tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post5169270805947868873..comments2024-03-28T21:22:49.157-04:00Comments on Fayfare's Opry Blog: Grand Ole Opry Line-Up-Weekend of May 17, 1986fayfarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00173166778978335059noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-60588608096183090572010-06-11T23:40:13.221-04:002010-06-11T23:40:13.221-04:00Great CLASSIC Line-ups
A few notes...I have the J...Great CLASSIC Line-ups<br /><br />A few notes...I have the Johnny Shealy Opry Notes about the line-ups and who sang what songs in the 1986 and 87 years...Sometimes the opry would not get off back then til close to 12:30am. Johnny Russell would always close. It seemed to me back in the 80's the timing of the show was of less concern...If ANYONE has any recordings from around 86 or 87 of these shows let me know. I would pay to hear a show from back thenUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08901354365499019144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-5989435380394506672009-05-14T17:25:00.000-04:002009-05-14T17:25:00.000-04:00Quick or not, it was good!
One of Johnny's lines ...Quick or not, it was good!<br /><br />One of Johnny's lines about running long at 11:30 was that there was no one big enough to get him off stage. One night he said that and the Opry was having a visit from Dick Butkus, the great old Chicago Bears linebacker. He walked out on stage and led Russell off.Michael Greennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-41851831280298031472009-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:002009-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:00One more on the Midnight Jamboree. By this time t...One more on the Midnight Jamboree. By this time they had started doing the show from the original Music Valley Drive location (a stand-alone shop next to the Fiddler's Inn). When the show first moved to Opryland the Jamboree was still being held at the original shop on Broadway. It then moved to the 2nd location on Demonbreun near the old Hall of Fame building...which still required the host to drive from Opryland to downtown (so Ernest Tubb would appear on the 9:30 or 10:00 portion and then drive across town to do the midnight show). I don't recall exactly when the show moved to the Music Valley location but it was held in a shed-like structure behind the shop for several years until the current shop and theatre opened nearby.<br /><br />And one more: I always thought the late show was perfect for Johnny Russell. He was hilarious onstage and off to begin with but his particular brand of humor seemed to work so well at the "punchy" hour of the night. Aside from Minnie Pearl, I've rarely seen a performer who could milk a laugh as skillfully. The one time I got to visit with her one-on-one she told me to "never step on your laugh and give the audience time to catch up"...something I often heard from clowns and other physical performers but rarely from stand-up comics and it shows in the way they usually handle an audience. I still get a chill when I think of standing at the back of the stage and listening to a laugh roll from one side of the Opry House to the other, stop and then roll back across again with just a raised eyebrow or pregnant pause. No one did that better than Minnie but Johnny was certainly right up there with her.<br /><br />I guess that was more than a quick comment. I'll shut up now.Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09431635026037943967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-49332483064479778092009-05-14T08:53:00.000-04:002009-05-14T08:53:00.000-04:00A couple of interesting thoughts on how the Opry w...A couple of interesting thoughts on how the Opry writes its own history. Michael is right that Jimmy Dickens joined the Opry in 1948, then left for a number of years, returning in 1975. Yet, when Jimmy Dickens is introduced, he is announced as a "member of the Grand Ole Opry for over 60 years". Not quite accurate. Technically, he has been a member of the Opry for about 42 years. Let's look at a couple of other Opry members with similiar circumstances. George Jones was a member of the Opry in the early 60's, left the Opry and rejoined in 1969. Yet, in his case, 1969 is considered his joining date and the previous years do not count. Mel Tillis was an Opry member early in his career and left for a long period of time, recently rejoining. His induction date is considered 07. George Hamilton originally joined the Opry in 1960, and gave up his Opry membership for a number of years, then rejoined. Yet, his Opry induction date is considered his original date, in 1960.fayfarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00173166778978335059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-41373954299365657322009-05-14T00:59:00.000-04:002009-05-14T00:59:00.000-04:00I'll echo Barry on those lineups--wonderful! I'll...I'll echo Barry on those lineups--wonderful! I'll add a couple of things:<br /><br />--Johnny Russell was the only person other than Marty Robbins who loved to close the show, so he often did the 11:30 segment, and, as with Marty, that was sometimes the only segment he did. On this Saturday, he also did the 7:00 segment on TV, so that cut a couple of others out of the early show.<br /><br />--The general rule was that Hall of Famers hosted. Ricky Skaggs got to host early on. Porter Wagoner always hosted. Dickens was the newest Hall of Famer, I believe--and, something they don't mention these days, he gave up his Opry membership in 1957 and Hal Durham brought him back in 1975, so he didn't really have seniority.<br /><br />--Justin Tubb often did the 11:00 segment and then went over to the Midnight Jamboree.<br /><br />--Roy Drusky was a Seventh-Day Adventist and observed the sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, so he often would do an early segment on Friday night and a late segment on Saturday night.Michael Greennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-18099036406893929602009-05-13T21:37:00.000-04:002009-05-13T21:37:00.000-04:00Thanks for the update Barry. I do appreciate it. I...Thanks for the update Barry. I do appreciate it. I knew about the "senior status" provision and I know it is still in the contract today between the Gaylord/Opry and the musicians union. I have a copy of the last contract and it is interesting information. Even back then, management was trying to watch costs a little more than in the old National Life days. I also know that some of the limitation on the number of guests per segment and tighter guidelines on the timing of the show was instituted after Gaylord bought the Opry. One of the comments made in those days was that all the Opry shows were the same, with the same artists on each show. This was one way they were trying to present a slightly different line-up for each performance. Thanks for the info on Amy Sue Macy. Like I said, I had just never heard of her before.fayfarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00173166778978335059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-49305714957912054682009-05-13T20:34:00.000-04:002009-05-13T20:34:00.000-04:00I really enjoy seeing these old lineups. I have a...I really enjoy seeing these old lineups. I have a pretty sizeable collection of them from the mid-70’s, and others from when I was working for the company in the early 80’s and again the mid 90’s. In 1986, I had just left Nashville and was on tour with the circus so I didn’t have much contact with the Opry at that time. I wouldn’t get really involved with it until I returned to Nashville in 1993 and worked in the Opry ticket offices while completing my college degree.<br /><br />Just a couple of additional comments on this weekend’s lineups:<br /><br />--The large number of acts appearing on only one show stems from a policy the management had recently adopted limiting the number of available slots per segment. Previously, any Opry star who was in town was guaranteed a slot even if it meant cramming 7 or 8 acts into a single half hour segment. Whether it was in response to the new musician’s union contract, stricter FCC rules or other factors, management had begun limiting the number of available slots and kicked some of the older Opry acts into “senior status” and reducing their appearances…a move that caused a considerable amount of controversy among the cast at the time. Still, the management made an effort to give as many acts as possible at least one slot per night and rotated all of the cast through the televised portion of the Saturday night show several times a year. There certainly wasn't the blatant "put 'em out to pasture" attitude toward the established artists that seems to be the policy today.<br /><br />--The “Backstage” portion of the Opry broadcast had not yet started. Originally, Keith Bilbrey was the on-air host. A few years later, they moved to a system of rotating hosts with Porter Wagoner, Bill Anderson, Johnny Russell and Boxcar Willie sharing the hosting duties. So, Porter did the early show Saturday so he could get on the road for a Sunday matinee somewhere.<br /><br />--It wasn’t unusual for Jimmy Dickens to not host a segment at this time. It would be a few more years before he really attained the “elder statesman” status that he enjoys today and appeared as a guest about as often as he appeared as a host.<br /><br />--Amy Sue Macy was a performer in one of the Opryland stage shows. The Saturday matinee almost always featured one of the performers from the park. I have some lineups that don’t list a name…just “PARK ACT” penciled into the slot where they would appear.Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09431635026037943967noreply@blogger.com