Lyle and Gaylene Booth at the controls
(Photo by Denny Holton)
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The Sound's The Thing
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was a hot, sultry September afternoon the day before the opening of the
1980 Clay County Fair in Spencer. People everywhere scurried about
nervously making last minute preparations.
Among
the horde of farm implement dealers, carnies and refreshment stand
jockies were two Cherokee gypsies - Lyle and Gaylene Booth, owners and
operators of Booth Sound of Cherokee.
They, too, were making
last-minute adjustments for the opening of what is billed as "The
World's Greatest County Fair." For the Booth, the final preparations
involved running checks on the thouousands of dollars worth of
speakers, monitors and microphones that were to provide high-quality
sound for some 21 upcoming grandstand shows.
Soon to blast
through the Booth Sound system would be performances by nationally
known entertainers Johnny Cash, Victor Borge, the Statler Brothers,
Bill Anderson and Jim Ed Brown.
Booth Sound, considered one of
the largest and most respected sound business in the Midwest, wasn't
always a top name in the vast field of sound production. "It didn't
happen overnight, just like it doesn't happen overnight for
entertainers," said Lyle. "It's taken years of experience to learn this
business, and then you never learn it all because it continually
changes as new electronic sound systems are invented."
Booth
Sound originated in the mid 1940s in Washta. "I started out in the
sound business right after World War II," noted Lyle, a Marcus native.
"Washta needed some sound equipment for a Watermelon Days celebration
they had back then, so I used my bonus money from the Army and
purchased an amplifier, two speakers and a microphone for about $400."
Booth's
initial investment has blossomed into quite an operation since those
days. In fact, this summer Booth has four trucks on the road from May
through August providing and operating sound equipment for some of the
larger fairs, pageants and concerts throughout the Midwest.
"If
we bring all four units together, we are capable of handling any of the
big concerts," explained Lyle. "I don't think many people realize we
work the bigtime concerts and fairs."
Booth's summer tour takes
his company into some 15 different states. They've provided sound for
such top name entertainers as Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Kenny Rodgers,
Loretta Lynn, Don Williams, The Oak Ridge Boys, Charlie Pride and Donna
Fargo.
The list doesn't end with comedy and country stars. They
also have handled sound for top rock bands such as The Dirt Band, Pure
Prairie League and Black Oak Arkansas. The list goes on and on.
"We
do the Ozark Empire Fair in Missouri, which attendance-wise is bigger
than the M issouri State Fair," said Lyle. Other big fairs worked by
Booth Sound include the Kansas State Fair, the Elk Horn County Fair in
Wisconsin and the Imperial Fair in Nebraska.
Being country music
fans, Lyle and Gaylene prefer mixing sound for some of their favorite
entertainers. "Myself, I like Don Williams," said Lyle. "I like some of
the rock 'n roll music, too, but it's just too darn hard on my ears,"
he joked.
In addition to setting up for grandstand performances,
Booth Sound also provides sound equipment for the livestock buildings,
4-H buildings, tractor pulls and all the other events found at fairs
throughout the Midwest. "It's not a glamorous job," said Gaylene. "When
people see all the work involved, they realize it isn't all just
listening to big name performers.
"We seldom work directly with
the entertainers," she added. "We don't really get to know them because
we deliberately stay away from them, and they appreciate it. We realize
they get hassled enough and we don't like to bother them."
Gaylene
did admit sittong on a stage and visiting with Donna Fargo prior to one
of her shows this summer. But she quickly added that first-hand
conversations with the performers rarely happen. "The big-name
entertainers are usually rushed off the stage right away to avoid the
fans," said Gaylene. "If they wern't people would go crazy and start
ripping at their clothers."
Both Lyle and Gaylene admit that the
"gravey" of their profession is working with the sounds made by
talented performers. But that's just a small portion of a very busy
schedule.
When Booth Sound trucks take to the road in May,
that's just a part of the work that begins in December with booking
shows. "We start attending fair conventions in several states in
December and book the summer tour," noted Lyle. "That's just the
beginning. Then, before we go on the road, we sometimes have to
pre-wire buildings at the fairgounds so things are ready to go when we
pull in to do the fairs."
When music fans hear their favorite
entertainers, they're unaware or don't care how the sound gets to them,
just so it gets there. Lyle and Gaylene, are behind the scenes mixing
that sound. To them, a crisp, clear voice backed up by a perfect
mixture of instrumentals makes the show.
If we do a concert for
an entertainer I haven't heard, I usually go out and buy a cassette
tape and listen to their music," said Lyle. "That gives us an idea of
how they like things to sound."
With no formal education in
music or sound electronics, Lyle and Gaylene, through hard work and
trial and error, have managed to gain the respect of a varied group of
performers.
"We've been asked back by several fair boards because they obviously like the way we do things," said Lyle.
"Sounds good," added Gaylene.
(By Denny Holton)
(Source:
Lyle & Gaylene were my great aunt & uncle. This story was
transcribed from a framed copy of it that I inherited, after Gaylene's
death. Cindy Booth Maher, IAGenWeb Cherokee County Coordinator)
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Booth Sound & Electric Station Wagon
Owners: Lyle & Gaylen Booth
July 1961
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