Friday, December 24, 2010

Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers 12/25/1976

On Christmas night, December 25, 1976, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, Steve and Rudy, became members of the Grand Ole Opry. To the best of my knowledge, they are the only Opry members to have joined on Christmas day. Larry was, and still is, a great songwriter and it was that talent that led him to Nashville. Larry started on his own, but wanted to work with his brothers, which led to him writing his own material.

They had their 1st #1 record in 1976 with "Broken Lady." Their hits continued through the rest of the 1970's and 1980's. As their recording careers stalled out, Larry went his separate ways from Steve and Rudy and began to do solo projects. They reunited in 2002 and then again in 2009 with tours and recordings.

Larry was close to Johnny Cash, and in fact, named one of his children after John. Much like John, Larry also battled a serious drug problem, that after treatment, he was able to overcome.

As far as the Opry, Larry has made many solo appearances over the years as well as with his brothers. In 2009, Larry became the main host for the Opry Country Classics show on Thursday nights, and he does a great job. His brothers join him on occasion. Like many others, when Larry first joined the Opry, he appeared on a somewhat regular basis. As the years went on, his appearances became more infrequent. In fact, from 2000 thru 2008, prior to when he started to host the classics show, he appeared on the Opry a total of 9 times. While he has a regular hosting job with the classics program, he still makes very few Saturday night appearances. But, at least he has re-established his relationship with the Opry.

Here is the line-up from Christmas night, December 25, 1976, when The Gatlin Brothers became official members of the Grand Ole Opry.

First Show
6:00: Bill Monroe(host); Ray Pillow; Marion Worth; Lonzo; Ernie Ashworth
6:30: Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper(host); Charlie Louvin; Del Wood
6:45: Ernest Tubb(host); Skeeter Davis; Billy Grammer
7:00: Roy Acuff(host); Charlie Walker; Minnie Pearl; Jimmy C. Newman; Stu Phillips
7:30: Porter Wagoner(host); Dottie West; Justin Tubb; The Gatlins; Crook Brothers; Opry Square Dancers
8:00: Lester Flatt(host); Jack Greene; Jeannie Seely; Vic Willis; Bob Luman
8:30: Hank Snow(host); Jeanne Pruett; Stonewall Jackson; Carlisles; Jim & Jesse; Fruit Jar Drinkers

Second Show
9:30: Charlie Louvin(host); Ernest Tubb; Skeeter Davis; Lonzo; Billy Grammer
10:00: Bill Monroe(host); Ray Pillow; Ernie Ashworth; Del Wood
10:15: Roy Acuff(host); Marion Worth; Charlie Walker
10:30: Lester Flatt(host); Jack Greene; Jeannie Seely; Jimmy C. Newman
10:45: Porter Wagoner(host); Justin Tubb; The Gatlins; Crook Brothers; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow(host); Bob Luman; Vic Willis; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Kirk McGee
11:30: Marty Robbins(host); Jeanne Pruett; Carlisles

Yes, this was the period of time when the 1st Opry show started at 6:00 and was a 3 hour show. It's kind of funny that during the winter months, they would sometimes do a 3 hour Saturday night first show because so many Opry members were in town and wanted to be on. During the summer, they would go back to starting at 6:30. Also, I have the square dancers listed. I am not sure if it was the Bill Jones Promenadors, The Tennessee Travelers or The Stoney Mountain Cloggers that were on this particular week. What a line-up!!!

4 comments:

  1. Doesn't Larry Gatlin still live in Texas? That may have something to do with his infrequent Opry appearances.

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  2. You are right. Last I heard, he still does.

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  3. I actually have notes on the shows that weekend in my archives that might be of interest to your readers. You'll notice the programming was a little less "structured" back then. For what it's worth, here's the running order on Christmas Day, 1976:

    FIRST SHOW:

    600-630 VIETTI
    BILL MONROE—Love Come Home
    RAY PILLOW—Love Is Slowly Coming Over Me
    MARION WORTH—Just A Little Lovin’
    DAVE “LONZO” HOOTEN—If We Make It Through December
    BILL MONROE—Bluegrass Breakdown
    ERNIE ASHWORTH—Shamrock Hotel
    BILL MONROE—Mule Skinner Blues
    Ashland Breakdown

    630-645 MRS. GRISSOM’S
    WILMA LEE & STONEY COOPER—Forgive and Forget Us
    CHARLIE LOUVIN—Medley: Let’s Put Our World Back Together Again, A Toast To Mama, Love Has to Die All By Itself, I Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow, I Want A Happy Life
    DEL WOOD—There’s A Big Wheel
    WILMA LEE & STONEY COOPER—Philadelphia Lawyer

    645-700 RUDY’S
    ERNEST TUBB—The Women Make A Fool Out of Me
    SKEETER DAVIS—Desperado
    BILLY GRAMMER—My Life’s Been A Pleasure
    ERNEST TUBB—Another Story

    700-730 SHONEY’S
    ROY ACUFF—Wabash Cannonball
    CHARLIE WALKER—Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
    MINNIE PEARL—Comedy/ Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes
    JIMMY C. NEWMAN—Blue Lonely Winter
    STU PHILLIPS—Have A Nice Day

    730-800 STANDARD CANDY
    PORTER WAGONER—Wake Up, Jacob
    DOTTIE WEST—Country Sunshine
    JUSTIN TUBB—You Nearly Lose Your Mind
    CROOK BROTHERS/ STONEY MOUNTAIN CLOGGERS—Black Mountain Rag
    LARRY GATLIN & THE GATLIN BROTHERS—Broken Lady
    Statues Without Hearts
    PORTER WAGONER—Happy Birthday, Jesus

    800-830 MARTHA WHITE
    LESTER FLATT featuring Kenny Ingram—Shuckin’ The Corn
    JACK GREENE—You Don’t Need A Cowboy
    JEANNIE SEELY—Mama Never Told Me About Cowboys
    VIC WILLIS—Christmas Carols by the Old Corral
    LESTER FLATT—Hot Corn, Cold Corn
    BOB LUMAN—A Satisfied Mind
    JACK GREENE—There Goes My Everything
    LESTER FLATT featuring Charlie Nixon—Dobro Instrumental

    830-900 STEPHENS WORK CLOTHES
    HANK SNOW—I’m Movin’ On
    JEANNE PRUETT—Satin Sheets
    STONEWALL JACKSON—Don’t Be Angry
    THE CARLISLES—I’ve Waited Too Long
    JIM AND JESSE—Then I’ll Stop Going For You
    FRUIT JAR DRINKERS/ STONEY MOUNTAIN CLOGGERS—Bill Cheatam
    HANK SNOW—Christmas Roses

    930-1000 KELLOGG’S
    CHARLIE LOUVIN—Sweet Texas
    ERNEST TUBB—I’ll Get Along Somehow
    SKEETER DAVIS—The End of the World
    WAYNE HAMMOND—Welcome To My World
    DAVE “LONZO” HOOTEN—Daddy Looked A Lot Like Santa
    BILLY GRAMMER—I Dreamed of an Old Love Affair
    ERNEST TUBB—Blue Christmas

    1000-1015 FENDER GUITAR
    BILL MONROE—A Beautiful Life
    RAY PILLOW—Gone At Last
    ERNIE ASHWORTH—My Love Will Never Change
    DEL WOOD—My Country

    1015-1030 UNION 76
    ROY ACUFF—Old Time Sunshine Song
    MARION WORTH—Just A Little Lovin’
    CHARLIE WALKER—Who’ll Buy The Wine
    ONIE WHEELER—Old Roy

    1030-1045 TRAILBLAZER
    LESTER FLATT—Why Do You Wander
    JACK GREENE—Birmingham
    JEANNIE SEELY—American Trilogy
    JIMMY C. NEWMAN—The Potato Song (Lache Pa La Patat)
    LESTER FLATT featuring Marty Stuart—Rawhide

    1045-1100 BEECHNUT TOBACCO
    PORTER WAGONER—Highway Headed Sound
    JUSTIN TUBB—Sweetwater, Texas
    LARRY GATLIN & THE GATLIN BROTHERS—Statues Without Hearts
    Allelujah
    CROOK BROTHERS WITH THE STONEY MOUNTAIN CLOGGERS—8th of January
    PORTER WAGONER—Happy Birthday, Jesus

    1100-1130 COKE
    HANK SNOW—Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
    BOB LUMAN—Blue Christmas
    VIC WILLIS—Cool Water
    FRUIT JAR DRINKERS/ STONEY MOUNTAIN CLOGGERS—Katy Hill
    KIRK MCGEE—Always Be Kind to Daddy
    HANK SNOW—Silent Night

    1130-1200 BALTZ BROS.
    MARTY ROBBINS—Don’t Worry
    JEANNE PRUETT—Satin Sheets
    BILL CARLISLE—Have A Drink On Me
    MARTY ROBBINS—El Paso City
    Love Me
    Among My Souvenirs
    Way Out There
    El Paso

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  4. Barry, I can think of only 1 person who has more complete Opry records than I do and that is you. Thanks for adding the song list. And, if you look at the songs, it was a pretty impressive night. I still find it hard to believe how many acts and how many songs they were able to fit in each segment.

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