I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope that it is a blessed day for all of you. I also hope that Santa brings you everything you asked for. As far as the Grand Ole Opry, I have some greetings to sent to them also, and also my own Christmas "wish list" for the Opry:
To Pete Fisher, I hope for a new Opry television contract, and for RFD-TV, I hope you are the ones to get it. And, I hope that you will consider more on-line streaming of the Opry shows. And, please don't mess with the show any more. Most of us thought it was fine the way it was.
For Jimmy Dickens, Roy Clark and Charlie Louvin, better health and a hope that you will still be making regular Opry appearances. For Bill Anderson, congratulations on your upcoming 50th anniversary as an Opry member, and good health to you this year.
For Jim Ed Brown, Charlie Daniels, George Hamilton IV and Jean Shepard, a call from the Country Music Hall of Fame welcoming you as a new member. For Wilma Lee Cooper, and Mel McDaniel, a return to good health. And for Mel, good luck on your new CD and tour and a return to the Opry stage. I hope it happens. And continued good health to the "older" Opry members, such as Jack Greene, Jan Howard and Jimmy C. Newman.
To veteran Opry members such as Ray Pillow, Stu Phillips and Stonewall Jackson, my Christmas wish is for more Opry appearances from each of you. Please Pete, call them more often. They enjoy playing the Opry as much as we enjoy hearing them. To Mike Snider and Riders In The Sky, thanks for keeping humor on the Opry stage. To Vince Gill, Marty Stuart and Ricky Skaggs, thanks for supporting the Opry over the years and the hope is that you will continue to do that. For Blake Shelton, the Opry's newest member, please don't forget for the Opry is at. And for Rhonda Vincent and Gene Watson, a call from Pete Fisher asking you to become an Opry member.
To Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Tom T. Hall, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire and Travis Tritt, a GPS system for your car locked into 2804 Opryland Drive. And to Randy Travis, Ronnie Milsap and Dolly Parton thanks for returning to the Opry stage this year, and now, please don't be strangers. To Loretta Lynn and George Jones, a wish that you realize how important the Opry was to your career and a return to the Opry stage more often. And to Hal Ketchum, please come back soon. The Opry misses you.
To Bobby Osborne, Jesse McReynolds, Ralph Stanley and Del McCoury, thanks for carrying on the bluegrass tradition at the Opry. And to Alison Krauss, please join them. To Jeanne Pruett, Barbara Mandrell, Billy Grammer and Ricky Van Shelton, continue to enjoy your retirement from the music business. All of you have earned it.
To Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan, Josh Turner, Montgomery Gentry, Carrie Underwood and Dierks Bentley, keep remembering where the Opry House is. And to Brad Paisley, thanks for a recommitment to the show this past year. Your support of the show is vital.
To Mandy Barnett, Elizabeth Cook, Rebecca Lynn Howard and Holly Williams, thanks for answering the phone when Pete calls to fill out a line-up. Also, my wish is that each of you has a million selling record this year.
To Connie Smith, Emmylou Harris and Patty Loveless, my wish is that three of the sweetest voices on the Opry continue to keep those voices. And Patty, the Opry is still there for you. It needs you more than once a year. And to John Conlee, Mel Tillis, Steve Wariner, Charlie Pride, Jeannie Seely and the Whites, my wish is that you give the Opry another year of good performances.
To Martina McBride, Terri Clark, Joe Diffie, Diamond Rio, Lorrie Morgan and Pam Tillis, thanks for supporting the show, but please give us more performances. And to Larry Gatlin, thanks for hosting the Opry Classics show and for bringing your down home style to the show.
To all the non-Opry members who came out to do the Opry this past year, thanks. There were too many to mention, but my wish is that we see more of you this year. You help to keep the show fresh and help to fill out the line-up when the missing Opry members do not appear.
To Mike Terry and Eddie Stubbs, thanks for the great introductions that you give us each week on the show. To the Carol Lee Singers, thanks for the great backup vocals you give us each week, and to the Opry staff band, thanks.
To Gaylord Entertainment, thanks to your commitment to the show this past year. You showed me a lot after the flood. You kept the show going, even when it was hard to find a suitable location, you saved the historical artifacts and the fans remained loyal to the show. Thanks for getting the Opry House up and running again, and thanks for updating the dressing rooms and backstage area. And please, don't forget the Opry's historic past and restore the Opry Museum soon.
And to all the Opry fans, please continue to support the show. Some weeks it is not easy, but, if we are not in the audience or listening on the radio, there would be no Opry. And, thanks for reading and commenting on the blog. I enjoy the chat and the emails you send. Thanks!!
Finally, Merry Christmas to all and a great New Year:
Byron
aka: Fayfare
Byron, a wonderful piece, and let me add one: thanks to YOU for sharing your love and knowledge of the Opry with the rest of the world. It's truly a blessing. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteByron-- thanks for keeping us informed with your website. I always enjoy your insights and history lessons! Merry Christmas to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the chances are that Wilma Lee and Stoney will get inducted in the Hall of Fame? It would be wounderful if they would do this while Wilma Lee is still with us.
ReplyDeleteI would hope that they would get some strong consideration, as much as they did for their type of music, but at this point it just seems they have not. Every once in a while, they come up in the discussion, but as with a lot of the older acts, the younger voters are just not familiar with their work.
ReplyDeleteLike I have said about Jean Shepard, I think many of the voters do not view her as a pioneer female singer from the 50's and 60's, but as the "elderly lady" who plays the Opry each week.
I think the other factor is the fact that Stoney has been deceased for so long now that he is in many ways, forgotten.
I think the bottom line is that, like the Wilburn Brothers, Jean Shepard and others from that era, they all had nice careers and probably should be in the Hall of Fame, but as time continues to go on, it will be tough.
I wonder whether changes in how the voting is done could be part of the problem. For example, Minnie Pearl openly campaigned for Rod Brasfield, who got in in 1988. Whether campaigns of that sort can work today, I don't know. But there are categories for "pioneers," and while it took Jimmy Dean and Ferlin Husky far too long to get in, still, they did. In Jean Shepard's case, it may be that her willingness to express her opinions has cost her--indeed, I'm sure it has. Given that Doyle Wilburn died in 1982 and Teddy Wilburn was pretty much retired, or at least semi-retired, after that, I suspect that hurts their chances. Jim Ed Brown is very deserving and is still around, but I wonder how many think of him ONLY as a solo act or ONLY as part of the Browns, and so don't put the whole package together.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the older country stars of past years the younger voters should look them up and see how good they are.Wilma Lee & Stoney,Lula Belle & Scotty,Stonewall Jackson,Hank,Jr.Jeanne Seely,Connie Smith,Skeeter Davis,Jan Howard,Billy Walker,etc.They all deserve to be in the hall of fame.I vote for a mass induction in 2012.
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