Grand Ole Opry 6/1 & 6/2

There are times when I will look at the line-up for the Grand Ole Opry and I will see an artist that brings a smile to my face, and this week it was seeing Mac Davis's name that brought that smile.

Mac Davis will be guesting on Saturday's Grand Ole Opry. Mac, who is now 78 (if you can believe that) always had that type of personality that showed through whether he was singing on a record, hosting his own network television show, or acting in a movie. He is also noted as a successful songwriter, with several successful songs recorded by Elvis Presley, including "In the Ghetto," "Memories," Don't Cry Daddy," and "A Little Less Conversation." While it is interesting that Mac had no No. 1 country singles, he did hit the No. 1 spot on the pop charts with "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me" and "Stop and Smell the Roses." His other Top 10 hits included "One Hell of a Woman," "Rock'N Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)," "It's Hard to Be Humble," "Let's Keep It That Way," "Texas In My Rearview Mirror," "Hooked on Music," and "Your My Bestest Friend."

Joining Mac as guest artists on Saturday night will be "Nashville" star Charles Esten, popular Opry guest Mark Wills, Michael Ray, and Gary Mule Deer, who will also be appearing on Friday night, joined by Billy Dean, Craig Campbell, Rhett Walker Band, and making their Opry debut, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley.

As to Grand Ole Opry members this weekend, appearing both nights will be Riders In The Sky and Mike Snider. They will be joined on Friday night by Jesse McReynolds (returning after being off for several weeks), Jeannie Seely, Bill Anderson, Diamond Rio and Joe Diffie. Saturday night, in addition to the Riders and Mike, will have Connie Smith, Bobby Osborne, The Whites and Vince Gill appearing.

Friday June 1
7:00: Riders In The Sky (host); Billy Dean; Jesse McReynolds
7:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Craig Campbell; Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley
Intermission
8:15: Bill Anderson (host); Mike Snider; Rhett Walker Band
8:45: Diamond Rio (host); Gary Mule Deer; Joe Diffie

Saturday June 2
7:00: Connie Smith (host); Mark Wills; Mike Snider
7:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Michael Ray
Intermission
8:15: Vince Gill (host); The Whites; Gary Mule Deer; Opry Square Dancers; Charles Esten; Mac Davis

Not sure why there are only 3 segments on Saturday night, as The Whites and Mike Snider are on the schedule and certainly capable of hosting. If nothing else, it gives more stage time to Vince.

As mentioned, Friday night will be the Opry debut for Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley. This duo came together in 2015 and after cutting their first album on Compass, "Before the Sun Goes Down," which was nominated for a Grammy, they have continued to tour and make music together. Rob Ickes is an accomplished dobro and lap steel guitar player, while Trey is noted for his acoustic and electric guitar work. The duo has a mutual love of bluegrass, country, blues, western swing, and other string band music of all kinds. Rob and Trey were also part of Bobby Osborne's "Original" album and were nominated, along with Bobby, for the Recorded Event Of The Year Award by the IBMA for their recording of "Got To Get A Message To You." After working individually, and with other individuals and groups for over a decade, this fairly new duo continues to make an impact in Nashville and will be touring this year with David Grisman and Tommy Emmanuel.

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And now, here is the posted Grand Ole Opry line-up from 10 years ago, the weekend of May 30 & 31, 2008:

Friday May 30
8:00: Jimmy C Newman (host); Jack Greene; Randy Kohrs
8:30: George Hamilton IV (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Chris Young
9:00: Bill Anderson (host); The Whites; Trent Tomlinson
9:30: Jim Ed Brown (host); Emily West; Gene Watson

Saturday May 31
1st show
6:30: Jim Ed Brown (host); Jack Greene; Joe Nichols
7:00: George Hamilton IV (host); Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; Kieran Kane
7:30: The Whites (host); Emily West; Del McCoury Band
8:00: Bill Anderson (host); Stu Phillips; Carlene Carter; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Mike Snider (host); Jimmy C Newman; Gene Watson

2nd show
9:30: Jim Ed Brown (host); The Whites; Del McCoury Band
10:00: Mike Snider (host); Jimmy C Newman; Carlene Carter
10:30: George Hamilton IV (host); Charlie Nagatani; Kieran Kane; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Bill Anderson (host); Emily West; Gene Watson

Now from 25 years ago, Saturday June 5, 1993:

1st show
6:30: Ricky Skaggs (host); Jeannie Seely
6:45: Grandpa Jones (host); Jim Ed Brown; Jim & Jesse
7:00: Porter Wagoner (host); Del Reeves; Jan Howard; Jimmy Dickens; Connie Smith
7:30: Bill Monroe (host); Riders In The Sky; Stonewall Jackson; Alison Krauss
8:00: Bill Anderson (host); Jean Shepard; Brother Oswald; Jack Greene; Opry Square Dance Band; Stoney Mountain Cloggers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); Jimmy C Newman; Skeeter Davis; The 4 Guys; The Whites

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Roy Drusky; Jimmy Dickens; George Hamilton IV; Billy Grammer; Mike Snider
10:00: Grandpa Jones (host); Jeanne Pruett; Wilma Lee Cooper
10:15: Ricky Skaggs (host); Billy Walker
10:30: Bill Anderson (host); Alison Krauss
10:45: Bill Monroe (host); Riders In The Sky; Opry Square Dance Band; Stoney Mountain Cloggers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Osborne Brothers; Bill Carlisle; Ray Pillow; Justin Tubb; Charlie Walker
11:30: Jack Greene (host); Skeeter Davis; Jimmy C Newman; Johnny Russell

Only two non-Opry members on that night: Alison Krauss, who would become an Opry member the following month, and Brother Oswald, who would join the cast a 18 months later.
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Going way back, 61 years to be exact, it was on Saturday June 1, 1957 that Don and Phil, the Everly Brothers became members of the Grand Ole Opry.

Dee Kilpatrick had just taken over from Jim Denny as the manager of the Grand Ole Opry. According to Kilpatrick, in an interview with Jack Hurst, "They asked me what I thought was wrong. Well, back when I was working with Mercury Records I was at the Opry every Saturday night I was in town, and I could look at the audience and see what was wrong. The Opry didn't have the appeal to the younger audience that you have to have if you're going to keep growing. All I could see there were older people and little teeny kids. There weren't any teenagers."

Within the year, Kilpatrick worked to solve the problem. Among his solutions was to hire Ferlin Husky, Rusty and Doug Kershaw and the Everly Brothers, who were very hot at the time. At the time, Don was 20 and Phil 18. The brothers came from an impeccable country music background. Their parents, Ike and Margaret Everly, were country-gospel artists knows throughout the South and Midwest, having toured since 1930. The boys had learned to sing country standards at a very young age. Ike taught them the guitar basics when they were first old enough to hold the instrument.

Don was eight and Phil six when they made their public debut on radio station KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa. They toured with their parents every summer, and when they were both graduated from high school, the parents retired, after which Don and Phil came to Nashville to further their musical careers. Once in Nashville, publisher Wesley Rose put them in touch with songwriters Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, who had just written "Bye, Bye Love." The Everly Brothers recorded it for Cadence Records and it became a smash hit, and was awarded a gold record. "Wake Up Little Susie" quickly followed and in 1958 "All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Bird Dog," and "Devoted to You," all written by the Bryants.

The Everly Brothers, who made their Opry debut three weeks earlier on May 11th, were exactly the kind of act Dee Kilpatrick needed to bring teenagers into the Grand Ole Opry audience. But the Opry couldn't contain them and the lure of the good life in Hollywood was much more exciting. As quickly as the Everly Brothers came, it was as quickly as they left.

The Everly Brothers, who had 26 Top 40 singles during their career, were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. While Phil passed away in 2014, Don is still alive.

Here is the line-up from Saturday June 1, 1957, the night in which the Everly Brothers were first introduced as members of the Grand Ole Opry:

7:30: Nabisco
Roy Acuff (host): Sunshine Special
Ladell Sisters: Gonna Find Me A Blue Bird
Oswald: The Girls Don't Pay Me No Mind
Roy Acuff: Drifting Too Far From The Shore

7:45: American Ace
Jordanaires: Theme
Faron Young (host): I'm Gonna Live Some Before I Die
Odie & Jody: Unpucker
Porter Wagoner: Good Morning Neighbor
Faron Young: Shrine Of St. Cecilia
Fiddle Tune: Old Joe Clark

8:00: Martha White
Flatt & Scruggs (host): No Doubt About It
Jim Reeves: Four Walls
Everly Brothers: Bye Bye Love
June & Smokey: Comedy
Flatt & Scruggs: Six White Horses
Justin Tubb: Pepper Hot Baby
Jim Reeves: According To My Heart
Possum Hunters: Billy In The Low Ground
Everly Brothers: I Wonder If I Care As Much
Flatt & Scruggs: Earl's Breakdown

8:30: Prince Albert
Ray Price (host): Crazy Arms
Rod Brasfield: Comedy
Merle Travis: Sixteen Tons
Fiddle Tune: Mississippi Sawyer
Ray Price: In The Garden
Chet Atkins: Country Gentleman
Minnie Pearl: Comedy
Jimmy Dean: Happy Child
Stringbean: Lonesome Road Blues
Ray Price: I've Got A New Heartache
Fiddle Tune: Katy Hill

9:00: Jefferson Island Salt
Jordanaires: Theme
Jimmy Dickens (host): Happy Heartaches
Bill Monroe: Fallen Star
Del Wood: Rockin 88
T. Texas Tyler: Oklahoma Hills
Louvin Brothers: Don't Laugh
Jimmy Dickens: I Never Had The Blues
Jordanaires: Sugaree
Bill Monroe: Cheyene
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Hollow Poplar
Louvin Brothers: The First One To Love You
Jimmy Dickens: Big Sandy

9:30: Stephens
Lonzo & Oscar: Theme
Hank Snow (host): Music Making Mama
Porter Wagoner: Who Will It Be
Lonzo & Oscar: Charming Betsy
Ladell Sisters: Nighty Nine Ways
Hank Snow: Marriage And Divorce
Maybelle Carter: Gold Watch And Chain
Stonewall Jackson: Don't Be Angry
Crook Brothers: Sally Goodin
Porter Wagoner: Uncle Pen
Hank Snow: Rumba Boogie

10:00: Wall-Rite
Roy Acuff (host): Streamlined Cannon Ball
Justin Tubb: You Nearly Lose Your Mind
Stringbean: Fireball Mail
Roy Acuff: If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again
Howdy Forrester: Money Musk

10:15: Delited
Ladell Sisters: Theme
Ray Price (host): Wasted Words
Odie & Jody: Georgiana Waltz
Ladell Sisters: Love Letters In The Sand
Ray Price: You Done Me Wrong
Fiddle Tune: Soldier's Joy

10:30: Hester Battery
Jim Reeves (host): I Know That You Know
Flatt & Scruggs: Salty Dog Blues
June Carter: Comedy
Jim Reeves: Waiting For A Train
Fiddle Tune: Turkey In The Straw

10:45: De Con
Faron Young (host): Until I Met You
Louvin Brothers: You're Running Wild
Crook Brothers: Black Mountain Rag
Faron Young: I'll Be Satisfied With Love
Fiddle Tune: Cracklin Hen

11:00: Coca Cola
Jordanaires: Theme
Hank Snow (host): Honey Moon On A Rocket Ship
Everly Brothers: Bye Bye Love
Del Wood: After Five
Bill Monroe: Sitting Alone In The Moonlight
Lonzo & Oscar: Blondes Blondes Blondes
Hank Snow: Conscience I'm Guilty
Chet Atkins: Martingale
Mother Maybelle: Wildwood Flower
Gully Jumpers: Leather Britches
Everly Brothers: I Wonder If I Care As Much
Hank Snow: Rumba Boogie

11:30: Jamison
Jordanaires: Theme
Jimmy Dickens (host): Cornbread And Buttermilk
T. Texas Tyler: Old Blue
Stonewall Jackson: Stop Your Naggin Hoss
Jimmy Dickens: What About Me
Fiddle Tune: Old Joe Clark

11:45: Sustaining
Porter Wagoner (host): Uncle Pen
Sam & Kirk McGee: I Was Short Of Wondering
Merle Travis: John Henry
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Fruit Jar Breakdown
Porter Wagoner: What Would You Do

While the Everly Brothers quickly left the Opry, once Mike Snider joined the cast, stayed and on Saturday, Mike will be celebrating his 28th year as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Mike Snider is known as an accomplished musician and comedian. Among his awards are the Tennessee State Bluegrass Banjo Championship and the winner of the Mid-South Banjo Playing Contest. He capped that in 1983, at the age of 23,  by winning the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship. The following year he made his first guest appearance on the Opry. In 1987, he joined the cast of Hee Haw and on June 2, 1990 he was introduced by Minnie Pearl as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Here is the running order from Saturday June 2, 1990, the night Mike Snider became a member of the Grand Ole Opry:

1st show
6:30: Bonanza
Jimmy Dickens (host)
Jeanne Pruett

6:45: Rudy's
The 4 Guys (host)
Skeeter Davis

7:00: Shoney's
Jim Ed Brown (host)
Jan Howard
Billy Walker
Ray Pillow
Charlie Louvin

7:30: Standard Candy
Grandpa Jones (host): Are You From Dixie
Holly Dunn: Don't Worry/You Really Had Me Going
Minnie Pearl
Mike Snider: Alabama Jubilee/Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Grandpa Jones: Eight More Miles to Louisville

8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Connie Smith: Did We Have to Come This Far to Say Goodbye/Your Cheatin' Heart
George Hamilton IV: Til I Can Gain Control Again/Abilene
Opry Square Dance Band/Melvin Sloan Dancers: Patti on the Turnpike
Roy Acuff: I'll Fly Away

8:30: Music Valley
Hank Snow (host): Gonna Find Me A Bluebird
Jean Shepard: I'll Sail My Ship Alone
Roy Drusky: The Last Farewell
Stu Phillips: The Great El Tigra
Jeannie Seely: One Step Away From Coming Home
Hank Snow: I'm Glad I Got to See You Once Again

2nd show
9:30: Dollar General
Jim Ed Brown (host): Southern Loving
Holly Dunn: Don't Worry
Billy Walker: Tennessee Waltz
Bill Carlisle: Same Old Tale that the Crow Told Me
Dottie West: Here Comes My Baby
Jim Ed Brown: A Child is Born

10:00: Little Debbie
Jimmy Dickens (host): Me & My Big Loud Mouth
Skeeter Davis: If I Don't Have You
Jimmy Dickens: What Will I Do Then

10:15: Sunbeam
Roy Acuff (host): Low & Lonely
The 4 Guys: Catfish John/How Married Are You Mary Ann
Roy Acuff: I Saw the Light

10:30: Pet Milk
Grandpa Jones (host): Darby's Ram
Mike Snider: Bells of St. Mary's
Grandpa Jones: Chicken, Chicken

10:45: B. C. Powder
Stonewall Jackson (host): Don't Be Angry
Jean Shepard: Love's Gonna Live Here
Opry Square Dance Band/Melvin Sloan Dancers: Sugar in the Ghoard
Stonewall Jackson: Muddy Water

11:00: Coca Cola
Hank Snow (host): Forever +1; Forever +2
Connie Smith: Once A Day
Charlie Louvin: The Precious Jewel
Roy Drusky: Always
Vic Willis Trio: Colorado
Hank Snow: Ninety Miles an Hour

11:30: Creamette
George Hamilton IV (host): Break My Mind
Stu Phillips: I Shouldn't Have Stayed so Long
Jeannie Seely: One Bad Old Memory
Johnny Russell: No One Will Ever Know
George Hamilton IV: Forever Young

There you have it for this week. Next week will be big one in Nashville and at the Opry as the CMA Music Fest will be taking place. There will be 2 Opry shows on Tuesday and Thursday night, along with an Opry matinee on Saturday. All in addition to the Friday and Saturday night shows. The midweek line-ups look very strong and I am sure the Opry will be sold out for all of the shows this coming week. As for me, I will be taking a pass this year as there are just too many people in town and much too hard to get around that week. However, I know others will be going, many who read this blog, and if you are one of those, please have a safe and fun week and I look forward to any first hand accounts that you might wish to add.

With that, I hope everyone enjoys the Opry this weekend!!!