Friday night will be a special night at the Grand Ole Opry House as it will be the Opry's 10th annual "Opry Goes Pink" night. Grand Ole Opry member Carrie Underwood will flip the switch on the Opry's signature barn backdrop, turning it pink in support of the fight against breast cancer.
Among those who will be appearing on the Friday Night Opry, besides Carrie, are Grand Ole Opry members Jeannie Seely, Connie Smith, Ronnie Milsap and Riders In The Sky. Guest artists include Karen Mills, Rita Wilson and Anita Cochran, all cancer survivors. Additionally, it should be noted that Fred "Too Slim" LaBour's wife, Roberta, passed away earlier this year from cancer.
Also scheduled is Tegan Marie and making her/their Opry debut, Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat. There are only two segments on Friday night as the show has been formatted to honor cancer survivors and there will be some special recognitions taking place during the show.
Friday October 26
1st show
7:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Tegan Marie; Karen Mills; Anita Cochran; Riders In The Sky
8:00: Connie Smith (host); Rita Wilson; Ronnie Milsap; Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat; Carrie Underwood
2nd show
9:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Ronnie Milsap; Anita Cochran; Karen Mills; Carrie Underwood
10:30: Connie Smith (host); Tegan Marie; Rita Wilson; Riders In The Sky; Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat
Saturday's Grand Ole Opry will feature Grand Ole Opry members Little Big Town, who will be making just their 2nd and 3rd Opry appearances of the year. Also scheduled for both shows is Del McCoury, who will be making a rare weekend appearance on the show. Other Opry members scheduled include Connie Smith, Bill Anderson, Mike Snider, The Whites and Jeannie Seely. The only guest artists listed are Point of Grace and Seth Ennis.
Saturday October 27
1st show
7:00: Connie Smith (host); Mike Snider; Point of Grace
7:30: Bill Anderson (host); Del McCoury Band
8:00: The Whites (host); Seth Ennis; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Little Big Town
2nd show
9:30: Connie Smith (host); Mike Snider; Point of Grace
10:00: Bill Anderson (host); Del McCoury Band
10:30: The Whites (host); Seth Ennis; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Little Big Town
As mentioned, Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat will be making their Opry debut on Friday night. Colbie Caillat is from Malibu, California and rose to fame through social networking website Myspace. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre. After signing with Universal Republic Records, she released her debut album in July 2007, Coco, which included the hit singles "Bubbly" and "Realize." The album has sold over two million copies and has been certified as double platinum. In 2008 she recorded a duet with Jason Mraz, "Lucky," which won a Grammy award. In August 2009, Colbie released her second album, Breakthrough," which became her first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. It has been certified as a gold album and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Since then, she has released a third album and a Christmas album. Over the past several years, Colbie has resided in Nashville and has been engaged in songwriting and interacting with other artists in the Nashville community, including Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert.
Gone West consists of Colbie, her boyfriend Jason Reeves, Nelly Joy (real name: Danelle Leverett, formally of JaneDear Girls), and her fiance Justin Young.
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And now, here is he posted Grand Ole Opry line-up from 10 years ago, the final weekend in October 2008:
Friday October 24
8:00: Marty Stuart (host); The Whites; Connie Smith
8:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jimmy C Newman; Dailey & Vincent
9:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Jack Greene; Jason Michael Carroll
9:30: John Conlee (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Emerson Drive
Saturday October 25
1st show
7:00: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jimmy C Newman; The Whites; Kristy Lee Cook
7:30: Larry Gatlin (host); Mike Snider; Hal Ketchum; Opry Square Dancers
8:00: Craig Morgan; Rodney Atkins; Chuck Wicks; John Conlee
2nd show
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Mike Snider; Kristy Lee Cook
10:00: Larry Gatlin (host); Jeannie Seely; The Whites; Rodney Atkins
10:30: Hal Ketchum (host); Jan Howard; Chuck Wicks; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: John Conlee (host); Jack Greene; Craig Morgan
Now from 25 years ago, Saturday October 23, 1993:
1st show
6:30: Bill Anderson (host); Del Reeves
6:45: Bill Monroe (host); Wilma Lee Cooper; Bill Carlisle
7:00: The Four Guys (host); Charlie Louvin; Osborne Brothers; Connie Smith; Roy Drusky
7:30: Grandpa Jones (host); Deborah Allen; Jim and Jesse; Martina McBride
8:00: Porter Wagoner (host); The Whites; Brother Oswald; Jeannie Seely; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Jimmy C Newman (host); Billy Walker; Jean Shepard; Mike Snider
2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host): Stonewall Jackson; Charlie Louvin; Hank Locklin; Martina McBride
10:00: Bill Anderson (host); The Four Guys
10:15: Bill Monroe (host); Jean Shepard
10:30: Charlie Walker (host); Deborah Allen
10:45: Grandpa Jones (host); Osborne Brothers; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Billy Walker (host); Roy Drusky; Jim and Jesse; Justin Tubb; Mike Snider
11:30: Jimmy C Newman (host); Connie Smith; The Whites; Johnny Russell
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Looking back on a couple of events, it was Saturday October 27, 1962 that Sonny James became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and Saturday October 27, 1973 that Jerry Clower became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. And let's not forget the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe, who became a member of the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday October 28, 1939, and who celebrated his 50th anniversary as an Opry member on Saturday October 28, 1989.
Bill Monroe was only 28 years old when he joined the Grand Ole Opry on September 28, 1939. He was introduced that night by George D. Hay. Bill described his beloved bluegrass as a music with "a hard drive to it. It's Scotch bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin.' It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz and it has a high lonesome sound. It's plain music that tells a good story. It's played from my heart to your heart, and it will touch you. Bluegrass is music that matters."
Bill's bluegrass evolved from the folk and country music he heard growing up in Kentucky in a musical family. Orphaned by age 11, he was raised by his uncle, Pendleton Vandiver, an excellent country fiddler and mandolinist. By age 12, Bill was backing up his Uncle Pen at local dances. In the 1920s he and brothers Birch and Charlie formed a band and played together until the late 1930s. In 1938 Bill formed his first Blue Grass Boys band, a group that has spawned the careers of such artists as Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Mac Wiseman, Stringbean, Del McCoury, Sonny Osborne and Vassar Clements.
In the 1940s, Bill began adding lyrics to his melodies and wrote such classic hits as "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Uncle Pen" which were among his most requested numbers. He recorded with Victor and Columbia Records before signing with Decca (later to merge with MCA). Through dozens of albums and more than 50 million records sold, Bill remained with MCA. His 1988 "Southern Flavor" LP for MCA won the first Grammy Award ever given for bluegrass music in 1989. In conjunction with his 50th Opry anniversary, MCA released "Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys Live at the Opry," which received a Grammy nomination.
Honors were many. The Father of Bluegrass was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. He is among a select few (Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Bob Wills and Johnny Cash), to have been inducted in all three. In 1991 he was an original inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and in 1993 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
When Bill Monroe made his Opry debut, Judge Hay told him, "IF you ever leave the Opry, it'll be because you fired yourself." Bill Monroe never left the Opry.
Bill Monroe created a music style, maintained it through difficult times, expanded it internationally and touched people's loves everywhere he went, or wherever his music was heard.
Here is the line-up from Saturday October 28, 1939, the night Bill Monroe became a member of the Grand Ole Opry:
8:00: Pee Wee King and the Golden West Cowboys
8:15: Uncle Dave Macon
8:30: Monk and Sam
8:45: Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys
9:00: Jack Shook and the Missouri Mountaineers
9:15: Ford Rush
9:30: Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys
9:45: Uncle Dave Macon
10:00: Pee Wee King and the Golden West Cowboys
10:15: Possum Hunters
10:30: Andrew Brothers
11:00: Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys
According to Cleo Davis, one of the Blue Grass Boys, "I believed we opened up with 'Foggy Mountain Top,' and came right back with 'Mule Skinner Blues,' then some fast fiddle tune like 'Fire on the Mountain' or 'Katy Hill' and then 'Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms." As far as the 10:45 segment, Davis said, "When we hit the stage, such performers as Roy Acuff, Uncle Dave Macon, and Sam and Kirk McGee, who were standing in the wings watching the Blue Grass Boys when they pulled the curtain on us, could not believe when we took off so fast and furious. Those people couldn't even think as fast as we played, I believe."
(And for those unfamiliar, Monk and Sam consisted of Charles Hansen Jr. and Sam Johnson. They joined the Opry cast on September 30, 1939, coming to the Opry after spending five years at WHAS in Louisville).
On October 28, 1989 Bill was honored upon his 50th year as an Opry member. Here is the running order from that night.
1st show
6:30: Mrs. Grissoms
Jim Ed Brown (host): Southern Loving
Jeannie Seely: I'll Be Around (When It's Over)
Jim Ed Brown: The Old Lamplighter
6:45: Rudy's
Jack Greene (host): Walking on New Grass
Jeanne Pruett: I Ought a Feel Guilty
Jack Greene: There Goes My Everything/Statue of a Fool
7:00: Shoney's
Jimmy Dickens (host): Be and My Big Loud Mouth
Charlie Louvin: Stormy Horizons
Ray Pillow: Congratulations
Connie Smith: Walkin' After Midnight
New Coon Creek Girls: Night Train to Memphis
Jimmy Dickens: I Love Lucy Brown/Sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed
7:30: Standard Candy
Bill Monroe (host): Mule Skinner Blues
Bill Monroe & Emmylou Harris: Kentucky Waltz/My Rose of Old Kentucky
Larry Cordle: Kentucky King
Bill Monroe & Emmylou Harris: Blue Moon of Kentucky
Bill Monroe: Rawhide
8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Jean Shepard: Are You Teasing Me/I'll Sail My Ship Alone
Roy Drusky: New Lips/One Day at a Time
Bill Carlisle: Oh, What a Party
Opry Square Dance Band/Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Dance All Night
Roy Acuff: I'll Fly Away
8:30: Music Valley Merchants
Hank Snow (host): A Vanishing Breed
Billy Grammer: Gotta Travel On
Charlie Walker: Pick Me Up on Your Way Down
Dottie West: Are You Happy Baby/Together Again
Hank Snow: I'm Glad I Got to See You Once Again
2nd show
9:30: Dollar General
Jim Ed Brown (host): Pop a Top
Jeannie Seely: Tell Me Again
Ray Pillow: Lucky Me
Jeanne Pruett: Satin Sheets
Charlie Louvin: My Baby's Gone
Jim Ed Brown: The 3 Bells
10:00: Little Debbie
Jack Greene (host): Until My Dreams Come True
Jan Howard: Slow Burning Memory
Jack Greene: The Last Letter
10:15: Sunbeam
Roy Acuff (host): Sunshine Special
Jimmy Dickens: Take an Old Cold Tater/Out Behind the Barn
Roy Acuff: I Saw the Light
10:30: Pet Milk
Billy Walker (host): Down to My Last Cigarette
Connie Smith: Amazing Grace
Billy Walker: Behind Closed Doors/Charlie's Shoes
10:45: B.C. Powder
Bill Monroe (host): It's Mighty Dark for Me to Travel
Jean Shepard: So Used to Loving You
Opry Square Dance Band/Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Sugar in the Goard
Bill Monroe: Sugar Loaf Mountain
11:00: Coca Cola
Hank Snow (host): Why Do You Punish Me
Justin Tubb: Walking, Talking, Crying, Barely Beating Broken Heart
New Coon Creek Girls: How Many Biscuits Can You Eat
Dottie West: Here Comes My Baby
Dottie West and Tony Toliver: Everytime Two Fools Collide
Hank Snow: The Party of the Second Part
11:30: Creamette
Charlie Walker (host): Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
Billy Grammer: Somebody Loves You
Roy Drusky: What About You
Bill Carlisle: Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
Charlie Walker: Cindy
Bill Monroe's final Opry show was the Friday Night Opry on March 15, 1996. After his final appearance, he suffered a stroke that began a period of declining health from which he never recovered. Bill Monroe passed away on September 9, 1996 and is buried in Rosine, Kentucky.
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Finally, the line-up has been listed for the Tuesday Night Opry, October 30.
7:00: Dailey & Vincent; Carly Pearce
7:30: Dillon Carmichael; Bill Anderson
Intermission
8:15: Charles Esten; Henry Cho
8:45: LOCASH; Chris Janson
The Tuesday show will be the final Opry show at the Grand Ole Opry House for this year as next Friday night the Opry will begin it's winter run at the Ryman Auditorium.
There you have it as the month of October is wrapped up. As always, I hope everyone enjoys the Opry this weekend,
Byron......that's going deep on that 1939 show. Where in the world did you some up with that information?
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that Ed Haley, the subject of Bill Anderson's "Old Army Hat" is supposed to be on that October 30 show according to Bill. Not trying to harp on that but I think it will be a special time in the house if he is actually there to celebrate his birthday.
Jim
Knightsville, IN
Jim, I'm with you--I want to know how he found it!
DeleteByron, a related question. Had the Prince Albert segment started yet? It doesn't seem to be in that lineup, so I wondered. I know it was around not too long after because I have a recording on a Monroe collection of him doing it in November.
Mike, I think Prince Albert started sponsorship in the fall of 1938 but I would have to look it up to get the exact date. I will check my files later tonight to be sure.
DeleteI don't have the book in front of me, but I think Charles Wolfe's A Good Natured Riot said that the Prince Albert Show debuted on October 14, 1939.
DeleteIT'S DEL'S 15TH ANNIVERSARY. JIM HERZOG
ReplyDeleteI have decided that it is simply disrespectful to stand 25 feet or less from one of your peers who is introducing you and walk out to meet them and the first thing you say to the crowd is "I am so and so.
ReplyDeleteConnie Smith just stood at center stage and did a nice job, reading or not, and introduced Gone West and told them that Colbie Caillet was a Grammy winning artist and as quick as Colbie spoke to the crowd she had to be pretty close to Connie when she was introduced. Just irritates me......sorry.
All I cans say is this, shouldn't Carrie tell everyone who she is before she starts to sing......just to be sure EVERYONE knows who she is?
All of the stories of lass and survival are touching tonight. Of course I was moved by Too Slim. I did not know about his wife until posted it above.
Jim
Knightsville, IN
Jim, the only person in the world who in my mind could do that was Johnny Cash, since it was special when he said it. That's it.
DeleteAll of the stories of loss and survival. Fingers....
ReplyDeleteJim
Country music lost one of the true classic country singers earlier today as Freddie Hart passed away at the age of 92. While never an Opry member, he did appear on the Opry and it was a special night when he did. Living in California it would have been difficult for Freddie to have joined the cast, but if he had, he would have been a good one. His voice and his songs will be missed.
ReplyDeleteWe watched a Marty Stuart show recently (from about 2012/14); Freddie Hart was his guest and he looked good and sounded great. We only saw him once in concert at a small-town firehall maybe 35-40 years ago; he did a great show. Always sad to hear of these losses. (Anonymous in PA)
ReplyDeleteI remember the Marty Stuart episode. I told my wife that Freddie was 85 and she couldn't believe it. He looked and sounded great. One of the reasons I miss Marty's show so much was that he spotlighted many of the legends of country music that many have forgotten.
DeleteSad news about Freddie Hart. Unfortunately, he is one of those solid artist that is underrated and largely forgotten. He had five number one records in a row starting with Easy Loving in 1971. He had a #41 then came right back with a #1 and then seven songs in a row in the top six through 1975. All of those were had a polished post Nashville Sound style. What is really overlooked is the hard core Country things he did prior to his Capitol years when he was on Columbia and Kapp.
ReplyDeleteWe were lucky enough to meet Freddie just long enough to get two LP's autographed in 2001 when the Golden Voice Awards were held on the General Jackson. You'll never guess what he said to us! "Bless your hearts"!
He did not perform at that event in 2001 but we did see him perform at the last GVA in 2004. We had also been lucky enough to see him on one of those rare Opry appearances in April 1998. He sure seemed like a genuinely nice guy.
If I'm thinking right, hadn't he just done some recording in the last couple of years?
Thanks for the heads up Byron. It was nice to hear Connie mention him tonight and do "Keys"
Jim
Knightsville, IN
I didn't want to clutter up my comments about Freddie Hart with this little thought.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a complaint because it is truly small stuff but couldn't they come up with a better name for what used to be the Carol Lee Singers? The Opry Background Singers really seems demeaning or like they are irrelevant. When in reality, they add much to many of the performances, it seems they should sound a little more important or appreciated.
How about just the Opry Singers, or like the band, the Opry Staff Singers. Or the Opry Voices or Opry Vocal Group. Wish I could think of something even better. Any thoughts?
Speaking of Carol Lee, anyone know what and how she is doing?
Just something to ponder.
Jim
Knightsville, IN
We have an Opry band, how about "the 'Opry singers?"
ReplyDeleteNobody will confuse that with the main acts.
From what I have heard, Carol Lee Cooper is doing ok. As to terminology, it seems to be I have heard them announced as the "Opry Singers" and "Opry Staff Band." Maybe I don't listen closely enough but I have not heard the group called "Opry Background Singers." I will say that in attending the Opry, I have seen several different variations of the group. It seems there is a rotating group that switches off and on, depending on the night.
ReplyDeleteFreddie Hart: He is one of those classic singers that was never flashy or caused any controversy. I think for those factors, as well as others, he has never received consideration for the Country Music Hall of Fame. There are others in that group, singers such as Del Reeves, Stonewall Jackson. George Hamilton IV and Billy Walker to name three. They all had solid careers, number one records, and a nice following, yet because they were nothing "special" or were not "cross-over" artists, they receive no consideration. Looking at their careers as a whole, there are certainly better than some of those in the hall. Just my thoughts.
I must admit that Bill Anderson calling the group the Opry Background Singers twice last night is what got my attention. As I think of it, he seems to be the one I hear use that name most often. Still, it seems there is some confusion. I agree it seems to be a revolving group. From what I can tell, Norah Lee and Rod seem to be pretty constant. After Dennis retired it has got pretty loose as to who is in the group. Jennifer O'Brien used to fill in quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteJust one of those little things I picked up listening all the time. Get right down to, lets be thankful they still recognize a need for such a group and keep up the tradition. See, I can think positive. :)
Jim
Knightsville, IN
I don't chime in much these days but I wanted to say that if you're ever driving from Nashville to Louisville, it's well worth the diversion to hop off I-65 and travel the country roads to Rosine, Kentucky, and the Bill Monroe Homeplace. You'll take the world's most crooked road (the kind where you'll find yourself blowing your horn at your own tail lights) back to the beautifully restored house where Bill Monroe was born. Last year, a land dispute had some local idiots considering cutting the house in two and moving to a local park...an idea that thankfully fell by the wayside. It kind of feels like you're standing on holy ground and you'll be glad you took the time to find it.
ReplyDeleteThen take a short drive back to the Rosine Cemetery and visit Bill Monroe's grave site. The massive stone monument is hard to miss but somehow doesn't seem out of place and looks out over the beautiful rolling Kentucky hills. Other members of the Monroe family are buried in adjacent plots and Uncle Pen's grave is just a few feet away complete with the lyrics of the song that immortalized him carved in the stone.
Definitely a nice way to spend a couple of hours if you're ever in the area.
Barry, thanks for the travel tip. And welcome back. Been missing you!! And yes, Tom Ewing just wrote a Bill Monroe biography that I finished. He really goes into great detail on all of the bluegrass boys, and there were dozens and dozens over the years, and the dates and history of all of Bill's recording sessions and Opry appearances. The book is big and thick but a very good read.
DeleteBarry,
ReplyDeleteIf I'm thinking correct, Tom Ewing gives tours there according to some friends that visited. I think Byron was telling me that Tom just wrote a book on Mr. Monroe and his brothers.
Jim
Knightsville, IN
Well, try as I may, I just can't be positive as often as I want to.
ReplyDeleteBill Cody jsut threw a 55 gallon drum of water on the fire Bill Anderson built. My gosh, we are four minutes over. I can think of so many other acts that I will refrain from naming that they would have never done that too. So disappointing. Maybe Bill didn't clear his show with the right peoplw....I sure hope that is not the case.
Otherwise, that entire dialogue and performance was very special and touching.
Oh well, find a positive, at least Bill was able to do it and Mr. Haley was recognized.
Jim
Knightsville, IN
Sorry for the typos, just hit me wrong that Cody didn't give the crowd a chance to finish showing their appreciation. I had another paragraph typed about the 9:15 portion but I've said it all before so I erased and refrain. I'm trying.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Byron, welcome back Barry. Wasn't sure it was THE Barry! :)
Jim
Knightsville, IN
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTry again, with my name included...
ReplyDeleteI'll cut Bill Cody some slack.
He seemed genuinely excited to introduce the co-writer on the song (Walt Aldridge).
Probably felt right at the 'Opry itself.