Grand Ole Opry 6/29 & 6/30

The Grand Ole Opry has posted the line-ups for the upcoming weekend shows. As they stand right now, the Friday Night Opry looks pretty good. Saturday's Grand Ole Opry looks awful!!!!

Opry members set for both nights are Jeannie Seely and Mike Snider. They will be joined on Friday night by members Riders In The Sky, Bobby Osborne, The Whites and Bill Anderson. Guest artists include three nice veterans: Suzy Bogguss, Tracy Lawrence and Restless Heart. Others scheduled include Drew Baldridge, Kalie Shorr and making his Opry debut, Jake Etheridge.

Jeannie and Mike are the only Opry members currently scheduled for Saturday night. Hopefully it changes but as of right now, the Saturday show is lacking in numbers and in overall quality. Nothing against Chuck Mead, Aaron Lewis, John Jorgenson, Tegan Marie, LEVON or Charlie McCoy, but it is Saturday night, the traditional Opry night.

Friday June 29
7:00: Riders In The Sky (host); Kalie Shorr; Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press
7:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Drew Baldridge; Restless Heart
Intermission
8:15: Mike Snider (host); The Whites; Suzy Bogguss
8:45: Bill Anderson (host); Jake Etheridge; Tracy Lawrence

Saturday June 30
7:00: Mike Snider; Chuck Mead
7:30: Aaron Lewis; John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band
Intermission
8:15: Jeannie Seely; Tegan Marie; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: LEVON; Charlie McCoy
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And now, here is the posted Grand Ole Opry line-up from 10 years ago, the weekend of June 27 & 28, 2008:

Friday June 27
8:00: Riders In The Sky (host); Jimmy C Newman; Heidi Newfield
8:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Darryl Worley
9:00: Marty Stuart (host); Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; Connie Smith
9:30: Trace Adkins (host); T.G. Sheppard

Saturday June 28
1st show
6:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Connie Smith; John Cowan Band
7:00: Jimmy C Newman (host); T.G. Sheppard; Julie Roberts
7:30: Ray Pillow (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Rebecca Lynn Howard
8:00: The Whites (host); Jan Howard; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Sarah Buxton; The Time Jumpers

2nd show
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Connie Smith; Rebecca Lynn Howard
10:00: Jimmy C Newman (host); T.G. Sheppard; Julie Roberts
10:30: The Whites (host); Sarah Buxton; John Cowan Band; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Ray Pillow (host); The Time Jumpers

From the last weekend in June 25 years ago, Saturday June 26, 1993:

1st show
6:30: Jimmy C Newman (host); Wilma Lee Cooper
6:45: Grandpa Jones (host); Del Reeves
7:00: Jack Greene (host); Jan Howard; Billy Walker; Jeanne Pruett; Ray Pillow
7:30: Jim Ed Brown (host); Skeeter Davis; Charlie Louvin; Justin Tubb; Stu Phillips
8:00: Porter Wagoner (host); The Whites; Brother Oswald; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); The Four Guys; Roy Drusky; Bill Carlisle; Ernie Ashworth

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Ray Pillow; Jeanne Pruett; Jim Ed Brown; Skeeter Davis
10:00: Grandpa Jones (host); Stonewall Jackson
10:15: Del Reeves (host); Jeannie Seely
10:30: Charlie Walker (host); Jimmy C Newman
10:45: Jack Greene (host); Charlie Louvin; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Billy Walker; Justin Tubb; The Whites
11:30: The Four Guys (host); Bill Carlisle; Roy Drusky; Mike Snider

A show with all Grand Ole Opry members, with the exception of Brother Oswald, who eventually would be one.
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It was 43 years ago, Saturday June 28, 1975 that George Morgan made his final appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.

George Thomas Morgan was born in Waverly, Tennessee on June 28, 1924, and grew up in Doylestown, Ohio. George joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and is best known for his Columbia Records recording of "Candy Kisses" which was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts in 1949. Among his other Top 10 hits were "Please Don't Let Me Love You," "Rainbow in My Heart," "Room Full of Roses," "Cry-Baby Heart," "I Love Everything About You," "Almost," "I'm in Love Again," and "You're the Only Good Thing That's Happened to Me." "Candy Kisses" and "Almost" were his two biggest records, each selling over a million copies.

When the Grand Ole Opry left the Ryman Auditorium in March 1974, George was the last person to sing on that final Friday Night Opry, hosting the final segment sponsored by Shoney's and closing it out with "Candy Kisses." George Morgan passed away just two weeks after his last Opry appearance, on July 7, 1975 after suffering a heart attack after undergoing open heart surgery. He was just 51.

As mentioned, George Morgan joined the Opry in 1948 and was hired as a replacement for Eddy Arnold, who had recently left the show. George came to the Opry from the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree, after doing radio work in Akron and Wooster, Ohio. There is a great story that when George first came to Nashville, he didn't know where the Ryman Auditorium was. He approached a man standing on the curb on First Avenue and asked, "Can you tell me where the Grand Ole Opry House is?" The man laughed and replied, "It's right behind you." That man was Eddy Arnold!!!

And now, here is the running order from Saturday June 28, 1975, the night of George Morgan's final appearance on the Grand Ole Opry:

1st show
6:30: Mrs. Grissoms
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper (host): Big Midnight Special
Leona Williams: I Can't Help It
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: Hallelujah, We Shall Rise/There's A Big Wheel

6:45: Rudy's
Wilburn Brothers (host): Roll, Muddy River
Connie Smith: I've Got My Baby on My Mind
The Four Guys: Turn Your Radio On
Wilburn Brothers: Someone Before Me

7:00: Shoney's
Charlie Louvin (host): Will You Visit Me on Sunday's
Skeeter Davis: Wishful Thinking
Narvel Felts: Reconsider Me
Stu Stevens: Five & Dimers
Charlie Louvin: See the Big Man Cry
Skeeter Davis: Midnight Blue
Narvel Felts: Drift Away

7:30: Standard Candy
Billy Grammer (host): Gotta Travel On
Jan Howard: Evil on Your Mind
Johnny Carver: Tie A Yellow Ribbon
Crook Brothers/Tennessee Travelers: Liberty
Billy Grammer: Family Man
Jan Howard: You Don't Know Me
Billy Grammer: Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Johnny Carver: Country Lullaby

8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Cottonfields/Night Train to Memphis
Jeanne Pruett: Hold to My Unchanging Love/Love Me/You Don't Need to Move a Mountain/Satin Sheets
Kenny Price: Walking on New Grass
Del Wood: Cajun Stripper
Roy Acuff: The Great Speckled Bird
Jeanne Pruett: The Poor Man's Woman
Kenny Price: Birds & Children Fly Away
Roy Acuff: I Saw the Light

8:30: Stephens
George Morgan (host): Before You
Willis Brothers: Cimarron
Joe Douglas: Before the Next Teardrop Falls
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Hickory Leaf
George Morgan: From the Moment On
Lorrie Morgan: Smile for Me
Joe Douglas: Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song

2nd show
9:30: Kellogg's
Wilburn Brothers (host): It looks Like the Sun's Gonna Shine
Willis Brothers: Truck Stop
Connie Smith: Dallas
Stu Stevens: Five & Dimers
Connie Smith: Down in the Valley
Wilburn Brothers: God Bless America Again

10:00: Fender
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper (host): Poor Ellen Smith
Skeeter Davis: If You Love Me, Let Me Know/Midnight Blue
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: Will the Circle Be Unbroken

10:15: Union 76
Charlie Louvin (host): When You Have to Fly Alone
Leona Williams: I Can't Help It
Narvel Felts: Reconsider Me
Charlie Louvin: When I Stop Dreaming

10:30: Trailblazer
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Jan Howard: You'll Never Know
Del Wood: The Entertainer
Roy Acuff: Carry Me Back to the Mountains

10:45: Beech-Nut
Billy Grammer (host): Family Man
Johnny Carver: Tie A Yellow Ribbon
Crook Brothers/Tennessee Travelers: Sally Goodin
Billy Grammer: How Great Thou Art

11:00: Coca-Cola
George Morgan (host): You Turn Me On
Jeanne Pruett: Satin Sheets
Marcalle Dotty: Saturday Night Shuffle
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Gray Eagle
Jeannie Pruett: The Poor Man's Woman
Sam McGee: Weary, Weary Blues
George Morgan: The Last Letter

11:30: Elm Hill
The Four Guys (host): Down by the Lazy River
Kenny Price: She's Got that Easy Look/Sheriff of Boone County
Duke of Paducah: The World is Waiting for the Sunrise
Joe Douglas: Linda on My Mind
The Four Guys: Catfish John

A lot of the Opry's heavy hitters, such as Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe, Porter Wagoner, Lester Flatt, and Marty Robbins were all missing that Saturday night, but there was a nice collection of guest artists including Johnny Carver, who had the country version of the Tony Orlando and Dawn hit, "Tie A Yellow Ribbon," Leona Williams, Narvel Felts, former Opry member Duke of Paducah, Kenny Price, who in my opinion was really underrated, and on the first show, George's daughter Lorrie Morgan.

There are a couple of names from that night which some folks might not recognize, the first of which is Joe Douglas.

Joe Douglas began singing Cajun music at a very young age, getting his first break when he appeared on a special Wanda Jackson Show in Snyder, Texas. Following that appearance, he met Robin Hood Brians, whom he worked with on his first recording sessions. On the Swamp Fox label, he recorded and released a Cajun Rock version of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" which did very well in the Texas and Louisiana areas. Joe made his first Grand Ole Opry appearance in 1973, and then appeared on the Wilburn Brothers television show. He toured with Merle Haggard, Ronnie Milsap, Eddy Rabbit, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, and Charlie Rich. He also worked in Las Vegas with Glen Campbell and Mel Tillis. In 1985, he won the Louisiana Entertainment Award for "Male Vocalist of the Year," and in 1991 The Times named him "Male Vocalist of the Year," and his musicians "Band of the Year.
In 2003 he was inducted into the Acadian Museum, located in Erath, Louisiana.

Another one from that night is Stu Stevens, who is considered one of the greatest country music singers to have come out of Britain. Stu was born in 1936 and passed away in Chesterfield, England in 2016 at the age of 79 from heart failure.

Early in his career he recorded for MCA, Young Blood and the Eagle label, all located in England. In
1969, he signed with Columbia Records under the name Stuart Stevens. By the mid 1970s, his career began to take off with visits to America and appearing on the Grand Ole Opry. Among his highlights was meeting Elvis Presley, which inspired him to achieve even higher goals. However, he achieved very little chart success in America, thus focusing on his career in England There, he achieved some modest chart success. By the mid 1980s, his career had pretty much faded away. Nicknamed "The Voice," Stu was a three-time recipient of Male Vocal of the Year Award and in 2014 was inducted into the BCMA Music Hall of Fame.

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