Grand Ole Opry 4/5 & 4/6

The Grand Ole Opry begins the first full weekend of April with a pair of shows at the Grand Ole Opry House. Both feature pretty nice line-ups and offer a variety of artists.

Grand Ole Opry members scheduled for both Friday and Saturday include Riders In The Sky, John Conlee and Bill Anderson. Joining that trio on Friday night will be members Jeannie Seely, Mike Snider, The Whites, Bobby Osborne and Pam Tillis. Lorrie Morgan will be closing out the show on Saturday night, joining Jesse McReynolds and Connie Smith. That adds up to eight Opry members on Friday night and six on Saturday.

Guesting on Friday will be Sarah Darling, comedian Jeff Allen, Americana artist Mary Gauthier and the very popular group Exile, who is also scheduled for Saturday night. Joining Exile will be Karen Mills, making a return appearance, along with Molly Tuttle, "Nashville" star Charles Esten, and making their Grand Ole Opry debut, Restless Kelly.

Friday April 5
7:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Sarah Darling; Mike Snider
7:30: Riders In The Sky (host); John Conlee; Exile
Intermission
8:15: Bill Anderson (host); The Whites; Jeff Allen
8:45: Pam Tillis (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Mary Gauthier

Saturday April 6
7:00: Riders In The Sky (host); Jesse McReynolds; Connie Smith
7:30: John Conlee (host); Karen Mills; Restless Kelly
Intermission
8:15: Bill Anderson (host); Molly Tuttle; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Lorrie Morgan (host); Exile; Charles Esten

It seem like each week someone is making their Grand Ole Opry debut, and as mentioned, this week it is Restless Kelly who is stepping into the circle for the first time.

Restless Kelly is described as an American country rock band that formed in Idaho before moving to Austin, Texas in 1996. The group is led by brothers Willy and Cody Braun, and includes Matt Gracy, Jay Nazz and Joe Miller. After moving to Austin, the group played locally, turning Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar into a noted music venue. While filling the venue on Monday nights, they were also invited to perform at other clubs in the area.

Reckless Kelly's first album, Millican, was officially released in 1998, with other albums to soon follow, with Sunset Motel, released in 2016 being their best charted album, coming in at #12 on the country chart. While the band has been touring, they return to Austin on a regular basis to continue to perform in the local clubs.
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And now, here is the posted Grand Ole Opry line-up from ten years ago, the first weekend in April 2009:

Friday April
7:00: Diamond Rio (host); Jimmy C Newman; Del McCoury Band
7:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Connie Smith; Suzy Bogguss
8:00: Mike Snider (host); Jean Shepard; Aaron Tippin
8:30: Ricky Skaggs (host); Riders In The Sky; The Whites

Saturday April 4
1st show
7:00: Jimmy Dickens (host); The Whites; Del McCoury Band
7:30: Mike Snider (host); Mel McDaniel; Jean Shepard; Buddy Jewell
8:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Jim Ed Brown; Michael Martin Murphy; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Bill Anderson (host); Jimmy C Newman; Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; Joe Diffie

2nd show
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Connie Smith; Del McCoury Band
10:00: Mike Snider (host); Stonewall Jackson; Jean Shepard; Joe Diffie
10:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Buddy Jewell; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Bill Anderson (host); Jim Ed Brown; Michael Martin Murphy

Now from 25 years ago, Saturday April 2, 1994:

1st show
6:30: Bill Anderson (host); Bill Carlisle
6:45: Grandpa Jones (host); Jim Ed Brown; Cox Family
7:00: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jeanne Pruett; Billy Walker; Jean Shepard; Mark Collie
7:30: Ricky Skaggs; Earl Scruggs; Alison Krauss; Vince Gill; Marty Stuart
8:00: Porter Wagoner (host); Jeannie Seely; Jack Greene; Brother Oswald; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); Mel McDaniel; Jimmy C Newman; The Whites; Mike Snider; Laura Weber

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Jimmy C Newman; Jean Shepard; The Four Guys; Colleen Walters
10:00: Bill Anderson (host); Jeanne Pruett
10:15: Grandpa Jones (host); Charlie Walker; Opry Square Dance Band; Melvin Sloan Dancers
10:30: Ricky Skaggs; Earl Scruggs; Alison Krauss; Vince Gill; Marty Stuart
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Billy Walker; Jack Greene; The Whites; Mike Snider; Laura Weber
11:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Connie Smith; Mel McDaniel; Jeannie Seely; Johnny Russell

Finally, from 50 years ago, Saturday April 5, 1969:

7:30: Billy Walker (host); Justin Tubb; Mel Tillis; Lonzo and Oscar; Margie Bowes
8:00: Lester Flatt (host); George Morgan; Jean Shepard; Bob Luman; The Four Guys; Crook Brothers
8:30: Roy Acuff (host); Dottie West; Bill Monroe; Grandpa Jones; Skeeter Davis
9:00: Ernest Tubb (host); Jeannie Seely; Wilma Lee Cooper; Ray Pillow; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Archie Campbell
9:30: Hank Snow (host); Willis Brothers; Stu Phillips; Ernie Ashworth
10:00: George Morgan (host); Mel Tillis; Margie Bowes; Bob Luman
10:15: Lester Flatt (host); Billy Walker Wilma Lee Cooper; Justin Tubb
10:30: Roy Acuff (host); Bill Monroe; Jean Shepard; Lonzo and Oscar
10:45: Ernest Tubb (host); Dottie West; Jeannie Seely; Crook Brothers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Dottie West; Jeannie Seely; Willis Brothers; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Grandpa Jones; Sam McGee
11:30: Marty Robbins (host); Archie Campbell; Ray Pillow; Stu Phillips; Ronnie Robbins; Ernie Ashworth

(And yes, that was not a typo as Jeannie Seely and Dottie West did a duet on two different segments, back to back).
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To finish it up for this week, it was on Saturday April 5, 1975 that Skeeter Davis returned to the Grand Ole Opry for the first time after being suspended from the show in December 1973.

Few artists have traversed the perilous line between country and pop as disarmingly as Mary Frances Penick, a product, fittingly, of the border state of Kentucky. Under the aegis of Nashville Sound mastermind Chet Atkins, she amassed a sizable following in both camps during her sixties heyday. Yet the musical legacy of the outspoken singer has undoubtedly been obscured by a series of personal tragedies and controversies.

Born at the onset of the Depression, Skeeter learned at an early age to harmonize with the singers she heard on the Grand Ole Opry. In high school, she and her best friend, Betty Jack Davis, formed a duo called the Davis Sisters. Radio and television exposure eventually landed them a recording opportunity on RCA in 1952. But as their smashing debut for the label, "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know," began what would be a six-month say on the country charts the following year, Skeeter and Billy Jack were involved in a car accident that fatally injured Betty Jack.

Devastated by the loss, Skeeter nonetheless persevered in her career. Although she and Betty Jack's sister Georgia were unable to duplicate the original Davis Sister' success, Skeeter ultimately established herself as a solo act with such Top Ten hits as "Set Him Free" (1959), the "answer" song "I Can't Help You) I'm Falling To" (1960), and "My Last Date With You" (1961). On these as well as most of Skeeter's early-sixties releases, producer Atkins double-tracked the artists's plaintive voice to re-create the feel of her Davis Sisters work. The subsequent addition of uptown embellishments resulted in a string of crossover hits highlighted by the million selling "The End of  the World" and "I Can't Stay Mad at You" (1963).

Meanwhile, Skeeter became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1959, and wed Nashville media celebrity Ralph Emery one year later. Alas, as would be chronicled in their respective autobiographies, the stormy relationship lasted only until 1964, not much longer than her earlier marriage to the anonymous Kenneth Depew. Later, in 1973, the deeply religious singer became embroiled in a well-publicized dispute with Opry management over her broadcast support for some Jesus people who had been arrested at a local shopping mall. She was suspended for more than a year. Though hitless once the early seventies hit, the seemingly ageless Skeeter continued to perform regularly and he wide-ranging catalog remained of considerable interest to collectors.

Skeeter Davis was always one of my personal favorites on the Opry. Though she battled serious health issues later in her life, she was always a smiling presence on the Opry, generally singing bouncy and happy songs, all while dressed in he colorful skirts. If you have't read her autobiography, it is a good one that I recommend.

In 2001, Skeeter became ill as her breast cancer returned, and the cancer spread through her entire body. While her last Grand Ole Opry performance was in December 2000, she appeared for the final time on a country family reunion show that was taped in August 2002, singing "The End of the World." Skeeter passed away on September 19, 2004 at the age of 72.

And now, here is the running order from the night Skeeter Davis returned, April 5, 1975:

1st show
6:30: Mrs. Grissoms
Charlie Louvin (host): Freight Train Boogie
Bill Carlisle: Too Old to Cut the Mustard
Charlie Louvin: When You Have to Fly Alone/See the Big Man Cry

6:45: Rudy's
Ray Pillow (host): Countryfried
Stu Phillips: She Thinks I Still Care
Del Wood: The Entertainer
Ray Pillow: The Simple Things in Life

7:00: Rudy's
Billy Grammer (host): Lonesome Road Blues
Skeeter Davis: I Can't Help It
Lonzo and Oscar: When I Stop Dreaming
Ernie Ashworth: The High Cost of Living
Skeeter Davis: Bus Fare to Kentucky
Becky Gallion (?): Green Back Dollar
Billy Grammer: What a Friend

7:30: Standard Candy
Charlie Walker (host): Pick Me Up on Your Way Down
Jimmy C Newman: Thibodeaux Cajun Band
Marion Worth: Delta Dawn
Jim and Jesse: Ashes of Love
Charlie Walker: The Last Supper
Crook Brothers and The Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Old Joe Clark
Charlie Walker: Good Deal, Lucille

8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Jeanne Pruett: Just Like Your Daddy
Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper: Poor Ellen Smith
Justin Tubb: Sunshine Lady
Roy Acuff: Carry Me Back to the Mountains
Jeanne Pruett: Hold to My Unchanging Love/Love Me/You Don't Need to Move a Mountain/Satin Sheets
Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper: There's A Big Wheel

8:30: Stephens
Jack Greene (host): and Jeannie Seely: If You're Going Down
Jeannie Seely: Catfish John
Willis Brothers: Truck Stop
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Soldiers Joy
The Four Guys: Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
Jack Greene: There Goes My Everything
Jeannie Seely: He Can Be Mine

2nd show
9:30: Kellogg's
The Four Guys (host): What About Me
Willis Brothers: Give Me 40 Acres
Bill Carlisle: Rough Stuff
Marion Worth: The Hand's You're Holding Now
Ray Pillow: She's Doing it to Me Again
Del Wood: Alabama Jubilee
The Four Guys: Cottonfields/Maria

10:00: Fender
Charlie Walker (host): Stay a Little Longer
Skeeter Davis: I Believe in Music
Lonzo and Oscar: Mountain Dew
Charlie Walker: The Last Supper

10:15: Union 76
Stu Phillips (host): Have I Told You Lately That I Love You/You Win Again/Release Me
Ernie Ashworth: Talk Back Trembling Lips
Rosemary Clooney: Half as Much

10:30: Trailblazer
Roy Acuff (host): Back in the Country
Jim and Jesse: Paradise
Billy Grammer: Peace in the Valley
Roy Acuff: The Great Speckled Bird

10:45: Beech-Nut
Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper (host): Big Midnight Special
Justin Tubb: Loving Arms
Crook Brothers and The Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Black Mountain Rag
Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper: Each Season Changes You

11:00: Coca Cola
Jack Greene (host) and Jeannie Seely: Take Me Home Country Roads
Jeannie Seely: The First Time
Jimmy C Newman; The Potato Song
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Cacklin' Hen
Jack Greene: There Goes My Everything
Jeannie Seely: Delta Dirt
Sam McGee: Victor Rag

11:30: Elm Hill
Marty Robbins (host): Don't Worry
Jeanne Pruett: Just Like Your Daddy/Welcome to the Sunshine
Ronnie Robbins: Mama Tried/If You Love Me Let Me Know
Marty Robbins; Love Me/I'm Wanting To/Devil Woman/El Paso/Ka-Lu-A

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