A
country bandleader (1921-
1983, real
last name Drye), and
host of an early-morning
TV show in central
North Carolina, a balding (under the
cowboy hat), portly,
genial man, who sang and played
guitar and emceed the proceedings while other members of the band had their featured spots. The show hearkened back to the pre-
television days of
radio, when live bands would regularly appear - the notion of just spinning
records wasn't widespread yet, so local broadcasters were like an adjunct to your neighborhood Opry.
Homer's show (and a similar, syndicated one hosted by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith) got shunted to the early mornings because the TV networks demanded more and more of the affiliates' time for their programming, so the
audience was made up of early-risers and insomniacs, for the most part. The band itself was a sort of country repertory company, playing the classics, a few obscurities, maybe a current hit, and maybe a gospel tune; they would play gigs in the region when not taping the show.
At some point in the 70s, the show was finally cancelled; it was a "relic", anyway - never slick or cosmopolitan enough to fit in with New South audiences and advertisers, and there was plenty of country on the radio
already, right? But seeing Homer leave the airwaves was like watching them pave a not-quite-paradise and put up a parking lot.