If you lived within broadcast range of Nashville TN in the 1960s through 80s`you would have watched the annual Outhouse races on WSM-TV. The races and a number of other features were part of the Ralph Emery show which was on from 5:30 am to 7:00 am weekdays)
Ralph presided over a hilarious assortment of crew and guests. Both aspiring and established musicians and songwriters would drop in for an early morning visit, and of course get to play their newest releases. A pair of senior ladies ("Maude and Dorothy"
became part of the mayhem; they just started showing up with donuts for the crew and stayed.
The morning weather, farm reports, school closings for weather, traffic reports were all part of the show. Also part of the show was the excellent (and hilarious) house band, & the local businessmen who did their own live commercials. Pat Sajak, and Jon Tesh were both part of the show from time to time filling in for the regular weather and sports personalities. (sidebar: at the same time Sajak and Tesh were on WSM, Oprah was just getting started as a street reporter on the CBS station WLAC)
Outhouse races, Paddle boat regattas, & "chalk-off" tournaments were annual events. The outhouses were not mechanized; they were usually hauled by local athletes. They were sponsored by the same local businesses, and the business owners rode in them for the race.
The house band, weatherman and traffic reporter also popped up on the live morning drive radio show "The Waking Crew" which was broadcast from the same studio. Different host and format same lively entertainment. They all resurfaced again at midday for "The Noon Show" on live TV.
There is not as much on the web for this delightful program as there should be but here are a couple of links
https://thoughtsfromthebacksideofmybrain.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/the-ralph-emery-show/
https://www.honestabe.com/blog/ralph-emery-show/
https://danmiller.typepad.com/dan_millers_notebook/2008/05/channel-4-in-the-1970s.html
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