History of Branson

ured their show and hosted nationally known stars like Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Vern Gosdin, Waylon Jennings, and others. 76 Music Hall (now known as the Grand Country Music Hall) became the first theater to have three different shows a day performing in different time slots. Buck Trent became the first nationally known star to open a morning show.

The increasing number of theaters and other attractions opening in Branson drew the attention of "60 Minutes", which aired an episode about Branson on December 8, 1991, and called Branson the "live music capital of the entire universe".

Andy Williams built his theater in Branson, opening on May 1, 1992, as the Moon River Theatre.

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Theatre opened in 1994 starring Glen along with his "Goodtime Band," daughter Debbie Campbell, the Matthew Dickens Dancers, and comedian ventriloquist Jim Barber.

In 1998 the Acrobats of China arrived in Branson making them one of the first international shows to call Branson home. They opened their theatre, the New Shanghai Theatre, in 2005. In 2006 Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theatre opened and is the most recent new theater to be built on W. 76 Hwy. Branson has continued to add theaters (the most recent new theater is Sight & Sound Theatres) and shows; and today refers to itself as "the live music show capital of the world".

Theatres in the Branson area currently include the Shoji Tabuchi Theatre, The Starlite Theatre, New Shanghai Theatre, Jim Stafford Theatre, Hughes Brothers Theatre, Kirby VanBurch Theatre, Mickey Gilley Theatre, RFD-TV The Theatre (Buck Trent continues to perform his morning show at this theater), Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theatre (home to Legends in Concert and The Bretts), Baldknobbers' Jamboree Theatre, Sight & Sound