The
Grand Ole Opry is a weekly
country musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
stage concert in
Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, that has presented the biggest stars of that
genreGenre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on
WSM-AMWSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating at 650 kHz, its clear channel signal can reach much of North America and various countries, especially late at night...
. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of legends and contemporary
chart-toppersA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
performing country,
bluegrassBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
,
folkFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
,
gospelGospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, and
comedicComedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
performances and
skits. Considered an American icon, it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners. The Opry, today part of the American landscape, is "the show that made country music famous" and has been called the "home of American music" and "country’s most famous stage."
In the 1930s, the show began hiring professionals and expanded to four hours; and WSM-AM, broadcasting by then with 50,000 watts, made the program a Saturday night musical tradition in nearly 30 states. In 1939, it debuted nationally on
NBC RadioThe NBC Red Network was one of the two original radio networks of the National Broadcasting Company. After NBC was required to divest itself of its Blue Network , the Red Network continued as the NBC Radio Network.It, along with the Blue Network, were the first two commercial radio networks in the...
. The Opry moved to a permanent home, the
Ryman AuditoriumThe Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
, in 1943. As it developed in importance, so did the city of Nashville, which became America's "country music capital".
Membership in the Opry remains one of country music's crowning achievements. Such country music legends as Hank Williams,
Patsy ClinePatsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
,
Roy AcuffRoy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the King of Country Music, Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.Acuff...
, the
Carter familyThe Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
,
Bill MonroeWilliam Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
,
Ernest TubbErnest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
,
Kitty WellsEllen Muriel Deason , known professionally as Kitty Wells, is an American country music singer. Her 1952 hit recording, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star...
and
Minnie PearlSarah Ophelia Colley Cannon , known professionally as Minnie Pearl, was an American country comedienne who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991.-Early life:Sarah Colley was born in Centerville, in Hickman County, Tennessee,...
became regulars on the Opry's stage (although Williams was banned in 1952 due to frequent drunkenness). In recent decades, the Opry has hosted such contemporary country stars as
Dolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
,
Garth BrooksTroyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
,
Reba McEntireReba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
,
Carrie UnderwoodCarrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
,
Brad PaisleyBrad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
, and the
Dixie ChicksThe Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
(both with their initial bluegrass/cowgirl lineup and their most recent
alternative countryAlternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
trio). Since 1974, the show has been broadcast from the Grand Ole Opry House east of downtown Nashville and performances have been sporadically televised in addition to the radio programs.
Beginnings
The Grand Ole Opry started as the
WSM Barn Dance in the new fifth-floor radio studio of the
National Life & Accident Insurance CompanyThe National Life and Accident Insurance Company is a former life insurance company which was based in Nashville, Tennessee.National Life and Accident began in 1900 as the National Sick and Accident Association, a mutual company...
in downtown Nashville on November 28, 1925. On October 18, 1925, management began a program featuring "Dr. Humphrey Bate and his string quartet of old-time musicians." On November 2, WSM hired long-time announcer and program director
George D. "Judge" HayGeorge Dewey Hay was an American radio personality. He was the founder of the original Grand Ole Opry radio program on WSM-AM in Nashville, Tennessee, from which the country music stage show of the same name evolved....
, an enterprising pioneer from the
National Barn DanceNational Barn Dance, broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the Grand Ole Opry...
program at
WLS-AMWLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
in Chicago, who was also named the most popular radio announcer in America as a result of his radio work with both WLS and
WMC-AMWMC is a radio station in the Memphis, Tennessee market, broadcasting at 790 AM. It is one of the city's oldest radio stations and presently programs a sports format....
in Memphis, Tennessee. Hay launched the
WSM Barn Dance with 77-year-old fiddler
Uncle Jimmy ThompsonJesse Donald "Uncle Jimmy" Thompson was an American old-time fiddle player. He is best remembered as the first performer to play on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry , appearing with founder and host George D. Hay on the evening of November 28, 1925...
on November 28, 1925, which is celebrated as the birth date of the
Grand Ole Opry.
Some of the bands regularly on the show during its early days included the Possum Hunters (with
Dr. Humphrey BateHumphrey Bate was an American harmonica player and string band leader. He was the first musician to play old-time music on Nashville-area radio, and is generally regarded as the first performer on what would eventually become the Grand Ole Opry. Bate and his band, which had been given the name "Dr...
), the Fruit Jar Drinkers, the Crook Brothers, the
Binkley Brothers' Dixie ClodhoppersThe Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers were an American Old-time string band consisting of Amos Binkley on banjo, his brother Gale Binkley on fiddle, Tom Andrews on guitar, and Jack Johnson on guitar and vocals...
,
Uncle Dave MaconUncle Dave Macon , born David Harrison Macon—also known as "The Dixie Dewdrop"—was an American banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian...
,
Sid HarkreaderSidney Harkreader was an American Old-time fiddle player and string band leader. He was an early member of the Grand Ole Opry, at first accompanying banjoist Uncle Dave Macon and later performing on the program with his own band...
,
Deford BaileyDeFord Bailey was an American country music star from the 1920s until 1941, and the first performer on the Grand Ole Opry...
,
Fiddlin' Arthur SmithFiddlin' Arthur Smith was an American old time fiddler and a big influence on the old time and bluegrass music genres.-Biography:...
, and the
Gully JumpersThe Gully Jumpers were an American Old-time string band originally consisting of bandleader Paul Warmack on mandolin, Charles Arrington on fiddle, Burt Hutcherson on guitar, and William Roy Hardison on banjo...
.
Judge Hay, however, liked the Fruit Jar Drinkers and asked them to appear last on each show because he wanted to always close each segment with "red hot fiddle playing." They were the second band accepted on
Barn Dance, with the Crook Brothers being the first. When the Opry began having square dancers on the show, the Fruit Jar Drinkers always played for them. In 1926, Uncle Dave Macon, a Tennessee
banjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player who had recorded several songs and toured the vaudeville circuit, became its first real star.
Name
On December 10, 1927 the phrase 'Grand Ole Opry' was first uttered on-air. That night
Barn Dance followed the NBC Red Network's
Music Appreciation HourMusic Appreciation Hour was an National Broadcasting Company radio series that offered lectures on classical music aimed at students. The show was part of a broader mid-20th-century movement to popularize serious music...
, which consisted of
classical musicClassical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and selections from the
Grand OperaGrand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
genre with Walter Damrosch as emcee. That night Damrosch remarked that “there is no place in the classics for realism,” In response Hay said
- "Friends, the program which just came to a close was devoted to the classics. Doctor Damrosch told us that there is no place in the classics for realism. However, from here on out for the next three hours, we will present nothing but realism. It will be down to earth for the 'earthy'."
Hay then introduced
DeFord BaileyDeFord Bailey was an American country music star from the 1920s until 1941, and the first performer on the Grand Ole Opry...
, the man he had dubbed the "Harmonica Wizard", with
- "For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera. From now on, we will present the 'Grand Ole Opry'."
Bailey then stepped up to the mike to play "The Pan American Blues", his song inspired by the Pan American, a L&N Railroad express/passenger train.
Larger venues
As audiences for the live show increased, National Life & Accident Insurance's radio venue became too small to accommodate the hordes of fans. They built a larger studio, but it was still not large enough. After several months with no audiences, National Life decided to allow the show to move outside its home offices. In October, 1934, the Opry moved into then-
suburbThe word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an Hillsboro Theatre (now the Belcourt); and then on June 13, 1936, to the Dixie Tabernacle in East Nashville. The Opry then moved to the
War Memorial AuditoriumThe War Memorial Auditorium is a 1,661-seat performance hall located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is located across the street from, and is governed by, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and is also adjacent to the Tennessee State Capitol.- History :...
, a downtown venue adjacent to the
State CapitolThe Tennessee State Capitol, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is the home of the Tennessee legislature, the location of the governor's office, and a National Historic Landmark. Designed by architect William Strickland, it is one of Nashville's most prominent examples of Greek Revival architecture...
. A 25-cent admission was charged in an effort to curb the large crowds, but to no avail. On June 5, 1943, the Opry moved to the
Ryman AuditoriumThe Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
.
Top-charting country music acts performed there during the Ryman years, including Roy Acuff, called the King of Country Music, Hank Williams,
Webb PierceWebb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
,
Faron YoungFaron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...
,
Martha CarsonMartha Carson , born Irene Amburgey, was an American gospel-country music singer most popular during the 1950s.-Early life and rise to fame:Ambergay was born in Neon, Kentucky...
,
Lefty FrizzellLefty Frizzell , born William Orville Frizzell, was an American country music singer and songwriter of the 1950s, and a proponent of honky tonk music. His relaxed style of singing was an influence on later stars Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, George Jones and John Fogerty...
, and many others.
One hour of the
Opry was nationally-broadcast by the NBC Red Network from 1939 to 1956; for much of its run, it aired one hour after the program that had inspired it,
National Barn Dance. The NBC segment, originally known by the name of its sponsor,
The Prince AlbertPrince Albert is an American brand of tobacco, introduced by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1907. It has been owned since 1987 by John Middleton Inc.-History:...
Show, was first hosted by Acuff, who was succeeded by
Red FoleyClyde Julian Foley , better known as Red Foley, was an American singer, musician, and radio and TV personality who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II....
from 1946 to 1954. From October 15, 1955 to September 1956,
ABC-TVThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
aired a live, hour-long television version once a month on Saturday nights (sponsored by Ralston-Purina), pre-empting one hour of the then-90-minute
Ozark JubileeOzark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
. From 1955–57, Al Gannaway produced both
The Country Show and
Stars of the Grand Ole Opry, filmed programs
syndicatedIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
by Flamingo Films.
On October 2, 1954, a teenage
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
made his only Opry performance. Although the audience reacted politely to his revolutionary brand of rockabilly music, after the show he was told by Opry manager Jim Denny that he ought to return to
MemphisMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
to resume his truck-driving career, prompting him to swear never to return. In an era when the Grand Ole Opry represented solely country music, audiences did not accept Elvis on the Opry because of his infusion of
rhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
as well as his infamous body gyrations, which many viewed as vulgar. In the 1990s, Garth Brooks was made a member of the Opry and was credited with selling more records than any other singer since Presley. Brooks commented that one of the best parts of playing on the Opry was that he appeared on the same stage as Presley.
1960s
In the
1960sThe 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, as the
hippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
countercultureThe counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and spread throughout much of the western world between 1960 and 1973. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam...
movement spread, the Opry maintained a straight-laced, conservative image with "longhairs" not being featured on the show.
The ByrdsThe Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
were a notable exception. Country-rock pioneer
Gram ParsonsGram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
, who at that time was a member of The Byrds, was in Nashville to work on the band's country-rock album,
Sweetheart of the RodeoSweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band The Byrds and was released on August 30, 1968 on Columbia Records...
. The band's
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
,
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, had arranged for The Byrds to be allowed to perform at the Ryman on March 15, 1968, a prospect that thrilled Parsons. However, when the band took the stage the audience's response was immediately hostile, resulting in derisive heckling, booing and mocking calls of "tweet, tweet." The Byrds further outraged the Opry establishment by breaking with accepted protocol when they performed Parsons' song "
Hickory Wind"Hickory Wind" is a song written by country rock pioneer Gram Parsons and former International Submarine Band member Bob Buchanan. The song was written on a train ride the pair took from Florida to Los Angeles in early 1968, and first appeared on The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. Despite...
" instead of the
Merle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
song "Life in Prison", as had been announced by compare
Tompall GlaserTompall Glaser is an American country music artist. Active since the 1950s, he has recorded both as a solo artist and with his brothers Chuck and Jim in the trio Tompall & the Glaser Brothers...
.
Opry House
The Ryman was home to the Opry until 1974, when the show moved to the 4,400-seat Grand Ole Opry House, located nine miles east of downtown Nashville on a new site that was part of the
Opryland USAOpryland USA was an amusement park located in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally from 1972 until 1997...
theme park. Opening night, March 16, was attended by
President NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, who played a few songs on the piano. When the new Opry opened, a large circle of wood was cut from the original stage at the Ryman and inlaid into the stage at the new venue.
While the theme park was closed in 1997 and replaced by the
Opry MillsOpry Mills is a super-regional shopping mall owned by Simon Property Group, formerly by its initial owners Mills Corporation and Gaylord Entertainment...
mall, Opry House itself was left intact and incorporated into the new facility. Currently the Opry plays several times a week at the Grand Ole Opry House, except for an annual winter run at the
Ryman AuditoriumThe Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
.
2010 flooding
In May 2010, the Opry House was flooded, along with much of Nashville, due to the
Cumberland RiverThe Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
overflowing its banks. While repairs were made, the Opry was temporarily housed at alternate venues in Nashville, with the Ryman Auditorium hosting the majority of the shows. Other venues included the
TPACThe Tennessee Performing Arts Center, or TPAC, is located in the James K. Polk Cultural Center at 505 Deaderick Street in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, occupying an entire city block between 5th and 6th Avenues North and Deaderick and Union Streets. Also housing the Tennessee State Museum, the...
War Memorial AuditoriumThe War Memorial Auditorium is a 1,661-seat performance hall located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is located across the street from, and is governed by, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and is also adjacent to the Tennessee State Capitol.- History :...
; another former Opry home, TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall,
Nashville Municipal AuditoriumThe Nashville Municipal Auditorium is an indoor sports and concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee...
,
Allen ArenaAllen Arena is an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. The arena was named in honor of James C. and Linda Allen, the facility's primary benefactors. James Allen is a member of the board of trustees for the university and worked for the university at one time...
at
Lipscomb UniversityLipscomb University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville between Belmont Boulevard to the west and Granny White Pike on the east...
and the Two Rivers Baptist Church. The Opry returned to the Grand Ole Opry House on September 28, 2010 in a special edition of the Opry entitled
Country Comes Home that was televised live on
Great American CountryGreat American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....
. The evening was filled with one-of-a-kind Opry moments. Martina McBride and Connie Smith dueted on Smith's signature hit "Once a Day," and other collaborations included Dierks Bentley and Del McCoury ("Roll On Buddy, Roll On"), Josh Turner and Lorrie Morgan ("Golden Ring"), and Montgomery Gentry and Charlie Daniels Band ("Devil Went Down To Georgia"), among others. The show closed with an all-star guitar jam featuring Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs, and Marty Stuart.
Broadcasts
The
Grand Ole Opry is broadcast live on WSM-AM at 7 p.m. Central Time on Saturday nights. A similar program, the
Friday Night Opry, airs live on Friday nights. From March through December, the
Tuesday Night Opry is also aired live. A
Wednesday Night Opry program was scheduled to debut in summer, 2010, but those plans were abandoned after the 2010 flooding.
The Opry can also be heard live on
Willie's Roadhouse (
XM Satellite RadioXM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
channel 56, and
SiriusSirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
channel 64). A condensed radio program,
America's Opry Weekend, is syndicated to stations around the United States. The program is also streamed on
WSM's website.
PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
televised live performances from 1978 to 1981. In 1985,
The Nashville NetworkThe Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
began airing an edited half-hour version of the program as
Grand Ole Opry Live; the show moved to
Country Music TelevisionCountry Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
and CMT Canada in 2001 (expanding to an hour in the process), and then to the
Great American CountryGreat American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....
(GAC) cable network in 2003. The television version on GAC (
Opry Live on Saturdays) is currently on hiatus.
Membership
- See :Category:Grand Ole Opry members
Being made a member of the Grand Ole Opry, country music's big house, the oldest, most enduring "hall of fame," is to be identified as a member of the elite of country music. In many ways, the artists and repertoire of the Opry defined American country music. Hundreds of performers have entertained as cast members through the years, including new stars, superstars and legends.
Opry membership is not only earned, but must be maintained throughout the artist's career. After artists die, they are no longer considered standing members of the Grand Ole Opry. However, their impact is often celebrated at special events, such as the 50th anniversary commemorating the death of Hank Williams in 2003, which featured performances from Hank Williams Jr. and his grandson,
Hank Williams IIIShelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
.
Controversies
In the mid-1960s management decided to more strictly enforce the requirement that members must perform on at least 26 shows a year to keep their membership active. This imposed a tremendous financial hardship on members who made much of their income from touring and could not afford to be in or near Nashville every other weekend. This was aggravated by the fact that the Opry's appearance fee paid to the artist was essentially a token ($44 at the time). This requirement has been lessened over the years, but artists offered membership are expected to show a dedication to the Opry with frequent attendance.
Another controversy that raged for years was over allowable instrumentation, especially the use of
drumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s and electrically amplified instruments. Some purists were appalled at the prospect; traditionally a string bass provided the
rhythmRhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
component in country music and
percussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
s were seldom used. Electric amplification, then new, was regarded as the province of popular music and jazz in 1940s. Though the Opry allowed electric guitars and steel guitars by World War II, the no-drums/horns restrictions continued. They caused a conflict when
Bob WillsJames Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
and
Pee Wee KingJulius Frank Anthony Kuczynski , known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "The Tennessee Waltz"....
defied the show's ban on drums. The restrictions chafed many artists, such as
Waylon JenningsWaylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, who were popular with the newer and younger fans. These restrictions were largely eliminated over time, alienating many older and traditionalist fans, but probably saving the Opry long-term as a viable ongoing enterprise.
Commercialization
Management has been very conscious of the need to enforce its
trademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
on the name "Grand Ole Opry" and limit use to members of the Opry and products associated with or licensed by it. However, it lost a legal case against the owners of a small, now-defunct Nashville record label calling itself Opry Records. The record company's attorneys successfully argued that WSM's management indeed owned the rights to the words
Grand Ole Opry, but only in that order and combination, but no more owned the word "opry" in isolation than they owned "grand" or "ole". It allowed a plethora of small-time country music shows to label themselves as
OpryAn opry is generally an establishment that features live country music, the most famous example being the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, Tennessee, but it could be something as simple as the local honky tonk. The term is generally restricted to the southern United States.The Saturday night opry is a...
s of one sort or another; such as the
Bell Witch Opry,
Carolina Opry,
Ozark Opry,
Current River Opry and
Kentucky Opry. (Much the same thing happened when the Coca-Cola Company failed to trademark the term "cola.") The Grand Ole Opry has no association with any other "Opry" establishment.
In September 2004, it was announced that the
Grand Ole Opry had contracted for the first time with a "presenting sponsor" and would henceforth be known as "the
Grand Ole Opry presented by
Cracker BarrelCracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. is an American chain of combined restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969 and its first store was located in Lebanon, Tennessee, where the company is now headquartered...
." Cracker Barrel, a long-time Opry sponsor headquartered in nearby
LebanonLebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, is a chain of country-themed restaurants and gift shops whose market overlaps that of the
Opry to a great extent. In 2009, Humana, Inc., an insurance company headquartered in
Louisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, took over as the presenting sponsor of the
Opry.
Honors
- Peabody Award, 1983
- National Radio Hall of Fame induction, 1992
See also
- Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
- Country Music Hall of Fame
- Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, formerly known as Opryland Hotel, is a large hotel and convention center located in Nashville, Tennessee and owned by Gaylord Hotels, a division of Gaylord Entertainment Company...
External links