tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post6387696986393940874..comments2024-03-28T21:22:49.157-04:00Comments on Fayfare's Opry Blog: Final Ryman Shows/First New Opry House Showsfayfarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00173166778978335059noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-10605277588073158102015-03-12T08:43:01.001-04:002015-03-12T08:43:01.001-04:00I attended the March 15, 1974 show, the "last...I attended the March 15, 1974 show, the "last" Saturday Night 'Opry at the Ryman.<br />The only artists I can recall from memory (41 years later) performing that night are Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, and Marty Robbins.<br />I remember Minnie breaking down and lamenting leaving the Ryman. Roy Acuff did what he could to comfort her. I remember Marty Robbins, who would have kept right on singing for hours that night if they hadn't brought the curtain down on him.<br />What memories.<br />Thanks so much for the lineup. Amazing.Nat Hill IVnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-14381284469996059052015-03-11T09:50:27.237-04:002015-03-11T09:50:27.237-04:00Riders in the Sky will do stuff to Eddie Stubbs or...Riders in the Sky will do stuff to Eddie Stubbs or Mike Terry as they read commercials. That's about it. I remember Oscar Sullivan saying that Vito was reminded that it was a live show, so during the commercials, they would dump Oswald in the RC cooler or something else to shake up the audience. I seem to recall one guy who used a yoyo.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-43864485984931351922015-03-11T00:59:34.114-04:002015-03-11T00:59:34.114-04:00or Bill Carlisles sometimes wild segments with sid...or Bill Carlisles sometimes wild segments with sideman Marshall Barnes, for example, cutting off Joe Edwards pantlegs as he thumb-picked his electric guitar, or maybe singing "Tender Years" as only Marshall could do it !!!!!!!<br /><br />Dashmann - Flushing, MichiganAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-22684184736715583372015-03-10T07:06:33.678-04:002015-03-10T07:06:33.678-04:00Fred, Bismarck:
Well-said by Barry. Today's O...Fred, Bismarck:<br /><br />Well-said by Barry. Today's Opry is, in a word, stuffy ... as if everyone, the announcer included, were up there in black tie and tails. Some of the women look like they're going to the White House right after the show. (How'd you like to see Kitty Wells' puffy sleeves again, or Wilma Lee Cooper's hoop skirt?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-6183088118197556722015-03-09T22:18:45.829-04:002015-03-09T22:18:45.829-04:00It's interesting to take a look at video foota...It's interesting to take a look at video footage from the first night at the new Opry House and how the artists and musicians continued to cluster in a tight little area near the front of the stage in roughly the same fashion as they did at the Ryman. At the Ryman, you got to the mic any way you could from any direction you could....usually behind the piano. The Opry posted a YouTube video that you've all probably seen of Minnie Pearl's spot on that first show. It's fun to see the musicians coming out, checking the lineup pinned to the back of the piano, standing around gabbing just a few feet from where someone else was working...one of the things that made the Opry truly unique. Frankly, the modern-day Opry is too slick, polished and produced for my tastes. Too often it feels like someone is trying to force an "Opry moment". The occasional bursts of genuine spontaneity are few and far between.Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04287831362702766918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-57904709756157341202015-03-09T08:51:25.814-04:002015-03-09T08:51:25.814-04:00Kyle, back in those days the structure of the Opry...Kyle, back in those days the structure of the Opry segments were a little different. Usually the host would do the opening song, then they would introduce two other artists, each doing one song. Then the host would do another number, or he would have a member of his band do a number (Roy Acuff would usually have Oswald or Howdy do an instrumental). After that number, the host would bring back on those who were already on the segment and have them do a second song. Of course, now it is set up with the host doing the opening number, each artist introduced on the segment doing an average of two songs, then the host finishing out the segment. I think, if I remember right, they changed it to the way it is now back in the late 1970s, although when Bob Whittaker was the Opry's general manager in the 1990s, he experimented a bit with changing it back and it just didn't work to well. <br /><br />Also one of the reasons they were able to fit 5-7 artists into a half hour segment, or 4 in a 15 minute segment was that the talking between the acts and songs was very small. They were introduced, ran on and did their song, and then ran off. They kept the show moving pretty fast. <br /><br />Skeeter was suspended from the Opry for remarks she made on the Opry stage in December 1973. She made comments about protesters outside that the Opry management didn't appreciate. She was gone for around 18 months before some of the Opry members went to management and got her back on. ( I think if you go back into December I had an entire post devoted to Skeeter and her issues). Byronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07610237116677181633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-856482296411092802015-03-08T21:44:43.623-04:002015-03-08T21:44:43.623-04:00If only today the Opry could do a show with all bu...If only today the Opry could do a show with all but 14 of its members, that would be amazing! Come to think of it, if the Opry did a show with 14 of its members, it would be amazing!<br />A few of questions:<br />How come during the final saturday shows at the ryman, several times the hosts would perform a 2nd song in the middle of their segment, but not at the end?<br /><br />With the final Friday show at the Ryman, how come the performers did 2 songs, but not at the same time? <br /><br />And finally, why was Skeeter Davis suspended from the Opry?<br />Kyle<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com