Grand Ole Opry 2/28 & 2/29

The Grand Ole Opry finishes up the month of February, and leap year, with two solid shows that feature a lot of variety and a good group of Opry members.

Looking at Grand Ole Opry members scheduled this weekend, Bill Anderson, Jeannie Seely and Mike Snider are scheduled for both Friday and Saturday night. Joining that trio on Friday night will be Connie Smith, The Whites, Steve Wariner and Bobby Osborne, while on Saturday night John Conlee and Josh Turner are on the schedule.

It is very nice to see Rhonda Vincent listed for the Friday Night Opry. I know many of us feel that Rhonda should have been asked to have become an Opry member several decades ago. It still has not happened, even though Rhonda has said that she would like to be an Opry member. We should all be grateful that even though membership has not come to her, she still appears on the Opry when her busy schedule allows and she is asked.

Joining Rhonda on Friday night is another frequent guest, Charles Esten. Even though "Nashville" has been cancelled, Charles still is pushing on with this music career. Also scheduled is Smithfield, Kalie Shorr and Sister Hazel.

The guest list for Saturday night has The Isaacs, Carly Pearce, Caylee Hammack, Dom Flemons and songwriter and Hall of Fame member Don Schlitz.

Friday February 28
7:00: Connie Smith (host); Smithfield; Mike Snider
7:30: Jeannie Seely (host); The Whites; Rhonda Vincent
Intermission
8:15: Bill Anderson (host); Kalie Shorr; Sister Hazel
8:45: Steve Wariner (host); Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press; Charles Esten

Saturday February 29
7:00: John Conlee (host); Caylee Hammack; Mike Snider
7:30: Bill Anderson (host); Dom Flemons; Don Schlitz
Intermission
8:15: Jeannie Seely (host); Carly Pearce; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Josh Turner (host); The Isaacs

Of the 12 acts on the Friday Night Opry, 7 are Opry members, while 5 of the 10 acts on Saturday are members of the Opry.
_____________________________________________________________________

Looking back at past Grand Ole Opry moments, there are two this week that I wanted to highlight.

The first is from Saturday February 28, 1987 as it was on this night that Grand Ole Opry member Archie Campbell last appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. 

Country comedian Archie Campbell was born on November 7, 1914 in Bulls Gap, Tennessee. Best known for his work on the long-running television show Hee Haw, his early career success came at Knoxville radio station WNOX, where, beginning in 1936, he was featured on the Mid-Day Merry Go Round. It was here that he developed his “Grandpappy” character. In 1937 he moved to WDOD in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he stayed until joining the Navy in 1941. After the War, he returned to WNOX, and in addition to his radio work, Archie added a television show called Country Playhouse. That show ran for six years, from 1952 till 1958. 

In 1958, Archie moved to Nashville and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was featured on the Prince Albert segment of the show. In 1959, he signed a recording contract with RCA Victor. He reached the country Top 25 in 1960 with "Trouble in the Amen Corner," but later singles flopped. He moved to Starday in 1962, but found no success there either. Another stint with RCA beginning in 1966 brought the Top 20 entry "The Men in My Little Girl's Life." Two other singles -- "The Dark End of the Street" and "Tell It like It Is" -- hit the Top 30 in 1968, but his chart activity declined after he joined Hee Haw in 1968. He recorded several comedy/music albums, including Bull Session at Bull's Creek (with Junior Samples) and a self-titled album for Elektra in 1976. He also hosted the TNN interview show Yesteryear during 1984.

In his later years, Archie also owned and performed in a theater in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. As a result, his Opry appearances would generally take place in the winter months, when the theater was closed, or when he was in Nashville to tape Hee Haw appearances. 

In addition to being a great comedian, Archie was also a noted painter and painted the mural that is on the wall in the green/family room backstage at the Grand Ole Opry House. 

Archie was also the first Grand Ole Opry comedian who refused to wear the country rube comedian outfit that Opry comedians traditionally wore. Instead, Archie would perform in either a business suit, or casual business attire.  

Archie, who suffered from heart issues, passed away on August 29, 1987. 

Here is the running order from Saturday February 28, 1987, Archie Campbell's final night at the Grand Ole Opry: 

1st show

6:30: Bonanza
Stonewall Jackson (host): Muddy Water
The Four Guys: Love, Love, Love
Stonewall Jackson: Why, I'm Walkin'/Waterloo

6:45: Rudy's
Archie Campbell (host): Make Friends
Skeeter Davis: My Last Date/Silver Threads & Golden Needles/The End of the World

7:00: Shoney's
Hank Snow (host): Right or Wrong
Charlie Walker: Roly Poly
Boxcar Willie: Fireball Mail/Train of Love/Hand Me Down My Walking Cane/Wreck of the Old 97/Orange Blossom Special/Wabash Cannonball/Night Train to Memphis
Dottie West: Your Cheatin' Heart/Are You Happy Baby
Hank Snow: The Next Voice You Hear

7:30: Standard Candy
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Jim Ed Brown: Scarlet Ribbons/The 3 Bells
Connie Smith: Walk Me to the Door
George Hamilton IV: Break My Mind
Crook Brothers and The Melvin Sloan Dancers: Greenback Dollar
Roy Acuff: I'll Fly Away

8:00: Martha White
Porter Wagoner (host): Company's Comin'
Osborne Brothers: Beneath Still Waters
Jack Greene: Our Time
Jeanne Pruett: Temporarily Yours
The Whites: I Wonder Who's Holding My Baby Tonight
Porter Wagoner and Becky Hinson: Milwaukee, Here I Come

8:30: Music Valley
Grandpa Jones (host): My Happy Little Home in Arkansas
Billy Walker: She Goes Walking Thru My Mind/Sing Me a Love Song To Baby
Jean Shepard: Slippin' Away
Roy Drusky: Always
Del Reeves: While I Play Those Honky Tonk Songs, She Sings Amazing Grace
Grandpa Jones: Time

2nd show
9:30: Dollar General
Porter Wagoner (host): 'Ol Slewfoot
Lorrie Morgan: Lone Star State of Mind
The Four Guys: Bop
Dottie West: It's High Time/Faded Love
Porter Wagoner: I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name

10:00: Little Debbie
Archie Campbell (host): Make Friends
Jeannie Seely: Don't Touch Me

10:15: Sunbeam
Roy Acuff (host): Meeting in the Air
Boxcar Willie: Fireball Mail/Train of Love/Hand Me Down My Walking Cane/Wreck of the Old 97/I'm Moving On/Wabash Cannonball/Night Train to Memphis/Life's Railway to Heaven

10:30: Pet Milk
Grandpa Jones (host): Apple Jack
Jean Shepard: Are You Teaching Me
Charlie Louvin: Please Help Me
Grandpa Jones: Here Comes the Champion

10:45: Heil-Quaker
Jim Ed Brown (host): Everyday People
Roy Drusky: I'll Hold You in My Heart
Crook Brothers and The Melvin Sloan Dancers: Sally Goodin
Jim Ed Brown: Send Me the Pillow You Dream On

11:00: Coca Cola
Hank Snow (host): White Silver Sands
Connie Smith: Walkin' After Midnight
Osborne Brothers: Kentucky
The Whites: Makin' Believe/Pins & Needles
Hank Snow: Am I That Easy to Forget

11:30: Quincy's
Del Reeves (host): The Race is On
Jeanne Pruett: Temporarily Yours/Satin Sheets
Del Reeves: Don't You Every Get Tired of Hurting Me
Jack Greene: Midnight Tennessee Woman/There Goes My Everything/Statue of a Fool

Personally, I have always felt that Archie Campbell deserves a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Leap year only comes once every four years, and leap year in 1992 was pretty special for one Grand Ole Opry member as it was on February 29th of that year that Travis Tritt became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Here is the line-up from that night 28 years ago, when Porter Wagoner inducted Travis Tritt as the Opry's newest member:

1st show
6:30: Bill Anderson (host); Skeeter Davis; David Houston
6:45: Del Reeves (host); Charlie Louvin; Jimmy C Newman
7:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); Jan Howard; Mike Snider; Jean Shepard; Ray Pillow
7:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Trisha Yearwood; Travis Tritt
8:00: Roy Acuff (host); Connie Smith; The Four Guys; Opry Square Dance Band; Stoney Mountain Cloggers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); The Whites; Stonewall Jackson; Boxcar Willie; Roy Drusky

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Jean Shepard; Charlie Louvin; Jeannie Seely; Travis Tritt
10:00: Jim Ed Brown (host); Trisha Yearwood
10:15: Roy Acuff (host); Mike Snider
10:30: Boxcar Willie (host); Wilma Lee Cooper
10:45: Bill Anderson (host); Jimmy C Newman; Opry Square Dance Band; Stoney Mountain Cloggers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Charlie Walker; Bill Carlisle; Justin Tubb; Del Reeves
11:30: The Four Guys (host); Roy Drusky; The Whites; Connie Smith

Here is what Travis Tritt wrote about the Grand Ole Opry and that night:

"The Grand Ole Opry stands still as one of the biggest traditional gods, if you will, that we pay homage to in the business. In country music, there's not a single person whose grandfather or father doesn't have a story about listening to the Grand Ole Opry around a little small AM radio or one of those big console AM radios when they were a kid. My dad told me about it when he was young. I listened to the Grand Ole Opry, watched it on television when I was young. Every person in country music, I think, has got a story like that."

"I always thought that I was too rowdy and too much of a rocker, or too heavily influenced by the other side, to be asked to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry. When I was inducted, I was the youngest member that had ever been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. I guess the added excitement of never thinking that I would be there mixed with what tremendously high esteem that that particular institution is held in by my family, and by all the people that I know, to be a part of that institution is just absolutely one of the coolest things that I could ever be associated with."

After Porter Wagoner passed away in 2007, Travis Tritt stayed away from the Opry for 10 years. While nothing was said, there was the feeling that Travis was attached to Porter and did not care for how Porter was treated by Opry management toward the end of Porter's career. Take it for what it is worth, but Travis did not return to the Opry until a former Opry general manager left. To be fair, it could have been just a coincidence. Maybe or maybe not.

Another note from that night was the Opry debut of Trisha Yearwood. It would take Trisha a few years, but in 1999 she would join the cast of the show.

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