA fish hatchery that annually releases 750,000 rainbow trout and 10,000 brown trout into the lake. The brown trout grow quite large and are regarded as a special trophy catch. The hatchery has a very nice museum, a slide show about trout propagation, and a conservationist to answer questions. Children will enjoy walking out among the holding channels where they can even purchase fish food. The hatchery is a totally free exhibit, unless you buy a quarter's worth of fish food.

The third lake in the Tri-Lakes area is Bull Shoals Lake, the bulk of which lies over the border in Arkansas. This lake is home to white bass, stripers, smallmouth bass, walleye, catfish and crappie. Recreational activities there include fishing, swimming, boating and canoeing.

Seven area golf courses beckon golf fans. Some have unique greens on different ridges that require special skills to negotiate. One was developed by the Audubon Society and offers refuge for some very interesting bird species. Blue heron are seen on the lake occasionally. Living within a mile of this golf course, I see woodpeckers, nuthatches, cardinals, morning doves, bats, blue jays and hummingbirds on a daily basis. I believe two of the golf courses were designed by former golf pros. Winters are fairly mild here, creating a longer golfing season. Several of the condo units and timeshares are located on golf courses.

Branson is also known as "The Veterans Capital of the World". Every holiday that can be celebrated by recognizing the importance of our veterans and our freedoms is given its due honor here. Each musical show has some way of honoring veterans who may even grow tired of standing to be acknowledged. On 76 Country Boulevard, veterans of all branches of service are recognized with their own museum.

Along 76 Country Boulevard and the alternate routes, you will also find miniature golf courses, a go-cart track, large slides, bumper boats and two water parks (indoor and outdoor) - just to name a few more things to entertain the child in everyone.

Shopping along highway 76 is a real treat with 400+ specialty stores and restaurants in Branson and the surrounding area. Visitors can enjoy shopping in two outlet malls, several strip malls and artisan malls throughout the Branson/ Ozark Mountain area. The Engler Block on highway 76 and the newest artisan mall, Branson Mill on Gretna Road feature pickin' porches, which give a unique flare to shopping. Sit down and listen with a cup of coffee or ice-cold tea or browse as the music wafts throughout the stores. Shopping at Branson Mill is another wonderful way to appreciate why Branson is known as the "Live Country Music Capital of the Universe".

The Engler Block is a converted warehouse housing thirty of southwest Missouri's finest artisans; inside you'll find the Artfolk Music and Wood Store http://www.artfolk.net/ where Art Reed and his crew make exquisite dulcimers and resonator guitars. Coming soon to Artfolk is a tribute show dedicated to the late great Mr. Guitar, Chet Atkins. Come enjoy the FINGER PICKIN' GOOD playing of musicians who make the guitar sound as it was intended to sound, sweet and mellow.

Branson would make an ideal place for a Chet Atkins tribute, as some of his early years in the music industry were spent in the area; in the late '40's and early '50's, for example, Chet performed on radio station KWTO in nearby Springfield, Missouri, appearing with Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters before settling into his brilliant career in Nashville. I have talked to some residents who remember hearing those radio broadcasts, and some folks remember seeing the KWTO radio stars, including Chet, performing live in rural Ozark schoolhouses, churches and city halls.

While at KWTO, Chet also performed with Red Foley and played lead guitar on Foley's recording of "Peace in the Valley," the first gospel recording to sell over a million records. Atkins also become acquainted with other artists such as Porter Wagner and Eddy Arnold, and would later help to shape each of their careers. In the mid-fifties, Atkins occasionally flew from Nashville back to Springfield to appear on Eddy Arnold's popular television show. It was during those brief years at KWTO that a legendary producer named Si Simon first began to call Chester Atkins "Chet", a name that stuck. Near the end of his illustrious career, Chet came to Branson and offered a sold-out concert at Silver Dollar City's 4000-seat outdoor theatre. Many Branson residents still recall the excitement and significance of that event.

Surprisingly, there are few fingerstyle guitar pickers in Branson, but the network is close and the camaraderie is strong. Residents of the area love the style and find Chet's music very appealing when competently performed. Many listeners have said that "Branson is ready for this!"

You may have heard the joke about the last musician to leave for Branson turning off the lights in Nashville; for a number of reasons, that is not yet the case. Musicians in the two towns serve the country music industry in distinctive ways, with recording activities and songwriting dominating in Nashville and the season-long shows providing work in Branson.

For many years, country artist Mel Tillis had a theater in Branson. As a former touring musician, his one-liner about the town was,

"You get to put your stuff in the drawers."

Mel was referring to the fact that the vast majority of performers in local shows are year-round residents who do not live out of their suitcases.

Performers with an eye towards Branson need to realize that it currently is not the place for a traveling musician to seek a one or two-night gig. This may be due to the fact that Branson audiences are in a constant state of flux; the typical visitor will be in town for about three days. Instead, you would need to need to tailor your skills as a musically literate accompanist, possibly in a pit orchestra, and commit to long-term employment in one place. Most of the instrumental musicians I have met here perform at a number of shows to generate a stable income. Some Branson musicians perform up to three shows per day, six days a week. Other entertainers who take on leading stage rolls in evening performances are quick to tell you about their daytime careers ranging from school teaching to construction.

If you are a young male singer and dancer, a huge opportunity awaits you in the chorus lines at Branson's larger theaters. Still, with the exception of the two-month break after the Christmas holidays, you would have to be willing to take up Missouri residency.

Hopefully, the Artfolk Music and Wood Store may alter the solo performance situation by providing an intimate venue for both talented local and traveling single acts. [Watch Guitar Sessions' "Happenings" column for further news of developments and performance opportunities at Artfolk.]

Last but not least is nearby College of the Ozarks, better known as "Hard Work U." This college is unique in that students pay no tuition but must work on campus 20 hours per week each semester to cover tuition and textbook expenses. If students work fulltime on campus during the summer they can earn two units of room and board that completes basic school cost each year. What a great way to get an education!

The college campus is a working farm with its dairy herd, bakery, grist mill, horticultural business raising live orchids for the famous Shoji Tabuchi Theater restrooms as well as live plants for flower gardens and landscaping. The campus has an excellent museum housing, among other oddities- the old jalopy that belonged to The Beverly Hillbillies, as much of that classic TV show was filmed right here in the Ozarks.

Perhaps the Branson adventure is best summed up in the lyrics of a song written by my friend Randy Plummer, whose parents founded the 4^th original show in Branson. The lyrics appear here with Randy's permission.

Branson©
by Randy Plummer


There's a place in southwest Missouri
A place where you don't get in a hurry
But it's a spot where you feel you're drawn
And you're Ozark mountain country gone
To Branson, Branson
REFRAIN

There's Silver Dollar City and Shepherd of the Hills
And Table Rock Dam to see as well
With the Baldknobbers and the Presleys
They built our Ozark heritage
With the Plummer Family and the Foggy River Boys
These were our first four original shows
And Mutton Hollow was there to see.
These started the tourist industry
Of Branson, Branson.
REFRAIN

There's lots of shows for you to see
With lots of music and harmony
And funny guys in Ozark dress
Take their places among the best
There's hotels, motels and swimming pools
Add Whitewater to keep you cool.
So come on over, you don't know what you're missin'
With Ozark mountain country living
In Branson, Branson
REFRAIN

There's restaurants all over the place
With everything from grits to steak
Variety's the word we use
In Branson, Branson.
It's got a lot of class and then some.
Folks come here from far and near
To Branson, Branson.
There's big chain names that'll surely do
And there's maw and paw owned restaurants too.
Just pile the food upon your plate
And add an inch upon your waist,
In Branson, Branson.
REFRAIN

While you're here you've got to ride the ducks
Those land and water floatin' trucks.
Go see Ralph Foster Museum, too
Where Ozark heirlooms fill every room.
It's on the College of the Ozarks Campus
Where there's a car from Beverly Hills' Clampetts
And there you can take all day to see
And learn about Ozark history
In Branson, Branson
REFRAIN

Don't leave Branson without going downtown
Just park your car there and then look around.
Main and Commercial streets loaded with stores
And the shack at Dick's Five and Dime you'll adore.
The Farmhouse, Mr. B's Branson Café
And the Fudge Shop go back to early days.
Be sure to go by Lake Taneycomo
Where the Pirate Cruise and the Lake Queen's floatin'
In Branson, Branson
REFRAIN

At Shepherd of the Hills it was Harold Bell Wright
Who wrote of Sammy Lane and Baldknobbers fights
Go through old Matt's cabin by day
And at night see the Shepherd of the Hills play
Take a jeep ride up inspiration point
Where statues from Harold Bell Wrights book join
Ride the elevator up Inspiration Tower
You can stay up there and look for hours
At Branson, Branson
REFRAIN

Silver Dollar City's been here for years
It don't get no better than it does out there
There's a wilderness church and the homestead cabin
Where the music sounds like a piece of heaven
They're loaded with crafts folks all over the place
And the Saloon Show will put a smile on your face
Ride the Silver Dollar Train as it goes around
And shows the Ozark sight and sounds
Of Branson, Branson.
REFRAIN

Ozark Mountain Christmas is something to see
With millions of lights on hundreds of trees
There's decorations all over the place
Done with Ozark mountain country taste
There's drive-through exhibits and walk-throughs too
Put this on your list of things to do
See the Spirit of Christmas as you drive your car
Down 76 Country Boulevard
At Branson, Branson
REFRAIN

If you've never been to Branson town
I want to invite you to come on down
And to you who have already been
Please come on back and see us again
In Branson, Branson.
It's got a lot of class and then some
Folks come here from far and near
To Branson, Branson.


REFRAIN:
It's got a lot of class and then some
Folks come here from far and near
To Branson, Branson.

Best wishes and y'all come down,
Jerry Ozee

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To learn more about the sights and sounds of Branson, please visit the following websites:

www.bransoc.com
www.bransonusa.com
www.branson.chamber.com
www.bransonmagazine.com
www.bransonWorld.com
www.bransoninfo.com
www.bransonmissouri
www.bransonnow.com
www.bransonconnecton.com

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About the Author:

Jerry Ozee has lived in the Branson, Missouri area with his wife Shirley since the spring of 2004, having retired from a 33-year dental practice in Sullivan, Illinois. His favorite pastime has always been the guitar, which he took up at age eleven. Musically, he is primarily self-taught, but over the years he has gained the respect of many fine guitarists.

As an avocation, he entertained in the central Illinois area, playing guitar and singing for festivals, restaurants, television, radio, parties, anniversaries, weddings, churches, and even funerals. His move to Branson was largely driven by his love for music and musical performance as well as the many other opportunities the Ozark area offers.

In 2001, Jerry authored the bestselling Mel Bay Publications book, Chet Akins Plays Back Home Hymns (MB99766), a complete and accurate transcription of Chet's guitar work on the 1963 album of the same title.

Jerry is a charter member of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS) which was founded in 1985 and meets each July in Nashville, Tennessee. Jerry has consistently attended every CAAS convention over the years, at times performing for society members or offering a workshop on playing some of Chet's tunes. For more information about CAAS, write to the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society, c/o Mark Pritcher, 3716 Timberlake Road, Knoxville, TN 37920.

Since moving to Branson, Jerry has enjoying meeting and performing with many of the area's key musicians; he is actively seeking a venue for a "Tribute to Chet Atkins" show and is involved in creating an intimate performance theatre at the Engler Block in the Artfolk Music and Wood Artisan Theatre. Check the Artfolk website at www.artfolk.net for news of developments at this unique performance venue.