Jim Owen

Let’s start all over again and begin by saying that Jim Owen has a show at the Starlite Theater on the strip in Branson. Several things have happened since I last wrote about his show, which was then located in the Carvelle Theater.

First, let me say that Jim is a funny fellow who claims to come from the funniest family that ever lived. Knowing Jim, as I do, I have no doubt that he did. Whether he is telling stories onstage as a part of his show, or merely talking to you in his new venture, Jim Owen’s Classic Country Steakhouse, he will have you laughing the minute you look into his eyes and see him lay that square-faced country-boy grin on you—and the stories he can tell. Jim takes the most mundane of life’s happenings, such as going through a McDonald’s drive-thru, and tells it in such a way that you are usually one step ahead of him. In doing so, you have figured out what he is about to say and are roaring with laughter before he gets to the punch line. He also tells stories that nibble their way around the edges of your mind and then sucker punches you in the laugh basket.

Well, a couple more things have changed with Jim. He switched theaters, started a steakhouse and revamped the format of his show. The latter is probably the most interesting change of all.

Former Texas Troubadour and emcee for Ernest Tubb, Cal Smith, has joined Jim’s show. Cal, though a decade older than Jim, has not slowed down one little bit, but he had a desire to get off the road and enjoy more of Branson and his garden. Cal, originally out of Gans, Oklahoma, has enjoyed a successful career since 1954 when he first appeared on the “California Hayride,” which was broadcast out of Stockton. He had several hits during the 60s and the 70s, such as “Country Bumpkin,” “It’s Time to Pay the Fiddler,” “She Talked a Lot About Texas” and “Jason’s Farm.”

When Cal takes the stage on “The Jim Owen Show,” you can almost hear the static on the radio as he sets the mood for that far away, long, long ago, Texas Troubadour sound and the call for Ernest Tubb on WSM and the Grand Ole Opry. We can almost hear E.T., as friends knew him, as he sang his songs, “Thanks a Lot,” “Waltz Across Texas,” and many others, with Cal providing harmony in the background.

Cal Smith adds a special third dimension to Jim’s show. Jim and Cal perform well as a team and both are thankful to be working together.

Now to Jim and the other major change. In 1949, as a young lad, Jim saw Hank Williams, for the first time, at the Hi-Y Drive-in, in Henderson, Tenn. That started a Hankering, (no pun intended), in Jim, to do Hank Williams. What started as a hobby, soon turned into an obsession. Ever since that time, Jim has paid homage to Hank Williams. Jim Owen did “Hank,” a one-hour PBS special in 1978 and by doing so, earned himself an Emmy for the “Best Show of the Year” on public TV. He then went on to do a 90-minute tribute to the man who wrote the rulebook for country music, with his interpretation of “An Evening with Hank Williams.”

That brings me to my point and the second major change in Jim’s show. Jim is not only doing Hank in his show now but is also doing a major tribute to the “Man in Black,” the legendary Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash is not a simple man to pay tribute to. He had many moves, inflections in his voice and a persona that was unyielding and difficult for anyone to copy. Jim does it just right. In other words, Jim’s tribute to Johnny Cash is right on the money and very well done.

In the same manner as Jim developed the movements, voice and persona of Hank Williams, he has perfected Johnny Cash. Johnny was a great entertainer turned legend. Johnny’s passing has left but one thing to do, send him on to folk legend status, and the stuff of campfire tales for generations to come.

As Hank William’s memory has been ordained to a mythical status, so goes Johnny Cash.

Hank Williams would have been proud of Jim for the way his memory was preserved and I know, from watching Jim’s show that Johnny is just as impressed as he looks down from that “Ring of Fire” in the sky.

So, let’s recap what is happening with Jim Owen. First, Jim is in a new location. He has a morning show at the Starlite Theater. Second, Jim and Cal Smith, the former Texas Troubadour, have teamed up to give you, Mr. and Mrs. Show Goer, the best Branson has to offer in pure entertainment. Thirdly, Jim has stepped into a new role on his show by giving you one of the finest tributes to Johnny Cash I have ever seen, and last but certainly not least, Jim has opened a new steakhouse up on Hwy 248, across from K-Mart.

Robards, Ky. Native, Jim Owen, is the consummate entertainer. He does it all and does it very well. Also, I would like to add that Jim is one of the guys in town who wears a white hat. Jim is one of the good ones. Not many of those left.