Grand Ole Opry 10/25 & 10/26

The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate its final weekend for 2019 at the Grand Ole Opry House as next weekend the Opry will begin its three month winter run at the Ryman Auditorium. To close it out, there will be one show on Friday night and two shows Saturday.

There are a trio of Grand Ole Opry members who will be appearing both nights, and that list includes Mike Snider, Riders In The Sky and John Conlee. Joining that trio on the Friday Night Opry will be members The Whites, Bobby Osborne and Crystal Gayle. Crystal will be meeting fans and signing copies of her new CD after the show.

On Saturday night, joining Mike, John and the Riders, will be members Bill Anderson, Jeannie Seely, and the newly married Trace Adkins. Jesse McReynolds, who has been missing for the past month, is scheduled for just the first show. Hopefully he is well enough and strong enough to appear. He is missed on the Opry.

Look at those on the guest list for Friday night, there are a couple of names that stand out. It is nice to see the Malpass Brothers on the schedule. They have been on the Opry a couple of times and have impressed. Also scheduled is Pure Prairie League and Sons of the Pioneers, who at this point you could probably call the Grandsons of the Pioneers. (I know, bad joke). While the members of this group have changed, they are still out there singing those western songs and are a popular attraction, especially in the west. Also scheduled to appear are William Michael Morgan and Emily West. By the way, the Friday Night Opry is sold out.

Saturday night has another of those artists who I think would make a very good Opry member, and that is Suzy Bogguss. I just enjoy her very much. Allison Moorer hasn't been on the Opry in some time, and she is also scheduled, along with the young and popular Hunter Hayes, and making her Opry debut, Madison Kozak.

Friday October 25
7:00: Mike Snider (host); William Michael Morgan; Malpass Brothers
7:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Emily West; Sons of the Pioneers
Intermission
8:15: John Conlee (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Pure Prairie League
8:45: The Whites (host); Crystal Gayle

Saturday October 26
1st show
7:00: John Conlee (host); Allison Moorer; Jesse McReynolds
7:30: Bill Anderson (host); Madison Kozak; Suzy Bogguss
8:00: Jeannie Seely (host); Mike Snider; Hunter Hayes; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Trace Adkins

2nd show
9:30: John Conlee (host); Allison Moorer; Hunter Hayes
10:00: Bill Anderson (host); Mike Snider; Suzy Bogguss
10:30: Jeannie Seely (host); Madison Kozak; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Riders In The Sky (host); Trace Adkins

As mentioned, Saturday night will be the Grand Ole Opry debut for Madison Kozak.

To rising country singer, songwriter, and musician Madison Kozak, it feels fitting that her debut, “First Last Name,” pays tribute to a father-daughter relationship. Not only did the touching ballad kickstart her career by leading to a publishing deal with powerhouse company Big Loud, but it also feels meaningful because it was Madison's dad who taught the Nashville-based artist everything she knows and loves about country music. Growing up the seventh child in a family of eight siblings in rural Ontario, Kozak treasured precious time with her father, who introduced her to the greats — Loretta Lynn (Kozak’s first concert), Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash — and also taught her to play guitar when he discovered she loved to sing.
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And now, here is the posted Grand Ole Opry line-up from ten years ago, the final weekend in October 2009:

Friday October 23
7:00: Jean Shepard (host); Jimmy C Newman; Ashton Shepherd
7:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; Emily West
8:00: Mike Snider (host); Jan Howard; Keith Anderson
8:30: Ricky Skaggs (host); Riders In The Sky; The Whites

Saturday October 24
1st show
7:00: Jimmy Dickens (host); Jimmy C Newman; Mallary Hope
7:30: Mike Snider (host); The Whites; Montgomery Gentry
8:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); Trace Adkins; Opry Square Dancers
8:30: Jean Shepard (host); Jack Greene; Oak Ridge Boys

2nd show
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Mallary Hope
10:00: Mike Snider (host); The Whites; Montgomery Gentry
10:30: Jean Shepard (host); Trace Adkins; Opry Square Dancers
11:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); Jack Greene; Oak Ridge Boys

From 25 years ago, Saturday October 22, 1994:

1st show
6:30: Bill Monroe (host); Connie Smith
6:45: Billy Walker (host); Bill Carlisle
7:00: Jack Greene (host); Hank Locklin; Jan Howard; Mel McDaniel
7:30: Bill Anderson (host); Clinton Gregory; The Four Guys
8:00: Porter Wagoner (host); Ronna Reeves; Del McCoury Band; Opry Square Dance Band; The Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); The Whites; Jimmy C Newman; Mike Snider

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Del McCoury Band; Jan Howard; Brother Oswald
10:00: Bill Monroe (host); Mike Snider
10:15: Jack Greene (host); Hank Locklin
10:30: Bill Anderson (host); Clinton Gregory
10:45: Jimmy C Newman (host); Billy Walker; Opry Square Dance Band; The Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Ronna Reeves; Mel McDaniel
11:30: The Four Guys (host); Charlie Walker; The Whites

Finally, from 50 years ago, Saturday October 25, 1969:

1st show
6:30: Wilburn Brothers (host); Wilma Lee Cooper; Bobby Lewis
6:45: Willis Brothers (host); Del Wood; Wilma Burgess
7:00: Bill Anderson (host); George Morgan; Jan Howard; Billy Grammer
7:30: Roy Acuff (host); Earl Scruggs Revue; Jim and Jesse; Crook Brothers; Charlie Daniels
8:00: Del Reeves (host); Charlie Walker; The Four Guys; Bill Carlisle
8:30: Bill Monroe (host); Lonzo and Oscar; Ray Pillow; Fruit Jar Drinkers

2nd show
9:30: Wilburn Brothers (host); Willis Brothers; Bobby Lewis; Wilma Lee Cooper
10:00: George Morgan (host); The Four Guys; Del Wood
10:15: Del Reeves (host); Jim and Jesse
10:30: Charlie Walker (host); Billy Grammer; Ray Pillow
10:45: Roy Acuff (host); Earl Scruggs Revue; Crook Brothers
11:00: Bill Monroe (host); Bill Carlisle; Wilma Burgess; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Sam McGee
11:30: Marty Robbins (host); Lonzo and Oscar; Don Winters
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To finish it up, it was 16 years ago, Saturday October 25, 2003 that Del McCoury became a member of the Grand Ole Opry:

"My dad always had the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcasts on every Saturday night, and Bill [Monroe] was my favorite on that show." - Del McCoury

When Delano Floyd McCoury was young, his family relocated from North Carolina to just north of the Mason Dixon Line in York County, Pennsylvania. Del's older brother, G.C., introduced the young boy to bluegrass through the music of Flatt & Scruggs. Before long, he had taken up the banjo, and by the early 1960s he was playing bluegrass in the honky tonks of the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area. In 1963, Del made his first Grand Ole Opry appearances when he was recruited by Bill Monroe to join his Blue Grass Boys. Though he was hired as a banjo player, Bill soon made him into a guitar player and lead singer.

"The first time I played the Opry," recalls Del, "I wasn't in the union yet, and you had to belong to the local union in Nashville to be able to play. You could sing, but you couldn't play. So, my first night on the Opry with Bill, I sang and I didn't play. After that, Bill got me in the union. It's funny — Bill could do that. I guess he had a lot of pull here in this town."

When Del left the band the following year, he continued as a lead singer — first during a brief stint in California with the Golden State Boys, and then back in Pennsylvania with his own band, the Dixie Pals.

For the next quarter of a century, Del was a part-time musician, working as a logging truck driver to support his growing family while playing at bluegrass festivals on the weekends. Though he couldn't devote himself entirely to music, his reputation as a singer of unsurpassed intensity grew steadily.

Del's son Ronnie began playing with the band on a part-time basis in 1981 at age 14. Six years later, Robbie McCoury made his debut with the band. At the beginning of the '90s, Del and his family moved to Nashville to pursue music full-time as The Del McCoury Band. With Mike Bub (since replaced by Alan Bartram) on bass and Jason Carter on fiddle, the group quickly developed into one of the finest units to ever grace a bluegrass stage, and by the end of the decade they had become the top winner at the International Bluegrass Music Association's annual awards.

Throughout the '90s and into the new millennium, The Del McCoury Band — a nine-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association's Entertainer of the Year award — has embodied bluegrass' best qualities. In 2003, the group established its own record label, McCoury Music, and, two years later, won a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy for The Company We Keep.

Today, the Del McCoury Band enjoys the praise of traditional bluegrass lovers and tie-dyed clad "Del-Heads" alike. Their current dates range from performing arts centers to hardcore bluegrass festivals. After years of playing hip, youth-oriented jamfests such as Bonnaroo and High Sierra, Del launched his own in 2008 — the popular four-day DelFest in Cumberland, Maryland. Spreading the bluegrass gospel wherever he goes, Del has proven not to be a relic of bluegrass music's past, but an architect of its future.

Here is the running order from Saturday October 25, 2003, the night Del McCoury became a member of the Grand Ole Opry: 

1st show

6:30: Tennessee Pride

Jimmy Dickens (host): Out Behind the Barn

The Whites: Hangin' Around

Osborne Brothers: Rocky Top

Jim Ed Brown: The 3 Bells

Jimmy Dickens: Mountain Dew

7:00: WSM online.com/Standard Candy

Emerson Drive: Dreaming About You/Waiting on Me

George Hamilton IV (host): Truck Drivin' Man

Rodney Atkins: My Old Man/Honesty

Del McCoury Band: The Red Head Girl/Hillcrest Drive

Patty Loveless and Del McCoury; I'm Working on a Building

George Hamilton IV: Abilene/We Will Meet Again

8:00: Martha White

Porter Wagoner (host): Sugarfoot Rag

Jimmy C Newman: Allons ah Lafayette

Jean Shepard: Slippin' Away

Mel McDaniel: Louisiana Saturday Night/Stand Up

Opry Square Dance Band: Snow Flake Reel

Porter Wagoner: Suppertime

8:30: Tootsie's

Mike Snider (host): Shuckin' the Corn

Billy Walker: Funny How Time Slips Away

Connie Smith: Darling, Are You Ever Coming Home

Hal Ketchum: Awaiting Redemption/Stay Forever

Mike Snider: If My Nose was Runnin'

2nd show

9:30: Coca-Cola

Jimmy Dickens (host): Me and My Big Loud Mouth

The Whites: Makin' Believe/Swing Down Chariot

Mel McDaniel: Louisiana Saturday Night/Stand Up

Jimmy Dickens: I'd Rather Sleep in Peace

10:00: Caribbean Cruise

Porter Wagoner (host): Company's Comin'

Jan Howard: The One You Slip Around With

Jeannie Seely: When He Leaves You

Emerson Drive: Falling to Me/Fishing in the Dark

Porter Wagoner: I've Enjoyed as Much of This as I Can Stand

10:30: Dreamworks

Hal Ketchum (host): Without Your Love

Stu Phillips: If Loving You Means Anything

Connie Smith: I'll Come Runnin' to You/You've Got Me Right Where You Want Me

Opry Square Dance Band: Whiskey Before Breakfast

Hal Ketchum: It's a 5 O'Clock World

11:00: Cingular Wireless

Jean Shepard (host): Gone, Gone, Gone

Billy Walker: Word Games

Jimmy C Newman; Diggy Liggy Lo/Cajun Stripper

Del McCoury Band: I'll Dry My Tears/A Cheap Love Affair

Jean Shepard: Together Again

11:30: Merle Haggard CD

Mike Snider (host): Acorn Hill/Crazy Creek

Rodney Atkins: My Old Man/Honesty

Jack Greene: Walking the Floor Over You/Night Life

Mike Snider: Snuff Dipper

There you have it for this week. As always, thanks for reading and commenting. And as always, I hope everyone enjoys the Opry this weekend.