Here is another Christmas Eve line-up from the Grand Ole Opry. This one is from December 24, 1983.
1st show
6:30: Bonanza
Charlie Walker (host): My Window Faces the South
Ernie Ashworth: Talk Back Trembling Lips
Charlie Walker: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer/Jingle Bells
6:45: Rudy's
Jimmy Dickens (host): May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose
Jeanne Pruett: Temporarily Yours
Jimmy Dickens: There's No Place Like Home on Christmas
7:00: Shoneys
Porter Wagoner (host): On A Highway Headed South
Riders In The Sky: I'm Trying to Forget It's Christmas
Jeannie Seely: I'm All Through Crying Over You
Billy Grammer: The Old Spinning Wheel/Detroit City
Del Wood: Jingle Bells
Porter Wagoner: I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name
7:30: Standard Candy
Bill Monroe (host): Christmas Time's A' Comin
Jean Shepard: The Tips of My Fingers
Roy Drusky: Silent Night
Wilma Lee Cooper: Rachel's Guitar
Lonzo & Oscar: Jangle Bells/Frosty the Snowman
Crook Brothers/Melvin Sloan Dancers: Black Mountain Rag
Bill Monore: Life's Railway to Heaven
8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Jesse McReynolds: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Minnie Pearl: I Wish You A Merry Christmas
Bill Carlisle: Same Ol' Tale the Crow Told Me
Connie Smith: How Great Thou Art/Sing, Sing, Sing
8:30 Acme
Hank Snow (host): Gonna Find Me A Bluebird
Billy Walker: He Sang the Songs About El Paso
Jan Howard: White Christmas
Stu Phillips: C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S
Hank Snow: Christmas Roses
2nd show
9:30: Kelloggs
Porter Wagoner (host): On A Highway Headed South
4 Guys: My Fannie Mae
Jimmy Dickens: Take An Old Cold Tater
Charlie Louvin: My Baby's Gone
Ray Pillow: You're Playing Hard to Forget
Porter Wagoner: I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name/Ol' Slewfoot
10:00: Little Debbie
Stonewall Jackson (host): Me & You & A Dog Named Boo
Jeanne Pruett: Satin Sheets
Del Wood: Waitin' For the Robert E. Lee
Stonewall Jackson: Don't Be Angry
10:15: Sunbeam
Bill Monroe (host): Ol' Ebenezer Scrooge
Jeannie Seely: When Will I See You Again
Bill Monroe: Christmas Time's A' Comin
10:30: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Night Train to Memphis
Vic Willis Trio: Colorado
Teddy Wilburn: Because He Lives
Roy Acuff: From Cradle to Cross to Crown/I Saw the Light
10:45: Beech-Nut
Roy Drusky (host): Mississippi
Connie Smith: Go Tell It On The Mountain
Crook Brothers/Melvin Sloan Dancers: New Five Cents
Roy Drusky: White Christmas
11:00: Coca-Cola
Hank Snow (host): Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On
Jesse McReynolds: What About You
Jean Shepard: Kentucky
Wilma Lee Cooper: Anywhere Just Inside Your Arms
Lonzo & Oscar: Gone, Gone, Gone
Hank Snow: A Letter to Santa Claus
11:30: Hardee's
Billy Walker (host): Cross the Brazos at Waco
Bill Carlisle: No Help Wanted
Bill Carlisle, Jr: Blue Christmas
Jan Howard: Rocky Top/Gold Watch & Chain
Billy Walker: He Sang the Songs About El Paso
Wow, Byron.
ReplyDeleteFred here. Of course, December 1983 was the one-year anniversary of Marty Robbins' death; hence the Billy Walker song (on both shows). I've never heard this song, and will see if I can find it on Youtube tonight.
It's great to close one's eyes and picture Hank Snow doing "Christmas Roses" -- 30-some years after he laid down the track. Always loved this one, along with 2 others by him: "Yellow Roses," of course, and "Blue Roses" (on the flip wide of "90 Miles an Hour").
Merry Christmas, everybody!
Fred beat me to it. And note that Billy sang it on the 11:30 segment. Also Ralph Emery told the story that Billy resented that people compared "Cross the Brazos at Waco" with "El Paso" and one time, on a tour, when it was time for the song, the band started "El Paso." But clearly he had great admiration for Marty, and one of his best numbers was "You Gave Me A Mountain."
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the lineup listed Jesse McReynolds, and I wondered what had happened to Jim. Great stuff, Byron, thanks!
By the way, if I counted correctly, THIRTY Opry members on that night.
ReplyDelete