tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post6859010955443680257..comments2024-03-28T21:22:49.157-04:00Comments on Fayfare's Opry Blog: Remembering Marion Worthfayfarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00173166778978335059noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-73991138312243727402021-06-22T16:28:30.511-04:002021-06-22T16:28:30.511-04:00Holly Dunn "walked away" because she cou...Holly Dunn "walked away" because she could no longer sing. I heard her three times on the Opry when she could hardly make it through a song. It could have been due to allergies. She became a disc jockey in Detroit before moving to Albuquerque to run an art gallery with her "partner". https://www.thecountrydaily.com/1997/03/04/holly-dunn-builds-a-new-bridge-as-full-time-detroit-radio-deejay/ <br /> Jeanne Pruett also had to quit performing because she could no longer sing. Life isn't fair. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-56409735511755390672012-03-24T16:54:34.241-04:002012-03-24T16:54:34.241-04:00Barry, you are so right about Marion Worth. I neve...Barry, you are so right about Marion Worth. I never had the opportunity to see her on the Opry. The few times I attended in those days, she was not on the schedule. <br /><br />As far as the reunion shows, the 1981 show that I have the schedule for featured Curly Fox, Duke of Paduach, Zeke Clements, Pee Wee King, Alcyone Beasley, Jack Shook and Paul Howard(so Paul did make it another year).<br /><br />Interesting that Minnie Pearl was missing on both of these shows as she was someone who usually was at the reunion shows.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-4159448324789140012012-03-23T21:40:00.611-04:002012-03-23T21:40:00.611-04:00I've got his original recording of "Johns...I've got his original recording of "Johnson's Old Grey Mule" in my collection and his recorded version sounds exactly the same way he did it live 40 years later. A very under rated talent and a funny, funny man.Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04287831362702766918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-34789152291845021872012-03-23T20:15:56.667-04:002012-03-23T20:15:56.667-04:00Bless Curly Fox! I got to see him do a reunion ap...Bless Curly Fox! I got to see him do a reunion appearance that aired on Bill Anderson's show, Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and he did Johnson's Old Grey Mule. What a talent he was!Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-60765209525028786472012-03-23T15:27:34.213-04:002012-03-23T15:27:34.213-04:00I've got to admit, Marion Worth has always bee...I've got to admit, Marion Worth has always been a bit of an enigma to me. I can't recall ever having seen her at that Opry although I have programs that prove she was there. I've seen very few photos of her with the exception of a handful of "glamour shots' from the Opry publicity department. I always recall her being a mainstay on the show throughout the 70s, usually singing a "standard". I don't ever recall hearing her do "Shake Me, I Rattle" on the Opry. By the time I started working for the show in 1982, she had already left but I never really knew when. And I never heard anything about her again until the late 90's when Jan Howard mentioned her as being in a Nashville hospital. Shortly thereafter, there was a brief mention of her passing in the Nashville paper. Another artist largely forgotten by today's audience but one who made the Opry the fascinating musical tapestry that it was. I'm glad to have been around at a time in history when the past and the present came together every Saturday night. <br /><br />Regarding the Duke of Paducah, I'm pretty sure he was still making appearances on the Opry as far as 1983. That was the time period when I was working for the company and although I don't ever remember him being at the show when I was there I know I've got some lineups from those years with his name on them. He made quite a number of guest appearances in the 70s and 80s. The last "reunion" show I attended was in 1984 and he wasn't on the show that night. <br /><br />Those "old-timer's nights" were a great treat for the audience but it was even more neat to be backstage for those shows because there were often a number of performers like Carl Smith and Goldie Hill who would come to visit their old friends but didn't perform on the show. For a reunion show, this lineup is a little thin and this might have been Paul Howard's last Opry appearance. <br /><br />Curly Fox was a real character always a mainstay of the reunion shows and his version of "Johnson's Old Grey Mule" always brought the house down. He taught me one of the funniest poems I've ever heard and I like to trot it out from time to time for an easy laugh. If you've ever lived or worked on a farm, I think you will appreciate the sentiment:<br /><br />A pretty maid put on her coat,<br />And went to milk the family goat.<br />She tried and she tried<br />And then she cried "Hold still, Nanny!<br />Hold still!'<br />And the old goat sighed <br />And then replied "I'm not Nanny!<br />I'm Bill!!Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04287831362702766918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-49816655598939807832012-03-22T17:19:39.264-04:002012-03-22T17:19:39.264-04:001980 is not that long ago---only 32 years.I was 28...1980 is not that long ago---only 32 years.I was 28 that year.johnnynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-53597043695551973292012-03-22T08:56:35.929-04:002012-03-22T08:56:35.929-04:00Regarding the Duke of Paducah, the great Whitey Fo...Regarding the Duke of Paducah, the great Whitey Ford, he was born on May 12, 1901 and passed away on June 20, 1986, the same year that he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. <br /><br />No, this was not his last Opry appearance. I he appeared on the Opry April 4, 1981, which was that year's reunion show, or "old-timers" night. The "Duke" appeared on both shows that night. I will have to look it up to see if 1981 was his last appearance or not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-48531494240294824592012-03-22T00:23:56.808-04:002012-03-22T00:23:56.808-04:001980 was not that long ago...Ha.. that was the yea...1980 was not that long ago...Ha.. that was the year I was born.<br /><br />Was this the Duke Of Paducah's last time to perform on the Opry as well?David Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12236512891823165117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-31432977988948868822012-03-21T23:08:54.130-04:002012-03-21T23:08:54.130-04:00What a great lineup! If I counted correctly, out ...What a great lineup! If I counted correctly, out of the whole night there are only three still with us: Jesse McReynolds, Stonewall Jackson, and Connie Smith. And 1980 doesn't seem that long ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-88645963271325299532012-03-21T21:43:22.618-04:002012-03-21T21:43:22.618-04:00Mike, that is a great question and I don't kno...Mike, that is a great question and I don't know the real answer to this one. I do know that she had been on just about every weekend of 1980 up to that point, so why suddenly leave? <br /><br />The only thing that I would say is if she did announce ahead of time that was going to be her last Opry appearance, why did they only put her only on the 2nd show and in the last segment with just 1 song? That was not a prime spot even in 1980 and most performers did not want to do that last segment. And the last song that she did was not one of her big hits.<br /><br />My guess is that she just walked away.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-34031990026458844952012-03-21T16:04:38.659-04:002012-03-21T16:04:38.659-04:00I'm really glad you posted these lineups--grea...I'm really glad you posted these lineups--great stuff. I'm curious whether you or anyone else knows: did Marion Worth announce her departure and make this her last show, or did she simply do this show and then not return? I was thinking of the contrast between Lonzo and Oscar retiring, with some fanfare, and Jeanne Pruett and Holly Dunn walking away.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.com