The "Sweetheart of Country Music"
Gets Her Own TV Show
Starting in September, RFD-TV
viewers all over America can see for
themselves why Penny Gilley’s famously
loyal fans drove from as far away as
South Dakota and East Texas to catch
her live show in Branson.
The Sweetheart of Country Music – a
5’-2”, brown-eyed, blonde ball of
energy – is now bringing her special
brand of glitz, glamour and down-home
country classics to the new “Penny
Gilley Show” direct from RFD-TV The
Theatre on the Branson strip.
Penny, who has performed in front
of hundreds of thousands of U.S.
soldiers from Bosnia to Korea to Iraq,
and has been a mainstay of RFD-TV
The Theater’s spring and summer
lineup, says putting on a weekly halfhour
TV show is “a whole new
ballgame.” But she is determined not to
let the cameras, lights and fussing over
TV makeup break that special bond she
has always had with her fans.
Instead, she wants to share it with
millions more.
“If I am able to connect with my TV
audience like I do with my live
audience, it will be a huge success,”
Penny says.
One of the secrets is knowing
what people like – and delivering
it.
“I’ll get the opportunity to
share the kind of music that I
love – and that people love and
don’t get a chance to hear much
any more: classic country.”
So get ready for a lot of
Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette
and Barbara Mandrell.
(“My lifetime favorites,”
says Penny.)
Penny loves chatting
with her live audiences and
plans to bring some of that
personal intimacy to her TV
show. One way is to avoid a script and
just keep it spontaneous.“I really want
it to be laid back,” she says.
So look for a lot of anything-goes
banter with surprise performers
dropping in from their shows around
Branson. And more than a few giggles
with veteran impersonator Jeff Brandt,
who will be a regular on the show.
Brandt, who was the opening act for
Wayne Newton for 13 years, has a deep
bag of tricks to bring to the party with
his dead-on impersonations of hundreds
of favorite singers like Elvis, Conway
Twitty, Tom Jones and Willie Nelson.
And get ready for Penny’s 7-piece
band that features a female fiddler who
loves to clog dance while playing
Orange Blossom Special.
Penny might even answer email
questions from the TV audience on the
air just to keep things lively and
unexpected.
How does Penny know her style of
entertaining works?
By looking out at her audience and
seeing familiar fans from all over the
country who came to catch her show in
Branson.
It’s not surprising Penny fits right
into this entertainment hotspot in
America’s heartland.
“I love performing, and for me to be
able to share that has always been
special. Now I have a chance to connect
with millions of TV viewers. That’s
exciting.”
So how does Penny Gilley plan to
kick off this new adventure?
“Just get in front of the camera and
make it happen,” she says.
The Penny Gilley Show
will premiere on
Mondays, September 3rd,
at 9 p.m. EST.
The Penny Gilley Show
featuring Jeff Brandt
Performs Friday,
Saturday and Sunday at
RFD-TV The Theatre,
beginning in October.
Click here for Penny's website!
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