As I previously noted, it was on June 12, 1965 that Tex Ritter joined the Grand Ole Opry. Here is the running order of the show on that June night that Tex officially joined the Opry. Remember, there was only 1 Saturday night show in those days.
7:30 Luzianne
Bobby Lord (host)-A Room in the Corner of the House
Marion Worth-The Answer to the Question
Ernie Ashworth-Love has Come My Way
Lonzo & Oscar-There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea
Bobby Lord-I'm Going Home Next Summer
Osborne Brothers-Fair and Tender Ladies
Bobby Lord-Hawkeye
8:00 Martha White
Roy Acuff (host)-Freight Train Blues
TEX RITTER-DECK OF CARDS
Wilburn Brothers-Making Plans
Roy Acuff-The Great Speckled Bird
Crook Brothers-Black Mountain Rag
TEX RITTER-BOLL WEEVIL
8:30 Stephens
Porter Wagoner (host)-Tennessee Border
Norma Jean-Go Cat, Go
Del Wood-Piano Roll Blues
Stringbean-Hot Corn, Cold Corn
Porter Wagoner-A Satisfied Mind
Mac Magaha & Buck Trent-Katy Hill
Speck Rhodes-The Little Shirt My Mother Made For Me
Norma Jean-Foggy Mountain Top
Del Wood-Cattle Call
Porter Wagoner-I'm Gonna Feed You Now
9:00 Pet Milk
Sonny James (host)-I'll Keep Holding On
The Browns-You Can't Grow Peaches on a Cherry Tree
George Hamilton IV-Truck Driving Man
Johnny Cash-Orange Blossom Special
Johnny Cash & The Statler Brothers-Mr. Garfield
Statler Brothers-Go On Home Billy Christian
Fruit Jar Drinkers-Take Me Back to Tulsa
Sonny James-Young Love
Jim Ed Brown-I Heard From a Memory Last Night
9:30 Kellogg's
Billy Walker (host)-Cross the Brazos at Waco
Willis Brothers-A 6 ft 2 by 4
June Carter & The Statler Brothers-I Want You Again
Billy Walker-Funny How Time Slips Away
Margie Bowes-Big City
Curly Fox-Casey Jones
Willis Brothers-Private Lee
Billy Walker-Come a Little Bit Closer
10:00 Schick
Bobby Lord (host)-Take the Bucket to the Well
Osborne Brothers-I Know What it Means to be Lonesome
Del Wood-Waiting for the Robert E Lee
Bobby Lord-Like Can Have Meaning
10:15 McCarter
Roy Acuff (host)-Wabash Cannonball
June Stearn-Once a Day
Stringbean-Moonshine in them Old Kentucky Hills
Roy Acuff-Glorybound Train
10:30 Harvey's
Sonny James (Host)-You're the Only World I Know
TEX RITTER-GREEN GROW THE LILACS
Sonny James-What'll They Do to My Darling
10:45 Newport
Wilburn Brothers (Host)-I'm Gonna Tie One on Tonight
Marion Worth-Go On Home
Crook Brothers-Chicken Reel
Wilburn Brothers-Steal Away
11:00 Coca-Cola
Porter Wagoner (host)-Company's Coming
The Browns-Jackson
Norma Jean-Lonesome Number One
Johnny Cash-Understand Your Man
Johnny Cash & June Carter-Were You There
Johnny Cash & June Carter-Amen
Fruit Jar Drinkers-Fire on the Mountain
Jim Ed Brown-Just to Satisfy You
Sam & Kirk McGee-If I had my Life to Live Over
Porter Wagoner-I'll Go Down Swinging
11:30 Lava
Marty Robbins (host)-El Paso
Willis Brothers-Ghost Riders in the Sky
Curly Fox-Fifty Years Ago
Margie Bowes-Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me
Don Winters-Chime Bells
Willis Brothers-Cool Water
Margie Bowes-Jambalaya
Marty Robbins-Ribbon of Darkness
Marty Robbins-Singing the Blues
Marty Robbins-Lovesick Blues
Marty Robbins-Begging to You
Byron, thank you for posting that. What a wonderful thing to see. Also, I think I counted 23 members (Johnny Cash was no longer a member in 1965, I believe; was June?). And Marty apparently ran a little long, eh?
ReplyDeleteMichael, Johnny Cash was still a member of the Opry at the time of Tex Ritter's induction. He was fired from the Opry in the fall of 1965, after the famous incident of kicking out the stage lights on the Opry stage when he showed up one Saturday night and was high on pills. That was also the night he wrecked June's car after leaving the Ryman Auditorium in a fit of rage.
ReplyDeleteThe Carter Family and June Carter individually, were also still Opry members in 1965.
I really thought Johnny was fired sooner. Thanks for the info--you need to write a book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment Michael. I did some further researching on John, and the incident where he was "fired" from the Opry and told never to return, did take place in late 1965. But you are right in the sense, that he might not have been an "official" Opry member at that time.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I was reading and checking, when he joined the Opry in the late 1950's, he fulfilled his membership requirements for the first 2 years, and then after that he was off to California and heavy touring. Then I am reading where it says that even when he left Nashville, he did not sever his ties to the Opry and that whenever he was in Nashville, he would appear on the show.
So it sounds like that he may not have been an "official" member of the Opry, but he still maintained an appearance schedule on the show.
In terms of a timeline, I think Dolly Parton said it was in 1959 that she came to the Opry and performed, but I think she said she was 12 and that would have been 1958. The point of that is, she walked up to Jimmy C. Newman backstage and he gave up one of his songs for her, and the segment host was Johnny Cash.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Dolly Parton/Jimmy C Newman story. Also, if you remember, Johnny was not included in the list of names of those fired during December 1964, and we all know he was not making 26 Opry appearances each year at that point of his career, so officially, he was gone before then. I think that his connection with June Carter is probably what kept him coming back to the Opry, more than anything else. She was traveling with him as part of his show, and he knew if she was in Nashville between tour dates, she would be at the Opry wiht her family.
ReplyDelete