Note: The Opry has filled out the line-up for this weekend by adding 2 non-Opry members. Tyler Farr and Charlie Worsham are the 2 lucky people added. I guess none of the other 57 Opry members available were able to be there Saturday night. Or none of them were asked.
The Grand Ole Opry has posted the line-ups for the 2 shows this weekend, the Friday Night Opry and the Grand Ole Opry. The Friday Night Opry will feature the return of Hunter Hayes to the Opry. Hunter is definitely an artist that will appeal to the younger fans of country music. In addition to Hunter, the Friday show will feature Christian music artist Andrew Peterson, along with Opry members Ricky Skaggs, Diamond Rio, Joe Diffie and the Del McCoury Band. Of the 12 acts featured on Friday night, 10 are Opry members.
At the point, the line-up for Saturday's show is on the "lite" side, with just 10 acts listed, of which 8 are Opry members. Among those Opry members on Saturday are Terri Clark, who we do not see enough of at the Opry and Ricky Skaggs and Del McCoury, both of whom also are on Friday night. Joining her will be guest artists T.G. Sheppard and The Mavericks.
Friday January 18
7:00: Mike Snider (host); Joe Diffie; Jimmy C Newman
7:30: Diamond Rio (host); Jan Howard; Del McCoury Band
Intermission
8:15: Ricky Skaggs (host); The Whites; Andrew Peterson
8:45: Riders In The Sky (host); Jesse McReynolds; Hunter Hayes
Saturday January 19
7:00: Mike Snider (host); Tyler Farr; T.G. Sheppard
7:30: The Whites (host); Terri Clark; Del McCoury Band
Intermission
8:15: Ricky Skaggs (host); Connie Smith; Charlie Worsham; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Riders In The Sky (host); Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press; The Mavericks
We will have to see if the Opry fills the 2 available slots on Saturday night. The guess is that at least one will be filled from one of the various non-Opry members that get called at the last minute.
On another Opry note, this past week was Jack Greene's 83rd birthday and a birthday party was held for him that featured many of Jack's friends, along with a number of Opry members. Jack attended and I am told he looked good and enjoyed himself. While he was not scheduled to sing, Jack did and sang his 2 biggest hits "There Goes My Everything" and "Statue Of A Fool". Jeannie Seely helped on harmony and he nailed the songs.
Now for the look back in Grand Ole Opry history, I go to Saturday January 20, 1990. This was the night that Hank Snow was honored for 40 years of Opry membership. Hank joined the Opry on Saturday January 7, 1950. During the 1st show, Hank hosted the televised segment and among the guests that he asked to be on were the Tompall and The Glasser Brothers, former Opry members. The Glaser Brothers had not performed for many years and in fact, were barely speaking to each other. But they had such a respect for Hank that they agreed to come. A video of their performance is on YouTube and it is great. And, this was the last time that the Glaser Brothers have performed.
Here is the line-up from that night, January 20, 1990:
1st show
6:30: Mrs Grissoms
Bill Anderson (host); Southern Fried
Skeeter Davis: If I Don't Have You
Bill Anderson: Po' Folks
6:45: Rudy's
John Conlee (host): Got My Heart Set On You
Jeannie Seely: Tell Me Again
John Conlee: Don't Get Me Started
7:00: Shoney's
Bill Monroe (host): I'm On My Way Back to the Old Home
Jimmy C Newman: Happy Cajun
Jean Shepard: Someone's Gotta Cry
Charlie Louvin: He Keeps On Crying
Jack Greene: Precious Memories/There Goes My Everything
Bill Monroe: Little Cabin on the Hill
7:30: Standard Candy
Hank Snow (host): Send Me The Pillow You Dream You
Glasser Brothers: Loving Her Was Easier/Melody
Mel Tillis: Tall Drink of Water/It Makes No Difference Now
8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Bill Carlisle: No Help Wanted
Marshall Barnes: Tender Years
Jeanne Pruett: Satin Sheets
Osborne Brothers: Rocky Top/Rank Strangers to Me
Opry Square Dance Band/Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Dance All Night
8:30: Music Valley Merchants
Jim Ed Brown (host): Southern Loving
Jim & Jesse: Truck Stops and Pretty Girls
Connie Smith: The Key's In The Mailbox
Del Reeves: Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me
Stonewall Jackson: Muddy Water
Jim Ed Brown: Fools
2nd show
9:30: Dollar General
Bill Anderson (host): Before I Met You
George Hamilton IV: Forever Young
Jeanne Pruett: Temporarily Yours
Ray Pillow: I Wonder Where You Are Tonight
Billy Walker: Behind Closed Doors
Bill Anderson: Still
10:00: Little Debbie
Bill Monroe (host): Stay Away From Me, You're Causing Me Trouble
Roy Drusky: Too Old To Die Young
Justin Tubb: Texas Dance Hall Girl
Bill Monroe: Come Back to Me In My Dreams
10:15: Sunbeam
Roy Acuff (host): Traveling the Highway Home
Jeannie Seely: It Should Be Easier Now
10:30: Pet Milk
John Conlee (host): Domestic Life
Jean Shepard: At The Time
Charlie Walker: Deep Water
John Conlee: Don't Get Me Started
10:45: B. C. Powder
Del Reeves (host): Two Dollars in the Jukebox/A Dime At A Time/Looking at the World Through A Windshield
Jimmy C Newman: Thibodeaux and His Cajun Band
Opry Square Dance Band/Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Rachel
Del Reeves: The Race Is On
11:00: Coca-Cola
Hank Snow (host): Gonna Find Me A Bluebird
Jim Ed Brown: Morning Comes Too Early
Jim & Jesse: Dream of Me
Mel Tillis: Good Woman Blues/I've Got the Horse and You've Got the Saddle
Hank Snow: Brand On My Heart
11:30: Creamette
Jack Greene (host): Walking On New Grass
Osborne Brothers: Harvest of My Heart
Dottie West: Are You Happy Baby/Together Again
Johnny Russell: Making Plans/Act Naturally
Jack Greene: Until My Dreams Come True
On a final note, it was on January 21, 1995 that Brother Oswald (Pete Kirby), officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Oswald originally came to the Opry in the late 1930s as part of Roy Acuff's band. After Roy passed away in 1992, Brother Oswald teamed with Charlie Collins and continued to perform on the Opry. In January 1995, he became an official member at the age of 84. He would remain with the Opry until he passed away in 2002. As far as the night Oswald became a member, I was there that night and it was a surprise as I do not remember it being announced before hand. I also remember that Marty Stuart, Porter Wagoner and Boxcar Willie were all on stage for the official induction. Here is the line-up from the night Brother Oswald became an Opry member:
1st show
6:30: GHS Strings
Grandpa Jones (host); Mike Snider
6:45: Country Music Hall of Fame
Bill Monroe (host); Bill Carlisle
7:00: Shoney's
Jimmy Dickens (host); The Whites; Stonewall Jackson; Jeanne Pruett; Jim Ed Brown
7:30: Standard Candy
Marty Stuart (host); Porter Wagoner; Connie Smith; Brother Oswald & Charlie
8:00: Martha White
Bill Anderson (host); Jimmy C Newman; Boxcar Willie; Charlie Louvin; Opry Squaredance Band/Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Velveeta Shells & Cheese
Hank Snow (host); The 4 Guys; Billy Walker; Doug Stone; Osborne Brothers
2nd show
9:30: Dollar General Store
Porter Wagoner (host); Wilma Lee Cooper; Osborne Brothers; Stu Phillips; The Whites
10:00: Goodys Headache Powder
Grandpa Jones (host); Roy Drusky
10:15: Sunbeam Bread/Tennessee Pride
Bill Monroe (host); Ray Pillow
10:30: Gruhn Guitar
Marty Stuart (host); Boxcar Willie
10:45: Fairfield Nashville
Jimmy Dickens (host); Del Reeves; Opry Squaredance Band/Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Coke
Hank Snow (host); Connie Smith; Charlie Walker; Doug Stone
11:30: Cates Pickles
Bill Anderson (host); The 4 Guys; Jack Greene; Johnny Russell
Good to see Joe Diffie doing the Opry. He does a better at appearing than others of his generation.
ReplyDeleteT.G. Sheppard (I don't believe) was mentioned as a potential Opry member last week. He would make a good addition to the cast as well.
I see Little Jimmy Dickens is still missing. Mike Terry was filling in tonight for Wade Jesson on Sirius XM (Willie's Roadhouse) and he mentioned that Little Jim was just taking it easy during these winter weeks. He is having respiratory problems and the doctors are concerned with this flu so badly going around.
Fred, Bismarck:
ReplyDeleteThanks, Byron. Re. Hank's 1990 anniversary, I note only one song by him on the first show, "Send Me the Pillow." My recollection is that the Glasers accompanied him on the recorded version; if so, I wonder if they also helped him out that night at the Opry. If not, that was surely a missed opportunity. The music Hank made with the Glasers is among his best, I always felt.
As usual, wonderful stuff.
ReplyDeleteI wore out the VHS tape with the Glasers, so I was glad to see it on You Tube. The part that is NOT there is that Tompall said Hank Snow was their idol, and that he hadn't sung for a while and Chuck hadn't, either, so they weren't sure how it would come out. What's obvious from the tape is that they really enjoyed themselves, which makes their breakup and personal issues so sad. Jim Glaser once was asked something on his website, I believe, about Tompall, and he replied that he did not discuss those matters.
Fred, I never heard Hank Snow's recording of that song, but on another of his greats, "From a Beggar to a King," the Glasers do the harmony and take a couple of lines, and it's absolutely beautiful.
I found it interesting that Mel Tillis was one of those Mr. Snow asked for, since I had had no idea they were close at all, but you never know.
On the night of Bashful's induction, I remember that Marty Stuart hosted and Porter Wagoner performed on the segment. As I recall, it may have been Marty who went to management and said, hey, he should be a member. The White House sent a message and Porter made a political joke that went over big, though not necessarily with me, but who cares?
Fred, Bismarck:
ReplyDeleteMichael, I checked my collection, and Hank's version of "Pillow" -- with the Glasers -- is from an entire 1961 album of collaborations called Songs I Hadn't Recorded Till Now (LPM 2458 or LSP 2458). The album is full of performances as breathtaking as "Beggar" -- classics such as "Address Unknown" and "Bury Me Deep." The songs are included in the Bear Family box set, The Singing Ranger, Vol. 3 (BCD 15502.
The other thing that I remember about that night was Boxcar Willie standing on the edge of the stage, urging the crowd to stand and give Oswald a much better ovation than what was being given. Pretty much after that, Oswald usually was on Porter's segment of the Opry.
ReplyDeleteFred, thank you. I don't have the Bear Family collection, though I have a lot of Hank Snow stuff.
ReplyDeleteBoxcar Willie. I miss him. A lot.
Wasn't the procedure to get Opry Members for the Friday and Saturday nights shows via a call from Gaylord
ReplyDelete(?Pete Fisher's secretary) from a standard list of Members and offer them a segment on the shows if they were in town; they went down the list until it was filled. The "guests" were part of a performers portion, not necessarily listed as the performer with 2 or 3 songs. Obviously they don't follow that system any longer.
Back in the day, the procedure was the Hal Durham, Bob Whittaker, or Pete Fisher would check with the Opry members who were performing on Friday or Saturday night to see if they were available the following week. Then early in the week, their secretary would call the Opry members that they had not spoken to over the weekend, to see if any of them were available.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing what Opry members were available, Hal, Bob or Pete would make out the line-up. If any slots still needed to be filled after that, their secretary would contact the various booking agents in town to see if they had any clients available that might want to do the Opry.
Also, some Opry members, such as Ernest Tubb, would let the Opry know the first of the year, what dates they would be available for the upcoming year.
Yes, times have changed. Now the Opry works with many of the record companies, management agencies and even other media to book both the Opry members and the guests. Of the veteran members, while there is no number limit of how many per show, Pete likes to keep it to a limited number to give the show variety. The days of any Opry member showing up backstage on a Saturday night and expecting to get on the show are long gone (unless your name is Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, etc...I think you know the rest of the names).
The thinking now is that if a guest artist is coming to the Opry, giving that guest 2 or even 3 songs is now the standard. And actually, I don't have an issue with that. My personal issue is the lack of Opry members per show.
Fred, Bismarck:
ReplyDeleteWow, is that Glaser YouTube video great or what? Country at its finest -- and reminiscent of 50 years ago when Marty would do a medley of classics he had put on a couple of early albums ("Song of Robbins," "Marty"), including one the Glasers included, "I Turned and Walked Slowly Away."
I don't wonder you wore out your tape, Michael.
Beyond the one with "Lovin' Her Was Easier," what also makes it great, Fred, is that the Glasers clearly were enjoying themselves, and if you don't have the closeups, you don't really see how they're trading off lines. The other thing is having to share the microphone. I've seen them to do that routine where they are on separate mikes, and it doesn't work the same.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick comment about this weekends Opry.
ReplyDeleteI think Del McCoury turned in the best performances and it was nice to hear Buddy Spicher playing fiddle with Del again as he did last week. I always wonder how many in the crowd know who folks like Buddy are. I also wonder how many know just how many great old country songs Del is doing bluegrass style like Count Me Out, Live and Let Live and Knee Deep in the Blues. I wonder if Pete Fisher realizes Del is keeping 50's/60's country going on the Opry.
On the other side of things, I thought Hunter Hayes was a little over the top and way too loud. I guess I'm just an odd duck but I thought music was supposed to pleasing and soothing with a nice melody. Just my opinion. Obviously somebody digs it cause the crowd seemed to really like it.
Has anyone noticed that the crowd has sounded very young the last couple weeks. It even sounded like the very young screaming for folks like Jimmy C, Jesse and Bobby. I'd like to think it was sincere!
Just my two cents for the weekend.
Jim
Knightsville, IN