Comedienne Judy Canova was one of the hidden gems American popular culture, ignored by critics and overlooked by ratings systems that valued big city audiences yet beloved by audiences in smaller markets. As a musical comedienne whose lifelong comic persona was that of a yodeling country bumpkin, Judy Canova was famous on stage, screen, and radio throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, but largely because of the perceived low status of her audience, her popularity has often been overlooked.

Judy Canova was born Juliette Canova on November 20, 1916, in Starke, Florida. Her career in show business began while she was still a teenager when she joined with her older brother and sister in a musical trio which played the club circuit in New York. In addition to belting out many of the same country songs she would perform for the rest of her life, Canova...