Copyright 2018 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air . TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. Throughout the decade of the 1950s, the Louisiana Hayride was second only to the Grand Ole Opry as a showcase for country music acts, hosting everyone from Hank Williams to Elvis Presley. A new 20-disc box set titled "At The Louisiana Hayride Tonight" contains over 500 performances by scores of artists both famous and obscure. Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review. (SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "LOUISIANA HAYRIDE") UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: It's Saturday night country style. UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Come on along, everybody come along. Come while the moon shines bright. We're going to have a wonderful time at the Louisiana Hayride tonight. KEN TUCKER, BYLINE: The Louisiana Hayride began as a talent show and a showcase for country music at the very end of the 1940s. It was broadcast on KWKH, a radio station whose owners included John D. Ewing, locally famous for his opposition to the Ku Klux Klan
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