The Bald Knobber Jamboree

With brandon Mabe

“I’m a third-generation Baldknobber,” shares Brandon Mabe of the Baldknobber Jamboree Show. “My grandfather started the show back in 1959 with his brothers. He was the original Droopy Drawers. My father is Droop Junior. I grew up in a houseful of comedians.”

Mabe, who performs nightly on the Baldknobber stage, presents a unique perspective having grown up in a Branson show dynasty. “You have to put an aspect of your life on stage and then have your family life on the side,” he notes.

“I loved the Baldknobbers even when it was not cool to love the Baldknobbers! I always dreamed of being on stage.

“My grandpa, the original Droopy Drawers, was the happy-go-lucky guy everybody was trying to push away [during the show]. He never really said much but just interacted. He was that light-hearted child in a grown man’s body on stage.

“He had a suitcase and inside that suitcase was a prop for every song that was played. One of my favorite memories was getting into his suitcase before the show. I would act him out before the show started. The fact is, I looked up to him so much because of that character he was on stage. Off-stage, he was still a man I idolized and looked up to and respected beyond words but when he said it, it was to be done.

“It was like he got to play his serious mode off-stage and then when he was on stage, it was like letting out every inner-child aspect he possibly had. He taught me everybody has to have time to let go of their life struggles and that was his way. He used the character Droopy Drawers for that.

“He taught me that during those two hours on stage you entertain the people in the audience and give them what they’ve paid to see. They don’t pay for your troubles. They pay to forget their troubles.”

An iconic show, The Baldknobbers were founded by the Mabe Brothers: Jim, Bill, Lyle and Bob. “They started down by the lakefront. As simple as it sounds, I think they just all talked and said, ‘We’re gonna start a show!’ They had always entertained as brothers, they sang quartet music a lot. People needed to do something at night after they were done fishing.”

The brothers were instrumental in developing what would become known as the Branson show formula.

“They knew they needed more than just music and that’s where the comedians came in. Jim, my grandfather, was Droopy Drawers. His brother Lyle played ‘George Aggernite.’ Put those aspects together and focus on country music, bluegrass-style music, combine it with gospel and it has laid the foundation for us all if you really think about it.”

Folks came by the droves and they still do. But beneath all the glittery lights and behind the heavy velvet curtains is a personal cost few in the audience truly realize.

“You have to put aside all your personal issues to be able to do the show. People don’t care about that. They paid for their tickets. They want to be entertained.

“My brother died in 2006, the year I came on stage. We had started the show in March. My cousin Denton’s [who also performs on stage] father Dennis died that April. He was our fellow entertainer, our mentor. We had to pull together. We had to learn the show must go on and it was tough. I did the show immediately after Dennis died. We canceled the show that night because he was so instrumental. But we came on the next night after one day to regroup.

“But two months later my brother passed away on a Sunday afternoon and we’re here doing the show on Monday night. My father, myself, all on stage with smiles on our faces entertaining the crowd and trying to make sure they don’t know what’s going on.

“'Cause our job is to take their worry away from them. Not to consume them with our worries. That’s when I really understood the cost of this job. I wouldn’t trade it for anything but there are very difficult times that we must face and again the show must go on.”

Sports came first for Brandon until he was a young adult. “I’ve never had a vocal lesson but when you grow up in a family of entertainers who get lessons your whole life. I’ve watched them fight through illnesses and I continue to learn for myself. But when you put yourself in front of all the people, you realize how vulnerable you are on that stage.

“Growing up, I loved sports and I was an athlete. My height may tell you differently but I was a pretty good basketball player and that’s how I got into Evangel University. I was always a little guy on the court but you know the saying, ‘Dynamite comes in small packages.’ I was a show-off. I could jump very high. I was the short guy on the team who could dunk behind my head at the 10-foot goal. I didn’t care if I was playing two minutes a game, at pre-game I’d be dunking the basketball and showing off.

“I remember on a basketball trip to Florida and I was singing and just messing around and one of my teammates came up and said, ‘Mabe! You missed your calling! You need to be a singer.’ I was like, ‘I dunno. The family hasn’t come calling yet.’ I was into school. I was into sports. And, quite frankly, if I was going to be an entertainer, I wanted to be the comedian! But in my senior year of college, I was approached to be a vocalist. I had great mentors. My mother also helped teach us what we have to have to be on stage.”

“But it is neat. As a third-generation Baldknobber, everybody remembers my grandfather. I feel what he and his brothers did was a tremendous accomplishment and it did help create Branson as we know it.

“We’re a family show. We pay tribute to the veterans every nght. We have a very strong gospel segment and of course we perform country music. Now we do a little bit newer style of country music that they did in 1959 but I don’t think you can become more Ozarks, more Branson, than what we put on our stage every night. It is who we are.”

December 13, 2014