Grand Ole Opry 8/19 & 8/20

After the big weekend with Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill celebrating his 25th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry, things get back to normal this weekend with a more traditional look to the Friday Night Opry and Saturday's Grand Ole Opry. 

Looking at the Opry members scheduled this weekend, both nights will feature Riders In The Sky, John Conlee, The Whites and Mike Snider. They will be joined on Friday night by Connie Smith and Ricky Skaggs, while Jeannie Seely and Bobby Osborne will round out the list for Saturday. That comes out to 6 Opry members each night. 

Guest artists on Friday night include Aaron Tippin, Lucie Silvas and RaeLynn. They will be joined by 3 other artists who have made numerous Opry appearances. First is Charles Esten. Charles has appeared on the Opry more often this year than a majority of the members. I know he is best known a Deacon on "Nashville," which will be returning to CMT in late fall, but after seeing and hearing him several times on the Opry, he has a nice country voice. This past weekend he sang the humorous song "Beer" and the audience loved it. Another guest is Dailey & Vincent, who many believe should have been Opry members long ago. I can't disagree and it is nice to see them back at the Opry. Exile is the other guest artist scheduled, and they will also return on Saturday night. Like the other two mentioned, they have been on the Opry many times. 

Joining Exile on Saturday night will be non-member Opry regular Jimmy Wayne, who seems to be one of the "go-to" artists when there is an open spot in the weekly line-up. Also scheduled is Carly Pearce, Sierra Hull, and a young man that I am anxious to hear, Charlie Worsham. Vince Gill is very high on him and I thought Charlie did an outstanding job last Saturday with "Key of Life." 

Friday August 19
7:00: Connie Smith (host); Aaron Tippin; Exile
7:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Lucie Silvas; Dailey & Vincent
Intermission
8:15: Ricky Skaggs (host); The Whites; RaeLynn
8:45: John Conlee (host); Mike Snider; Charles Esten

Saturday August 20
7:00: John Conlee (host); Carly Pearce; Mike Snider
7:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Charlie Worsham; Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press
Intermission
8:15: The Whites (host); Sierra Hull; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Riders In The Sky (host); Jimmy Wayne; Exile

And now, here is the posted Grand Ole Opry line-up from five years ago, the weekend of August 19 & 20, 2011:

Friday August 19
7:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Jesse McReynolds; Troy Olsen
7:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jimmy C Newman; Jimmy Wayne
Intermission
8:15: Bill Anderson (host); Jack Greene; Exile
8:45: Vince Gill (host); Connie Smith; Mike Snider; Will Hoge

Saturday August 20
7:00: Larry Gatlin (host); Jimmy C Newman; John Conlee; The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys
7:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jan Howard; James Wesley
Intermission
8:15: Bill Anderson (host); Mike Snider; Jimmy Wayne; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Vince Gill (host); Connie Smith; Bradley Gaskin

Now from ten years ago, the weekend of August 18 & 19, 2006: 

Friday August 18
8:00: Bill Anderson (host); Connie Smith; Mountain Heart
8:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); The Whites; Lane Turner
9:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); Jean Shepard; Buddy Jewell
9:30: Pam Tillis (host); Mel McDaniel; Marty Stuart

Saturday August 19
1st show
6:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); The Whites; Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock
7:00: Mike Snider (host); Jimmy C Newman; David Ball
7:30: Jean Shepard (host); Mel McDaniel; Chris Young
8:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); Lane Turner; Sherrie Austin; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Connie Smith; Jimmy Wayne

2nd show
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); The Whites; Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper featuring Audie Blaylock
10:00: Jean Shepard (host); Mel McDaniel; David Ball
10:30: Jimmy C Newman (host); Jan Howard; Chris Young; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); Connie Smith; Sherri Austin
11:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Lane Turner; Jimmy Wayne

Finally, from 25 years ago, Saturday August 17, 1991:

1st show
6:30: Mrs. Grissoms
Porter Wagoner (host): Sugarfoot Rag
Teddy Wilburn: I've Loved You All Over the World
Porter Wagoner: Green, Green Grass of Home

6:45: Country Music Hall of Fame
Grandpa Jones (host): Stop that Ticklin' Me
Bill Carlisle: Oh, What A Party
Grandpa Jones: Gone Home

7:00: Shoney's
Del Reeves (host): Lay A Little Lovin' on Me
Stonewall Jackson: Side-Steppin' the Blues
Wilma Lee Cooper: No One Now
The Whites: If It Ain't Love
Stu Phillips: The Great El-Tigra
Del Reeves: Two Dollars in the Jukebox/A Dime at A Time/Looking at the World Through A Windshield/Good Time Charlie's

7:30: Standard Candy
Jimmy Dickens (host): John Henry
Charlie Louvin: Making Music
Skeeter Davis: Oh Happy Day
Marty Brown: You Sugar Daddy's Long Gone/Wildest Dream
Jimmy Dickens: Sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed

8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Jean Shepard: At the Time/I'll Sail My Ship Alone
Charlie Walker: My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You/San Antonio Rose
Opry Square Dance Band: Sugar in the Goard
Roy Acuff: My Tears Don't Show

8:30: Opryland USA
Hank Snow (host): Gonna Find Me A Bluebird
Billy Walker: Down to My Last Cigarette
David Houston: I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen
Jeannie Seely: Houston
Roy Drusky: Have I Stayed Away to Long
Hank Snow: It's All Over Nothing at All

2nd show
9:30: Dollar General Stores
Porter Wagoner (host): Y'All Come
Skeeter Davis: Joy, Joy, Joy
Teddy Wilburn: Arkansas
Ray Pillow: That Ain't No Way to Treat My Heart/If I Didn't Have You In My World
Porter Wagoner: Funky Grass Band

10:00: Little Debbie
Grandpa Jones (host): Banjo Sam
Bill Carlisle: Business Man
Grandpa Jones: Apple Jack

10:15: Tennessee Pride/Sunbeam
Roy Acuff (host): Meeting in the Air
The Whites: It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know/Let's All Go Down to the River
Roy Acuff: Freight Train Blues

10:30: Pet Milk
Del Reeves (host): A Dozen Pair of Boots
Charlie Louvin: This Pen
Del Reeves: The Race is On

10:45: B.C. Powder
Jimmy Dickens (host): Family Reunion
Marty Brown: You Sugar Daddy's Long Gone
Opry Square Dance Band/Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Bill Cheatham
Jimmy Dickens: Life Turned Her That Way

11:00: Coca-Cola
Hank Snow (host): There's A Fool Such As I
Jean Shepard: Slippin' Away
Billy Walker: Charlie's Shoes/Heartaches By the Number
Justin Tubb: Keep Me From Blowing Away
Stu Phillips: If Loving You Means Anything
Hank Snow: Old Doc Brown

11:30: Creamette
Charlie Walker (host): Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
David Houston: Living In A House Full of Love
Jeannie Seely: What Doesn't He Just Leave Me Alone
Roy Drusky: Mississippi/Always
Charlie Walker: Roly Poly/Pick Me Up On Your Way Down

To conclude, here is the Grand Ole Opry line-up from 50 years ago, Saturday August 20, 1966:

6:30: Bill Monroe (host); Del Wood; Bill Strength
6:45: The Browns (host); Margie Bowes
7:00: Willis Brothers (host); Sonny James; Skeeter Davis; Jimmy Newman; Jerry Wallace
7:30: Bobby Lord (host); Connie Smith; Minnie Pearl; Norville Dollar
8:00: Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper (host); Charlie Louvin; Hank Williams Jr; Crook Brothers; Jeannie Seely
8:30: Roy Acuff (host); Marion Worth; Hank Locklin; Tex Ritter
9:00: Glaser Brothers (host); Norma Jean; Bobby Bare; Stringbean; Jimmy Payne
9:30: Bobby Lord (host); Carter Family; The Browns; June Carter; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Margie Bowes; Jimmy Dean
10:00: Roy Acuff (host); Bobby Bare; Dorsey Burnette
10:15: Tex Ritter (host); Stringbean; Norma Jean
10:30: Charlie Louvin (host); Del Wood; Steve Chapman
10:45: Hank Locklin (host); Marion Worth Crook Brothers; 
11:00: Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper; Hank Williams Jr; Bill Strength; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Sam & Kirk McGee
11:30: Marty Robbins (host); Connie Smith; Bob Luman; Norville Dollar; Don Winters

The running order from that night: 

7:30: Mrs Grissoms
Bill Monroe: I'm Breaking in A Brand New Pair of Shoes
Del Wood: 12th Street Rag
Bill Strength: Oh, Lonesome Me
Bill Monroe: Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot/Panhandle Country

6:45: Rudy's
The Browns: I Heard the Bluebirds Sing
Margie Bowes: There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight
Jim Ed Brown: Regular on My Mind
The Browns: I'd Just Be Fool Enough
Opry Staff Band: Tennessee Polka

7:00: N.L.A.I. Co. 
Willis Brothers: When I Come Driving Thur
Sonny James: The Minute You're Gone/What Makes A Man Wonder/I'll Keep Holding On
Skeeter Davis: Why I'm Walking
Jimmy Newman: Big Mamou
Skeeter Davis: Walking the Floor Over You
Jerry Wallace: (?)
Jimmy Newman: A Fallen Star
Willis Brothers: I Still Do
Jerry Wallace: In the Misty Moonlight
Sonny James: How Great Thou Art

7:30: Luzianne
Bobby Lord: That's All Right
Connie Smith: I'll Be There
Minnie Pearl: I'm thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes
Bobby Lord: Losers Like Me
Norville Dollar: Making Me A Lonely Man
Connie Smith: Then & Only Then
Bobby Lord: Life Can Have Meaning

8:00: Martha White
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: This Train
Charlie Louvin: Less & Less/I Don't Love You Anymore
Hank Williams Jr: Standing in the Shadow
Crook Brothers: Cotton Eyed Joe
Jeannie Seely: It's Only Love
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: Almost Persuaded
Joe Edwards: John Henry

8:30: Stephens
Roy Acuff: Fireball Mail
Marion Worth: All the World Is Lonely Now
Hank Locklin: Send Me the Pillow You Dream On
Tex Ritter: There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder
Roy Acuff: The Great Speckled Bird
Marion Worth: Don't Count on Tomorrow
Hank Locklin: Danny Boy

9:00: Pet Milk
Glaser Brothers: Lover's Farewell
Norma Jean: I'm Just Pursuing Happiness
Bobby Bare: Just to Satisfy You
Stringbean: Big Ball in Nashville
Glaser Brothers: The Last Thing on My Mind
Jimmy Payne: What Does It Take
Norma Jean: It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels
Bobby Bare: The Streets of Baltimore

9:30: Kellogg's
Bobby Lord: Out Behind the Barn
Carter Family: Worried Man Blues
The Browns: Mariah
June Carter: Thirty Days
Fruit Jar Drinkers: (?)
Bobby Lord: When the Snow Falls
Margie Bowes: Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me
Jimmy Dean: Just A Little Lovin'

10:00: Schick
Roy Acuff: Just A Friend
Bobby Bare: Gotta Travel On
Dorsey Burnette: Big Rock Candy Mountain/(?)
Roy Acuff: Will the Circle Be Unbroken

10:15: Pure
Tex Ritter: Remember Us
Stringbean: String's A PIckin'
Norma Jean: You're Driving Me Out of My Mind
Tex Ritter: Take Him Fishing

10:30: Harvey's
Charlie Louvin: Lonesome Is Me
Del Wood: Waiting for the Robert E Lee
Charlie Louvin: Making Plans
Steve Chapman: (?)

10:45: Newport
Hank Locklin: Please Help Me I'm Falling
Marion Worth: Ever Since My Baby Went Away
Crook Brothers: Liberty
Hank Locklin: Almost Persuaded

11:00: Coca-Cola
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: There's A Big Wheel
Hank Williams Jr: Settin' the Woods on Fire
Bill Strength: Make the World Go Away
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Soldier's Joy
Wilma Lee Cooper: A Hero's Death
Sam & Kirk McGee: Make A Change in Business All Around
Hank Williams Jr: Standing in the Shadows
Joe Edwards: Doodle Bug
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: Matthew 24

11:30: Lava
Marty Robbins: Singing the Blues
Connie Smith: One A Day
Bob Luman: Memphis
Norville Dollar: Continental Queen
Marty Robbins: Don't Worry
Don Winters: Annie Lou
Connie Smith: Paper Roses
Bob Luman: I Remember You
Marty Robbins: The Shoe Goes on the Other Foot Tonight/Take These Chains from My Heart/I Could Never Be Ashamed of You/Bouquet of Roses/El Paso

There are a couple of names from the Opry that night which many fans may not recognize. 

Bill Strength was born on August 28, 1928 in Bessemer, Alabama. At the age of 16, he won an amateur contest at Houston's Joy Theater and he was soon hired by local station KTHT on a part-time basis. In 1945, he began working full time at KFEQ in St. Joseph, Missouri, followed by stations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Denver, Colorado, after which he returned to Houston, where he worked for several stations. It was during this period that he recorded several singles for 4-Star Records, including "Who's the Lucky One" and "I'm Doing a Peach of a Job." In 1950, he was hired by the CIO to promote the organization via radio and convention appearances. In 1950 he signed with Coral Records and recorded "Black Coffee Blues" and "You Can't Have My Love," which were among his most successful recordings. In 1954, he was named "Mr. DJ USA" by WSM radio in Nashville, after which he relocated to Memphis, Tennessee where he was a part of the early rock & roll scene. He then relocated to St. Paul, Minnesota where he worked with Roy Drusky and Dave Dudley. He then signed with Capital Records and recorded "Cry, Cry, Cry," "Turn Around," and "Do You Think I'm Happy." It was reported that he had issues with alcoholism and he spent the remaining years of his life moving around to various cities and working in radio. In August 1973, he was paralyzed following an auto accident and then in October he passed away at the age of 45. In 1990 he was inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame. 

Another name from that night is Norville Dollar. Norville was from Missouri and it was said that he was an early fan of country music. He got his first guitar at the age of fifteen, after which he formed his own band. By the mid-1960's, he had his own weekly television show in St. Louis which was such a big hit that when Nashville artists appeared in the St Louis area, they appeared on Norville's show. His show also gave audiences their first exposure to a number of new artists including Barbara Fairchild, David "Lonzo" Hooten, and Helen Cornelius. After being off the air for several years, KPLR-TV aired his show again, this time with a much wider audience as the station was now on cable television and this exposure led to several guest appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. He later retired from the music business and formed the Norville Dollar Construction Company. After his wife passed away in 2006, his children and friends encouraged him to turn to his music again and as a result of this renewed interest he recorded a new CD titled "Through the Years With Norville Dollar." 

Finally there was Dorsey Burnette. Dorsey was born on December 28, 1932 and with his younger brother Johnny Burnette was a founding member of "The Rock and Roll Trio." As the name suggests, he was more involved with Rockabilly than country music. In the mid-1950's, they were featured on numerous national televisions shows including American Bandstand, Steve Allen's Tonight Show and Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, Despite this exposure, the three singles that the Trio released failed to make any of the national charts. In the late 1950's, he recorded several singles with Fabor Robinson, who offered Dorsey spots on the Louisiana Hayride and Town Hall Party. Relocating to California, Dorsey teamed again with his brother Johnny as the Burnette Brothers and recorded and released a number of records into the 1960's. In August 1964, Johnny died in a boating accident after which Dorsey recorded for various small labels without much luck. By the mid 1970's, he was back trying his hand at country music. In the 1970's he had fifteen singles make the country charts, however none reached the Top 20. Dorsey passed away in August 1979 at the age of 46 from a massive heart attack. 

There you have it for this week and I hope everyone enjoys the Opry this weekend.