From March 1 through December 30, (check schedule for specific dates), the Jim Stafford Theater plays to full houses in Branson. This is considered one of the best family-oriented show in Branson and is filled with music, comedy and special effects. This variety show is particularly geared toward the child inside of everyone. A gentle man blessed with the gift of musical inventiveness, Jim has risen to national prominence with such hits as "Spiders and Snake," Wildwood Weed," "Cow Patti" and more. He now presents a musical comedy show filled with new songs like "Don't Tell Mama I'm a Guitar Picker," "Layenda Pipeline" and "Suite Liberty," plus a revolving line of other favorites. On any given day, Jim may put a new number in his show. This show is like no other in Branson. Shows are Monday thru Saturday, except in January and February when the show schedule is reduced.
Jim was born in 1944 in Winterhaven, Florida. He first started playing guitar as a young man with his dad, sitting on their porch in the Florida sunshine. Both his parents were musically inclined and Jim was playing in a band at the age of 14. When one of his best friends, Gram Parsons, was only 13 and Jim was 16, they formed a band called The Legends and played everywhere they could - sock hops, weddings, dances, Elk's clubs - and Jim started making a living out of something he loved doing. Making music. His friend, Gram, went on to become one of the leading creators of the country-rock sound that prevailed in the 60s and is still influential today.
After high school, Stafford moved on to Nashville and was a back-up musician when one of his drummers quit. He saved the day by creating his famous one-man-band act on the spot, which the public loved. He also continued to sharpen his songwriting skills but always concentrated on novelty and parody songs, in defense of his singing voice, which he didn't think was very good. He got so accomplished with humorous song writing, he had a Top 40 Hit in '73, "Swamp Witch." He was more surprised than anyone with that achievement.
His string of successes is a matter of record afterward, leading him via a circuitous route to Branson, a nearly-empty spot in the road when he got there. Successful performers did not settle in on one spot, but Jim took the chance, which he admits was a "huge leap of faith." It has paid off even better for him than being a head writer on the Smothers Brothers Show or headlining in Vegas. Here in the peaceful security of wholesome Branson, Jim Stafford has his own theater. He and his family live on a lake nearby and he has learned to be both expert businessman and performer. He knows not every entertainer that tries to make it in Branson does so and he states, "You have to work hard at what you do here to STAY here!" And work hard is what he does best. His string of goofy country hits in the 70s and his TV successes in the 80s were his personal Magic Carpet that carried him to Branson.
They say he took over when he got to Branson, but when you see his shows, especially the family-oriented musical comedy and the 3-D Virtual Thrill Ride (developed in their own in-house production system), you'll wonder why it took you so long to get here. The Virtual Thrill Ride is a blend of 3-D video and live interactive performance, which is seen on the largest stereoscopic 3-dimensional rear projection screen in the whole world. The Jim Stafford Theater hands out over 340,000 special 3-D glasses every year. You'll want to come back to see it all over again, to make sure you catch the fun you missed. More than once!
