Grand Ole Opry 3/29 & 3/30

The Grand Ole Opry has posted the line-ups for the weekend shows as the month of March gets closed out. In looking at the line-ups, there really is nothing special as with the exception of Opry member Terri Clark on Friday night, the rest of the Opry members appearing are the usual group that you can count on weekly to support the show.

That list includes Jeannie Seely, Mike Snider, Riders In The Sky, Connie Smith and Bill Anderson, who are scheduled for both nights. Joining that group on Friday, in addition to Terri Clark, is Jesse McReynolds, who missed the Opry last weekend as he wasn't feeling well. Glad he is back on the schedule for this weekend. On Saturday night, it will be members The Whites and Bobby Osborne appearing.

Carly Pearce is guesting both nights. Joining her on the Friday Night Opry will be Levi Hummon, Tyler Farr, The Isaacs and Lauren Alaina. Saturday night it will be Tyler Rich, Jason Crabb, Sister Sadie, and my favorite (not) Jessie James Decker.

That comes out to 8 Opry members each night and 4 non-members.

Friday March 29
7:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Carly Pearce; Mike Snider
7:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Levi Hummon; Terri Clark
Intermission
8:15: Connie Smith (host); Jesse McReynolds; Tyler Farr
8:45: Bill Anderson (host); The Isaacs; Lauren Alaina

Saturday March 30
7:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Tyler Rich; Mike Snider
7:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Jesse James Decker; Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press
Intermission
8:15: Connie Smith (host); The Whites; Sister Sadie; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Bill Anderson (host); Carly Pearce; Jason Crabb

It seems as if every week, one or two artists make their Grand Ole Opry debut and this weekend it is Sister Sadie's turn to grace the Opry stage. While Sister Sadie will be new to the Opry, for some of the groups members, it is a stage that they are very familiar with.

The Grammy nominated group is made up of world renowned musicians Dale Ann Bradley, Tina Adair, Gena Britt, Deanie Richardson and Beth Lawrence, who originally formed after playing a sold-out 2013 show at the legendary Station Inn, in Nashville. Following that hype, the ladies decided to come together as a band and record music as Sister Sadie. They have continued to turn heads within Bluegrass and Americana circles, with fellow Bluegrass alum Alison Krauss saying that "Sister Sadie is an inspiring musical collaboration bringing together some of the best women bluegrass music has ever claimed."

The band has gained major attention with their 2018 sophomore project, Sister Sadie II. The album has garnered critical-acclaim from top publications, including Rolling Stone and Parade magazine, which called the album "a finger-picking good time from the fabulous ladies of the all-star bluegrass Americana act." As a result the band was a finalist for IBMA's coveted "Emerging Artist of the Year" award.

So far, 2019 has proven to be a career defining year for Sister Sadie. In addition to charting multiple No. 1 hits on Roots radio, the band was announced as a finalist for "Best Bluegrass Album" at the 61st Grammy Awards. The milestone marks the group's first nomination as a group, and Dale Ann Bradley's second, following a nomination in the category in 2015.
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And now, here is the posted Grand Ole Opry line-up from ten years ago, the final weekend in March 2009:

Friday March 27
7:00: Jeannie Seely (host); The Whites; Trent Tomlinson
7:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Connie Smith; Billy Currington
8:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); Mel McDaniel; Johnny Counterfit; Del McCoury Band
8:30: Mike Snider (host); Ray Pillow; Jack Greene; Rodney Atkins

Saturday March 28
1st show
7:00: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jimmy C Newman; Del McCoury Band
7:30: Mike Snider (host); Jack Greene; Love & Theft
8:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Keith Anderson; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Jim Ed Brown (host); The Whites; Ronnie Milsap

2nd show
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jimmy C Newman; Del McCoury Band
10:00: Mike Snider (host); Jan Howard; Mel McDaniel; Ronnie Milsap
10:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; Love & Theft; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); The Whites; Keith Anderson

Now from 25 years ago, Saturday March 26, 1994:

1st show
6:30: Grandpa Jones (host); The Whites
6:45: Jimmy Dickens (host); Bill Carlisle
7:00: Porter Wagoner (host); Charlie Louvin; Jim Ed Brown; Skeeter Davis; Charlie Walker
7:30: The Four Guys (host); Ricky Van Shelton; Jan Howard; Jim and Jesse
8:00: Bill Anderson (host); Jean Shepard; J.D. Sumner and The Stamps; Jeannie Seely; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); Stonewall Jackson; Jimmy C Newman; Jeanne Pruett; Mike Snider

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Brother Oswald and Charlie Collins; The Whites; Ricky Van Shelton; Colleen Walters
10:00: Bill Anderson (host); Jean Shepard
10:15: Grandpa Jones (host); Riders In The Sky; Carol Lee Cooper
10:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jeanne Pruett
10:45: The Four Guys (host); Roy Drusky; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Wilma Lee Cooper; Jim Ed Brown; J.D. Sumner and The Stamps
11:30: Billy Walker (host); Johnny Counterfit; Barry and Holly Tashian; Mike Snider; Jeannie Seely

Finally, from 50 year ago, Saturday March 29, 1969:

7:30: Bill Anderson (host); Glaser Brothers; Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper; Stringbean; Lonzo and Oscar
8:00: Lester Flatt (host); Grandpa Jones; The Four Guys; Crook Brothers; Del Wood
8:30: Billy Walker (host); Osborne Brothers; Archie Campbell; Lorene Mann; Stonewall Jackson
9:00: Ernest Tubb (host); Billy Grammer; Jeannie Seely; Bill Carlisle; Fruit Jar Drinkers
9:30: Charlie Louvin (host); Willis Brothers; Bobby Lord; Cousin Jody
10:00: Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper (host); Lonzo and Oscar; The Four Guys; Stringbean
10:15: Lester Flatt (host); Jeannie Seely; Grandpa Jones
10:30: Osborne Brothers (host); Glaser Brothers; Archie Campbell; Lorene Mann; Del Wood
10:45: Ernest Tubb (host); Billy Walker; Crook Brothers
11:00: Billy Walker (host); Willis Brothers; Bill Carlisle; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Sam McGee
11:30: Bobby Lord (host); Charlie Louvin; Stonewall Jackson; Cousin Jody
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To finish it up for this week, I want to go back to Saturday March 30, 1974 which was the night that Earl Scruggs made his final appearance as a member of the Grand Ole Opry's cast:

Earl Scruggs gave country music a new sound when he decided to pick the strings of a banjo, instead of strumming chords. He was the unchallenged virtuoso of the five-string banjo. He did not invent it. Joel Sweeney did in 1831. But Earl did invent a new style of picking, using three fingers in a new method which added versatility and brilliance to the instrument.

Young Scruggs learned to play the banjo before the age of six. He was born into a family of six children that loved bluegrass music. Earl had developed his famous style of picking by the age of ten. His first professional appearance was on a radio station in Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 1944, Earl introduced his new style of picking on the Grand Ole Opry. Three years later, he teamed up with a jovial guitar player by the name of Lester Flatt. The two became one of the most famous acts in country music.

Eager to strengthen his appeal to the emerging youth culture and frustrated by his partner Lester Flatt's musical inflexibility, Earl recruited his sons Randy and Gary to form a rock-oriented ensemble in early 1969. The Earl Scruggs Revue initially featured Gary on lead vocals, bass, and harmonica; Randy on electric and acoustic guitar; Bob Wilson on piano; and Jody Maphis on drums. The group's repertoire mixed traditional songs and contemporary folk-rock covers with Earl's instrumental specialties.

During the 1970s the band included Vassar Clements, who joined Earl, Gary and Randy on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 1972 homage to traditional country music, "Will the Circle be Unbroken." Bluegrass dobro veteran Josh Graves joined the group in March 1972, while Earl's youngest son Steve worked occasional dates and eventually replaced Bob Wilson. In 1978 Taylor Rhodes replaced Joe Maphis.

Though never embraced by bluegrass or country music purists, Earl's group found its niche as a live act playing to college-age audiences. The group recorded for Columbia throughout the decade and made frequent network television appearances. While Earl and the group left the Opry in 1974, they remained a major draw on campuses and in auditoriums as well as other venues until 1980, when persistent back issues forced Earl's retirement from the road.

Here is the running order from 45 years ago, Saturday March 30, 1974, the final night that the Earl Scruggs Revue performed as members of the Grand Ole Opry:

1st show
6:30: Mrs Grissoms
Charlie Walker (host): Don't Squeeze My Sharmon
Ernie Ashworth: Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor
Charlie Walker: Pick Me Up on Your Way Down

6:45: Rudy's
Willis Brothers (host): Truck Stop
Justin Tubb: Lonesome 7-7203/Looking Back to See
Willis Brothers: Buying Popcorn

7:00: Rudy's
Archie Campbell (host): (?)
Bob Luman: Lonely Women Make Good Lovers
Tommy Jones: Dixie Hummingbird
Bob Luman: When You Say Love
Archie Campbell: Comedy
Tommy Jones: Orange Blossom Special
Archie Campbell: Make Friends

7:30: Standard Candy
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper: I'm Going Home on the Morning Train
Lonzo and Oscar: Moving On No. 2
Crook Brothers and The Tennessee Travelers: Lost Indian
Roy Acuff: Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Carol Lee Cooper: Making Plans
Roy Acuff: I Saw the Light

8:00: Martha White
Billy Walker (host): I Changed My Mind
Grandpa Jones: Are You From Dixie
Earl Scruggs Revue: Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Connie Smith: Dallas
Billy Walker: You Gave Me a Mountain
Grandpa Jones: Just Plain Folks
Earl Scruggs Revue: I Shall Be Released

8:30: Stephens
Billy Grammer (host): Detroit City
Stu Phillips: Great El Tigrae
The Four Guys: Don't It Make You Want to Go Home
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Nubbing Ridge
Johnny Russell: Red Necks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer
Stu Phillips: That's A Chance I'll Have to Take
Billy Grammer: What a Friend

2nd show
9:30: Kellogg's
Charlie Walker (host): Wanting My Woman Again
Willis Brothers: Cool Water
Connie Smith: Amazing Grace
Ernie Ashworth: Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor
Charlie Walker: Jambalaya
Connie Smith: Louisiana Man
Ernie Ashworth: Talk Back Trembling Lips

10:00: Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper (host): Doin' My Time
Bob Luman: Today I Started Loving You Again
Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper: Coming Down from God

10:15: Union 76
Roy Acuff (host): Back in the Country
Justin Tubb: Loving Arms
Roy Acuff: Carry Me Back to the Mountains

10:30: Trailblazer
Stu Phillips (host): There Must Be Another Way to Say Goodbye
Grandpa Jones: Banjo Sam/Mountain Dew
Stu Phillips: For the Good Times

10:45: Beech-Nut
Billy Grammer (host): Lonesome Road Blues
Lonzo and Oscar: Rocky Top
Crook Brothers and The Tennessee Travelers: Sally Goodin
Billy Grammer: Just A Closer Walk with Thee

11:00: Coca Cola
Billy Walker (host): Sing Me A Love Song to Baby
Earl Scruggs Revue: Carolina Boogie
Tommy Jones: Alabama Jubilee
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Katy Hill
Earl Scruggs Revue: T for Texas
Sam McGee: Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms
Billy Walker: Funny How Time Slips Away

11:30: Elm Hill
Marty Robbins (host): Devil Woman
The Four Guys: Hello Walls/Big Bad John/Wings of a Dove
Johnny Russell: Red Necks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer
Ronnie Robbins: Am I Good Enough to Be Your Man/Mama Tried
Marty Robbins: Don't Worry/Love Me/Big Boss Man/I'm Wanting To/El Paso/Singing the Blues

I just wanted to mention one other performer from that night and that was Tommy Jones.

Tommy Jones was recognized as a child prodigy by Chet Atkins. His debut Album "Tommy's Place" showcased his talent for a sensitive and melodic touch. Later, Chet produced "Chet Atkins Presents Tommy Jones," a landmark album. Tommy's final two CD's were "Country" and "Tide Pool."

Tommy appeared on the Grand Ole Opry as a teenager, and toured extensively with saxophonist Boots Randolph. He was a regular performer and instructor at many of the annual Chet Atkins Appreciation Society conventions in Nashville.

Tommy Jones passed away on September 4, 2002 at the age of 47.

There you have it for this week. I hope everyone enjoys the Grand Ole Opry this weekend!!