While not Grand Ole Opry related, I wanted to mention the great country music programs that are being shown on RFD-TV. This network has moved so far forward from where it was even last year. There are new episodes of The Ralph Emery Show and Crook and Chase, along with Larry's Country Diner and the Country's Family Reunion shows. Not only do they show the new episode, but they also repeat them at various times during the week.
I have said it before, I would hope that if the Grand Ole Opry is looking for a new television home, that Gaylord management and the management from RFD could sit down and talk, and perhaps work out a deal.
I received their weekly program guide yesterday, and I just wanted to mention some of the country music shows on the schedule:
Sunday nights feature Hee Haw, this week from 1971 and staring Charley Pride, Amanda Blake and Mickey Mantle.
The new Ralph Emery show is on Monday nights and this week it features Lorrie Morgan. They replay the show later in the week.
Larry's Country Diner is on Tuesday night and this week's guest is T. Graham Brown. Also on Tuesday is the Gaither Gospel Hour and this week it features gospel favorites from the Grand Ole Opry. and after that show is Crook and Chase. These are also new shows that mix in classic clips from their older shows. This week, it is an Elvis tribute, along with Ray Walker and Minnie.
On Saturday nights, you have the Marty Stuart show, which is just great. Each show features Marty, Connie Smith, LeRoy Troy and a special guest. This week it is John Prine. Following his show is Midwest Country, an hour long variety show that always features a classic country music star. This week it is Stonewall Jackson.
Then you have The Porter Wagoner Show on Friday and Sunday, featuring either Dolly Parton or Norma Jean, along with Speck Rhodes and Buck Trent. The Wilburn Brothers Show, featuring either Loretta Lynn or a very young Patty Ramey(later Loveless), depending on the year, is on several times during the week, along with Pop Goes the Country, with Ralph Emery as the host. The Penny Gilley show is another half hour variety show, this week featuring Ronnie Milsap.
Country's Family Reunion is on each Friday night and is featuring new shows with a galaxy of classic country music stars and Grand Ole Opry perfomers. They also show many of the older shows with the stars that have passed away.
In the mornings is a show called Heart to Heart from years ago, and this week, they have shows featuring Dolly Parton, Keith Whitley and Mel Tillis. Reno's Old Time Music Festival is also on weekdays and this week will have classic performances from Tom T. Hall and the Dillards.
And, coming soon to the schedule is the classic Bill Anderson show.
Again, I mention RFD-TV, because they do a good job with classic country music. Many of us know that sometimes the real country is hard to find and this gives us a good place to watch it. Of course for those who are farmers or from farming families, you have numerous farming shows and also rodeo and western shows, including Cowboy Church. RFD also has a great web-site to check out all of their programming.
Looking forward to the Bill Anderson show. I don't think I have ever seen any of his old syndicated shows, maybe a clip or two.
ReplyDeleteRalph Emery on his show last week responded to a viewer question about why the old TNN stuff like "Nashville Now" isn't on RFD. He said the shows are in a vault somewhere and a lot would have to change for RFD to get them.. .sounded like expense/money was the main problem.
Do you have any more info on when the Bill Anderson show might be popping up? I'm really looking forward to seeing those.
ReplyDeleteThere is also another new show called Tru Country that airs first on Fridays at 1 and focuses mainly on newer, Texas based acts like Miss Leslie, Justin Trevino and others. I've only caught one show so far, but it was a great half-hour of traditional country.
I'd be interested to know the hold up on getting the TNN stuff. I wonder who holds the rights to those?
I would only be guessing and Ralph Emery didn't say who held the rights, but guessing maybe Viacom? They bought TNN and CMT from Gaylord and still own CMT and the channel that was TNN, now called Spike TV. That is just a guess though.
ReplyDeleteIt probably is Viacom or someone associated with them. Ralph, in a couple of his books, also touched on the subject and wondered why the owners of those older TNN programs weren't taking advantage of the nostalgia factor. When HEE-HAW reruns began airing on TNN in the mid 1990's it was one of the network's highest rated programs. Now RFD airs the reruns.
ReplyDeleteI think the owners of those TNN programs are doing themselves a disservice financially when they ignore the nostalgia consumers. Even old Music City News Awards shows are being sold on DVD and it's mostly because there's a demand for vintage country music programs. I wish RFD-TV would show even more vintage country music programs.