tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post8242658198565899782..comments2024-03-26T23:59:24.053-04:00Comments on Fayfare's Opry Blog: December Opry Highlightsfayfarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00173166778978335059noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-28523469649519539012015-12-09T06:25:59.820-05:002015-12-09T06:25:59.820-05:00I agree 100% about the drums! The square dance po...I agree 100% about the drums! The square dance portion of the show was always my favorite but with the passing of Earl White who did his best to maintain the original sound, the drums have really taken over and now it sounds more like some kind of voodoo dance ritual with bongos. I usually just reach for the off switch now. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-68072231419892101342015-12-04T02:45:44.230-05:002015-12-04T02:45:44.230-05:00From Anonymous in Kingman: Here's an interesti...From Anonymous in Kingman: Here's an interesting tidbit regarding Bob Wills' appearance at the Opry:<br />Charles Townsend's book San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills says in a footnote:<br />The story has been told that Wills agreed to hide his drums behind the curtain before the Opry officials would allow him to use them. According to Bob and Betty Wills and every musician I have interviewed who was present that night, the story is not true: the drums and horns were "out in the open."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-55738080301415613382015-12-03T22:11:50.996-05:002015-12-03T22:11:50.996-05:00Barry, thanks for sharing that. For what it's ...Barry, thanks for sharing that. For what it's worth, Ralph Emery was close to Marty and said that when it rained, he would go outside to shampoo his hair because he liked how rain water affected his hair. Maybe that rain was saying something. Or maybe it was all about Ray Price's song where he says soft rain was falling because the angels all cried.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-77121467797406638572015-12-03T22:10:31.237-05:002015-12-03T22:10:31.237-05:00Danny, thanks. I appreciate that a lot. I know the...Danny, thanks. I appreciate that a lot. I know they did announce during the 1964 purge that they were cutting the appearances from 26 to 20. I've also seen some of those group photos Les Leverett would cobble together, and I think the three you mentioned were all in it, and it would have been around 1965 or 1966. But I'm trusting my memory, and that's dangerous!Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-24715620517376364572015-12-02T18:27:09.495-05:002015-12-02T18:27:09.495-05:00I always enjoyed Christmas in Nashville. Lots of ...I always enjoyed Christmas in Nashville. Lots of get-togethers with cider and hot chocolate, going out caroling for the neighbors, checking out the Christmas lights all over town. On a cold December night, the Opryland Hotel provided a warm and inviting place to meet friends or take guests (it was much smaller back then and December wasn't a particularly busy time). Mr. Bell would get me on "the list" around the first of December and, for several years, I always managed to find a twig that had fallen off the Christmas tree on the Opry House stage to take home. I didn't have room (or the money) for a Christmas tree in my apartment but a "Christmas Twig" (in a Coke bottle with a single red ball hanging on it) was just what the doctor ordered. I have room for a tree these days but after 30 years or so, the Christmas Twig has managed to become an annual tradition at my house. Of course, the Opry shows at that time of the years were some of the best of the year and the audiences were some of the smallest...so it wasn't unusual for Saturday night's first show crowd to be invited back for the second show! <br /><br />I also well remember the week of Marty Robbins' passing. The entire city was in a bit of a funk and the day he was laid to rest at Woodlawn was a cold, grey, rainy day and it almost seemed like even the weather was in mourning. The Opry lost a lot of its "spark" when it lost Marty.Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04287831362702766918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-14237523136012129282015-12-02T15:30:03.274-05:002015-12-02T15:30:03.274-05:00Wasn't Boxcar Willie in there about 1981 or 82...Wasn't Boxcar Willie in there about 1981 or 82.<br /><br />Jim<br />Knightsville, INAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-14366868175312400122015-12-02T12:46:31.736-05:002015-12-02T12:46:31.736-05:00I have also heard Jean Shepard tell a story about ...I have also heard Jean Shepard tell a story about how she gave up a New Year's eve booking in the late 60s because Bud Wendell told her she hadn't met her required number of Opry appearances. Today's lax requirement for bookings makes the 64 purge look ridiculous, meaning people like Kitty Wells, Faron Young, Ferlin Huskey, etc. should have still been considered Opry members at the time of their deaths when you consider people like Reba & Dolly go years and years without appearing on the Opry. Also says something about the dedication of people like Jean Shepard. (oldtimeopry) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-28842626641920267662015-12-02T12:46:15.391-05:002015-12-02T12:46:15.391-05:00I have also heard Jean Shepard tell a story about ...I have also heard Jean Shepard tell a story about how she gave up a New Year's eve booking in the late 60s because Bud Wendell told her she hadn't met her required number of Opry appearances. Today's lax requirement for bookings makes the 64 purge look ridiculous, meaning people like Kitty Wells, Faron Young, Ferlin Huskey, etc. should have still been considered Opry members at the time of their deaths when you consider people like Reba & Dolly go years and years without appearing on the Opry. Also says something about the dedication of people like Jean Shepard. (oldtimeopry) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-17325427826068086402015-12-02T11:36:16.477-05:002015-12-02T11:36:16.477-05:00Michael, according to an old magazine that I have ...Michael, according to an old magazine that I have from 1966 (an insert to the Nashville Tennessean), Billy Grammer and George Morgan (pictured on the magazine's cover) returned to the Opry after 1 year. The article called it a "1 year leave of absence." I recall listening the night that Justin Tubb returned, which was a year or 2 later. Justin is not in the 1965 Opry History-Picture book. but Morgan and Grammer are included. I seem to remember his return being close to the time that Stu Phillips and Del Reeves joined. The other thing in my memory, as unreliable as it might be, was that in 68 or 69, the required number of appearances was reduced from 26 to 20.Dannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13923631716045202449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-15053619524309231502015-12-01T09:02:32.041-05:002015-12-01T09:02:32.041-05:00I might also add that this was the period of time ...I might also add that this was the period of time when the Opry's management was getting very concerned as to the Opry's members as some of the older acts that the Opry was built upon, such as Marty Robbins and Ernest Tubb, were passing away, while others such as Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Herman Crook, Hank Snow, Bill Monroe....the list goes on, were not getting any younger. They needed replacements. Byronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07610237116677181633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-83998297196614923152015-12-01T08:59:46.133-05:002015-12-01T08:59:46.133-05:00Chris, after Hal Durham became the Opry's mana...Chris, after Hal Durham became the Opry's manager, he began adding members with no commitments as far as a set number of Opry appearances. There are several different explanations for that, but the main one is that he was having a very hard time adding members. If you look at the 1970s, particularly after the Opry moved to the new Opry House. and the first half of the 1980s, very few members were added, and two of those who were, Don Williams and BJ Thomas, left after figuring out what was expected of them. Bob Whittaker followed the same policy has Hal. Since Pete Fisher became the Opry's general manager in 1999, he has asked for 10 appearance per year for each new member that he has brought on board. The results have been mixed as some have honored the request and some have not. <br /><br />Here are the current members who joined in that period: <br /><br />Ronnie Milsap-1976<br />Gatlin Brothers-1976<br />John Conlee-1981<br />Riders In The Sky-1982<br />Ricky Skaggs-1982<br />Lorrie Morgan-1984<br />The Whites-1984<br />Reba McEntire-1985<br /><br />Of course, you also have Mel McDaniel, Don Williams and BJ Thomas and if you want to get technical, Tom T Hall rejoined in 1980. None of those artists had a stellar number of Opry appearances when they were in the peak of their careers, but at least most of them have come back and are making regular appearances on the Opry, Milsap being the major exception. It really was the addition of Reba McEntire that opened the floodgates for those who followed. Byronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07610237116677181633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-54926368801368379702015-11-30T22:01:07.631-05:002015-11-30T22:01:07.631-05:00I agree, Byron. Thank you for the detailed report...I agree, Byron. Thank you for the detailed report and history lesson! <br /><br />To piggyback off Michael's comments, I had a question about the Opry's policy of required performances. It is well documented that at least up until 1965 the artists were expected to perform at the show 26 times per year. When was that appearance requirement relaxed or ignored? We know that, under Hal Durham, there was really no set number of appearances for Opry members per year. But, did the lack of enforcement begin earlier than that? Many of the stars added during the 1970s certainly did not meet the old requirement of 26 appearances per year. So, was the annual number of appearances actually decreased or did the Opry management simply stop enforcing the "rule"? And, if so, do you have an idea when that happened?Chrisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6344993590139159352.post-69172293539510695492015-11-30T20:44:24.083-05:002015-11-30T20:44:24.083-05:00Byron, this is great as always, and somewhere in h...Byron, this is great as always, and somewhere in heaven, George D. Hay and Herman Crook are insisting that drums are the devil's work. Maybe they are!<br /><br />This may be something you can answer, but I've always been curious. Stonewall Jackson didn't rejoin the Opry until 1969, and Don Gibson until 1976. Near as I can tell, George Morgan, Justin Tubb, and Billy Grammer continued immediately and never really "left." Am I right or wrong on this?Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.com