In December 1946, WCYB radio began broadcasting from Bristol with a clear, high-powered signal that could be heard for 100 miles or more, and from the station’s launch one of its signature programs was the noontime live show "Farm and Fun Time." Broadcast from the lobby of the Hotel General Shelby, which stood east of here near the current WCYB television studio, the program continued through the late 1940s and 1950s and was also carried on television. Like other radio shows of its day, it featured live musicians who sold products and informed listeners of upcoming show dates. Many of the region’s Bluegrass and Old Time musicians gathered around the microphone at WCYB, and the program marked the beginning of the professional career of scores of musicians. Other than Bill Monroe, virtually every important musician from the first generation of Bluegrass played on "Farm and Fun Time," including early pioneers such as Mac Wiseman, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Ralph and Carter Stanley, Jim and Jessee McReynolds, Carl Story, Bobby Osborne, Jimmy Martin, and the Blue Sky Boys. For a generation of listeners, the bluegrass and mountain music they heard laid the foundation for their musical tastes and created fond memories, while the program helped build upon Bristol’s rich musical heritage.
