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Si Siman

Si Siman (born Ely E. Siman Jr.; January 17, 1921 – December 16, 1994) was an American country music executive as a radio producer, talent agent, songwriter, record producer, television producer and music publisher who helped transform the sound of music in the Ozarks after World War II and into the 1980s. He discovered Country Music Hall of Fame Members Chet Atkins and Porter Wagoner, and secured record deals for The Browns and Brenda Lee among others; and was the key figure behind Ozark Jubilee, the first network television series to feature America's top country music stars. According to the Encyclopedia of Country Music, he was "the driving force in the emergence of Springfield, Missouri, as a country music center in the 1950s."[1]

Si Siman

Ely E. Siman Jr.

Si Siman

(1921-01-17)January 17, 1921
Springfield, Missouri

December 16, 1994(1994-12-16) (aged 73)
Springfield, Missouri

country music, pop music

Radio producer
Talent manager
Television producer
Music publisher

1946 to 1987

A scholarship for students pursuing music business studies was established in Siman's name at .

Middle Tennessee State University

In 2008, the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau honored him with its Pinnacle Award, noting that "The impact of the [Jubilee] and Siman's efforts are still felt by Springfield's tourism industry."

He was awarded a "Missourian of the Year Award" for his contributions to the arts.

Ozark Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album (first edition, 1955)

Terry, Dickson "Hillbilly Music Center" (February 5, 1956), "The Everyday Magazine", p. 1

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Hillbilly TV Show Hits the Big Time" (March 10, 1956), , p. 30

Business Week

The Ozark Jubilee starring Red Foley (1956), Radiozark Enterprises, Inc.

Ozark Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album (second edition, 1956), © Ozark Jubilee's Crossroads Store

Country Music Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album (third edition, 1957)

"The Death of TV's Jubilee" (September 18, 1960), , p. D4

Springfield Leader & Press

Hoekstra, Dave "Sounds from the Heartland in an All-American Festival" (June 28, 1992), , "Show", p. 1

The Chicago Sun-Times

Spears-Stewart, Rita (1993), Remembering the Ozark Jubilee, Stewart, Dillbeck & White Productions,  0-9638648-0-7.

ISBN

Update; Lifelines; Deaths, E.E. "Si" Siman (January 14, 1995), , p. 59

Billboard

Butler, Robert W. "Screen Notes" (January 22, 1995), , p. J4

The Kansas City Star

Brothers, Michael A. "A Songwriter's Journey to the Top" (February 13, 2005), , p. 1C

Springfield News-Leader

Sylvester, Ron "100 Ozarkers: 'Si' Siman Impacted Country Music" (October 10, 1999), "Progress," Springfield News-Leader, p. 8H

Booher, Kate "'I want People to feel like this is their Team'" (June 5, 2005), Springfield News-Leader, p. 8D

Eng, Steve (1992), A Satisfied Mind: the Country Music Life of Porter Wagoner, Rutledge Hill Press,  1-55853-133-5.

ISBN