Gordie Tapp hosted the series and also performed in sketches portraying characters such as Cousin Clem which he later reprised for Hee Haw.
Performers frequently seen on the series included Al Cherney, Tommy Common, Johnny Davidson, Mary Frances, Pat Hervey, and Wally Traugot.
Gordon Lightfoot was at one point a member of the Singin' Swingin' Eight, the programme's square dance singing ensemble.
From October 1959, it was rescheduled to 8:00 p.m., still on Fridays, until its final episode was broadcast on 25 June 1965. International Surveys television ratings in 1960 and 1961 indicated that Country Hoedown and Don Messer's Jubilee were most popular among rural viewers, and among viewers outside British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
[5] Other surveys indicated that the show received higher approval than for the other Toronto-produced CBC variety productions.