Renfro Valley Entertainment Center, Inc.

It All Happened In Renfro Valley By Pete Stamper

224 pages, 60 black & white photos

Foreword by Wayne Daniel
 –– With a Note by Dolly Parton

Pete Stamper, a 50-year veteran of Renfro Valley, traces the Renfro Valley's history from its early radio days in Cincinnati and Chicago, through the glory years in the 1940s, the lean times in the 1960s when rock and roll seemed to take over the music scene, to its renewed popularity in the 1990s.

For over sixty years, Renfro Valley has highlighted some of the biggest and most influential names in country and folk music. The show began in the 1930s as a combination radio broadcast and stage performance, and today it has grown into an array of shows and headliner concerts featuring old-time country music, country, gospel, modern country, bluegrass, and comedy acts.


John Lair, the ambitious and deeply committed founder of Renfro Valley, was fascinated with the past. He created the Renfro Valley Barn Dance to keep the stage and the airwaves filled with authentic Kentucky mountain music. Lair's vision struck a chord with music fans: on some Saturday nights, more than ten thousand people arrived at Renfro Valley and performances went on all night.

Red Foley, the Coon Creek Girls, Slim Miller, Pee Wee King, Old Joe Clark, and a host of other musicians and performers helped shape the development of Renfro Valley. Stamper describes the role of the Valley in the commercial history of country music and highlights John Lair's invaluable contribution to country music as a talent scout, businessman, and collector of traditional music of the South.

Also available at our online store:
Welcome To Renfro Valley – Fun & Frolic – Narrated by Pete Stamper
Features 3 CDs & 1 DVD of recordings of Renfro Valley shows dating back to the 1930s to present day.