Nashville is basically closed down with a major snow storm. However, the Friday Night Opry is underway, as it is everyweek. The crowd sounds enthusiastic, but you can tell by the echo in the building and the applause level, that it is a small crowd.
So far, during the first segment, Jimmy C. Newman was a no-show. John Conlee was on hosting, and his guests were Billy Yates and Buddy Jewell.
All 3 performers have made reference to the weather and how dangerous it is outside. I know from looking at the Tennessean website, that the malls are closed and the police are warning people to stay off the roads. Also, the Exit-In and the Bluebird Cafe have cancelled their shows for the night.
The second segment is now underway and the scheduled hosts, The Whites are on. Jan Howard was on and did 2 songs and then a suprise appearance by Ricky Skaggs who did a solo song and then a couple with The Whites. Jack Greene and Mandy Barnett were not on.
The third segment is under way and Jean Shepard is on hosting. Isn't it interesting that Jean and Jan Howard, two of the grand ladies of the Opry made it on. Jean just introduced a female by the name Tia Goins (I think that it is how it is spelled. I have never heard of her before). She sang the Bill Anderson song, "Walk Out Backwards", and did a great job. She did say it is her first time on the Opry and she thanked the snow storm for making it happen. Jean just introduced Jack Greene, so either he was late or they are doing "on the run" line-up changes. It looks like no Stu Phillips or Jesse McReynolds. I know for Jesse from Gallatin, that is a very long drive. It also looks like no Keith Anderson.
The final segment is underway, sponsored by Martha White, and Diamond Rio made it in to host. They just introduced Elizabeth Cook, so it looks like no Connie Smith, who lives out in Hendersonville, which would be close to an impossible drive in a storm, and no Bobby Osborne. In fact, after Elizabeth sang her 2 songs, it was back to Diamond Rio to finish it out. They let Diamond Rio go over, which was nice for those who braved the weather to show up and see the Opry.
I have got to say it was a pretty good and entertaining show. (I have to admit that I love Elizabeth Cook and hope that she eventually has success in country music, but I think she just sounds too country for today's radio). All the artists were very enthusiastic and were really spirited in their singing. Overall, a much better show than I expected.
So, to sum it up, the acutal line-up for Friday night was:
7:00: John Conlee(host); Billy Yates; Buddy Jewell
7:30: The Whites(host); Jan Howard; Ricky Skaggs
8:00: Jean Shepard(host); Tia Goins(?); Jack Greene
8:30: Diamond Rio(host); Elizabeth Cook
The artists who did not show were Jimmy C. Newman, Mandy Barnett, Stu Phillips, Jesse McReynolds, Keith Anderson, Connie Smith and Bobby Osborne.
The add-ons were Billy Yates, Buddy Jewell, Ricky Skaggs, Tia Goins and Elizabeth Cook.
Saturday should be another interesting night.....
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey Byron. Teea Goins is a DJ with WSM and does the "Inside the Opry Circle" show they play between shows on Saturday when there is two shows. I did not know she sang until I saw her a couple of months ago on Larry Black's Country Diner show on RFD. I thought she was really good on that show and she was great tonight. Great to hear some traditional country. Her picture, profile and blog is under DJs on the WSMOnline website.
ReplyDeleteLooks like they had to scramble a lot to fill out the lineup tonight. It was an interesting night to listen. You have to give the entertainers who did show up a lot of kudos. Looks like Diamond Rio is finishing the show out with 3 or 4 songs now. Amazing how different the lineup that aired was from the original lineup but ended up being a decent show.
I'm sorry I was out and didn't get to hear it, because this is the Opry at its best--without all of the planning. It sounds like it had some of the looseness that the Opry shows used to have, though it's unfortunate that it had to happen. Probably in Ricky's case, he just drove in with Sharon. On Jack Greene's Facebook page, I guess it was LeeAnn who posted that they struggled, but they got in.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification on Teea Goins. Now that you said it, yes that is who she is. Shame on me for not remembering that as I do listen to "Inside the Opry Circle". When Jean introduced her as a new artist, I just was not thinking. She did sing very well and had a lot of enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Ricky, yes Sharon made reference that he drove her, and her sister and Buck to the Opry in his truck and that he was drving too fast for the weather. She did say that she told Ricky that The Whites would let him sing on their portion in exchange for the ride. He was without his band.
I would assume that Pete spent the afternoon calling around to see who would be there or not and when he heard that Ricky would be driving The Whites in for the show, probably told Ricky that there were "slots available", if he wanted to sing a song or two.
I also found it interesting that except for Ricky, all of the artists that they added to replace those who could not get it were non-Opry members and younger entertainers who probably loved getting the call from the Opry. It makes you wonder if any Opry members at all were in town and could have come in for the show if called. It is not like the old days where if an Opry member was not on the schedule and was called, they would do anything they could to get there.
In fairness to the weather conditions, Jimmy C. Newman is over 80 and Jesse McReynolds and Connie Smith live well out of town. Not sure what the story was with Keith Anderson or Mandy Barnett. Same with Bobby Osborne, as I am not sure where he lives now.
All that said, I still think it was a great show and it was nice that they allowed Diamond Rio to do some extra songs. I am sure it made those who went to the show feel pretty good.
I'll continue here instead of switching to the post about Saturday night and say Jimmy C. Newman said last night that the drive in was tough and he got some help, and he might just have to stay in Nashville for the night. So I suspect that the issue was who was close enough to downtown, and I am betting that a lot of the older artists do live a ways out of town.
ReplyDeleteHello! This is Teea Goans and I just wanted to say thanks for mentioning me in your blog :) I sure appreciate it!
ReplyDeletewww.teeagoans.com