WSM Friends & Family,
The tradition of the Grand Ole Opry will continue on the airwaves of WSM Radio as it has since 1925. Throughout our history, various events have led Opry management to make difficult decisions about how to alter the show’s format and schedule. Amid recent COVID-19 concerns, the Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest-running radio show, will return to its original format as a live radio broadcast on Saturday nights only without a live audience. Fans around the world can still tune in to the Saturday night broadcasts as scheduled on 650 AM WSM, WSMonline.com, and the WSM mobile app.
WSM and the Opry’s first priority has always been the safety of our employees, guests and artists who have been key in keeping the show that made country music famous on the air every week for over 94 years, and we look forward to keeping that tradition alive.
If you were planning to join us live in the Opry audience for a show between now and April 4, 2020, please check your email or contact the Grand Ole Opry Customer Service at opry.com/contact/ for rebooking information.
May the Circle Be Unbroken,
Your WSM Family
So it looks like it will be a Saturday night show only for at least a few weeks.
Also, Rhonda Vincent posted on her website that her Opry induction has been postponed.
This is really going old school.
ReplyDeleteI can't find the date of the last time the Opry was performed without a live audience, but it appears to go back to at least 1934 when the show moved from National Life's studios to the Hillsboro Theater (now the Belcourt Theater).
I can't say I know much about the Opry's history, but did they continue shows with an audience throughout WWII and in the week following 9/11? Those would be the 2 situations that I would guess they may not have had an audience?
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DeleteJoe, that's a good question as I am sure others had the same thought.
DeleteIn the two situations that you mentioned, the Grand Ole Opry did take place with a live audience. However, there are a couple of times when the Opry did not take place.
Most recently, in April 1968, on the Saturday following the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. A city wide dusk to dawn curfew was put in place in Nashville and the Opry was not allowed to take place. During that afternoon, Roy Acuff put on a short show at his museum, which was on Broadway across the alley from the Ryman Auditorium. However, that night, a previously recorded Opry show was broadcast on WSM.
Prior to that time, the Opry was cancelled in April 1945, the Saturday following the death of FDR. There was a three day national mourning period when radio stations did not broadcast local programming or entertainment. Not only was there no live Opry show, but there was no broadcast of a taped show. However, because of out of town people who did come to Nashville expecting an Opry show, a special stage show took place at the Ryman. George D. Hay put it together and Opry member Pee Wee King was the featured performer. Even though it was not an Opry show, nor broadcast, since it took place at the Ryman Auditorium on a Saturday night, the Opry considers it good enough to claim that their consecutive show streak was still in place.
Tuesday Night 'Opry replay on tonight (Friday).
ReplyDeleteSeems like an odd choice.
Just heard it three nights ago.
I wonder what the plan will be going forward. You would think they would reach back into their archive a bit and would come up with some shows of historical importance.
DeleteAgreed Nat ~ at least it was a good Opry show & Byron, I totally agree with you too. Go back ten or twenty years, maybe they aren't able to do that for whatever the reason or this decision came quickly & this repeat was closest at hand to air.
DeleteHave a ticket in hand to see Blake Shelton & his Hero's & Friends tour Thursday of this coming week. Yesterday, Blake postponed the last five shows on this tour, which includes the Chicago stop. So close & yet so far & disappointed. I have been wanting to see him for a really long time. He is trying to reschedule for Spring of 2021.
Now I have a ticket in my other hand to see Ricky Skaggs later in the month of April. Saw him once when he & his band Kentucky Thunder opened for the Dixie Chicks when they first came out. Sure hope to see him again; fingers crossed.
These Opry shows with no audiences are going to sound very, very strange. It's strange enough to listen to something I already listened to three nights ago. But listening again I am, because it's Friday night!
Stay safe and healthy everyone,
(Jeanene)
As to the weekend following 9/11, yes the Opry went on. We were at all three shows, one Friday and two Saturday. When you entered the Opry for those shows they handed out small American flags to everyone. Prior to each show Pete Fisher made a brief memorial statement and ask for a moment of silence and then ask the crowd and those on stage to stand and sing God Bless America. On Saturday night Charlie Walker sang There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere on the first show and Bill Anderson sang God Bless America Again on both shows. You all know how I am, I'm choked up just writing this and recalling those three shows. How soon I think SOME forget....sadly.
ReplyDeleteJim
Knightsville, IN
Hi Jim, it is a sad time. I listen to WGN radio in NW suburban Chicago every day to stay on top of this but it gets to be a bit overwhelming, but listen I do, as thankfully I am not sick with this virus & I am really trying to keep it that way & I feel terrible for all those who are sick with it or who have died from it.
DeleteEverything that is going on, should be, to keep this country's citizens safe & hopefully not contacting this virus. Schools closing, no sporting events or live concerts or cruises or anything else that groups of people gather together, it's what should be happening. We have to try to make lemonade out of the lemons we are living with right now.
As far as the Opry, they are going to do what they do best, put on the best show they know how with or without an audience. We are all just so used to hearing an audience, but if there is no audience, that's what it means.
While I feel bad for Rhonda Vincent having to wait to be inducted into the Opry ... see what I mean? Close ... but no cigar, there will be another night she is inducted. She's waited this long (and she certainly has) what's a couple more weeks? She already is a Grand Ole Opry star, she just needs that right of passage with the wonderful ceremony for all to see & hear as they all deserve that. So she'll have her day soon.
And if it means I won't be seeing Blake Shelton this coming week, that's just what that means. If he reschedules for next year, we go next year, if not, I don't see him. At this point I would prefer to stay home anyway as I would like to see my grandkids for quite a few years to come. :-)
Hang in there everyone; better to be safe than sorry, have to ride this out & go from there.
(Jeanene)
Opry will be live on Facebook and Circle tonight. The WHOLE show. This will be good.
ReplyDeleteA.B.
I would expect a great show tonight with several unannounced artists.
ReplyDeleteThey have posted a new line-up for tonight:
ReplyDelete7:00: Connie Smith; Sam Williams
7:30: Bill Anderson; Mandy Barnett
8:00: Jeannie Seely; Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
I'm enjoying Sam Williams.
ReplyDeleteWish they would do this type of broadcast EVERY Saturday night.
Enjoy the live show a whole lot more than Bobby Bones, backstage interviews, and other such nonsense! :)
Also on YouTube!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNeeded to hear Connie sing Amazing Grace tonight.
ReplyDeleteThank you Connie.
The picture quality and sound quality is outstanding.
ReplyDeleteI will say all of the artists have done a marvelous job tonight. Impressed with all of them.
ReplyDeleteTHAT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOL!!!!!! FELT SO GOOD TO SEE AND LISTEN TO SOMETHIMG THAT GIVES SOME SENSE OF MORMALCY IN THIS CRAZINESS
ReplyDeleteOutstanding show!
ReplyDeleteIf Gaylord had any sense at all, they would put this on Circle Network, exactly as they did tonight, and watch people flock to it. The 'Opry doesn't need any help from anybody, it's a fantastic show exactly as presented live and in person.
ReplyDeleteCan't thank the Grand Old Opry, WSM and Gaylord enough for entertaining us in this time of trouble, as only they can.
Thumbs down to Circle Network, currently playing some dumb movie. Bronco Billy or some such nonsense. What a waste.
Mike Terry: "We'll be back next Saturday."
Praise the Lord!
Awesome Opry show tonight; what a real treat to watch the show live. Thank you to the Grand Ole Opry for keeping that circle unbroken.
ReplyDelete(Jeanene)
There were certainly aspects of tonight that were outstanding. It was great to be able to actually see the Opry tonight and a few of those songs were the perfect ones to do for tonight. I was disappointed at how short it was (not even 90 minutes). I assume that the remaining artists cancelled and this is what they were left which, and I can certainly understand that being the case in these uncertain times we are suddenly in. I was on board with Byrobn's thinking of some unannounced guests considering the whole industry is now sidelined due to bans on mass gatherings. These shows are the perfect time for the artists like Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, or Garth to show up to the Opry. Maybe the notice was too short, but it will be curious what next week's lineup looks like and whether more of the touring artists show up.
ReplyDeleteByron will probably know the answer to this right off. When was the last time the Opry didn't have the square dancers perform? I guess I should look it up but maybe they didn't back in 2010 during the floods when the Opry was held at the church and couple of other locations. Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteJim
Knithsville, IN
Jim: Marcia Campbell thinks this was the first time that the Square Dancers didn't perform on a Saturday night. Bob
DeleteThe obvious reasons why there were no square dancers last night was because of the CDC recommendations that there be no hand touching and trying to keep people 6 feet apart. For the post part, that held true last night. Pretty much with the exception of Connie standing next to Mike Terry at the podium, there was space between all of the artists.
DeleteLooking back at the Opry line-ups during the time of the flood and the relocation of the Opry, I see one date that no square dancers were listed on the program: May 15 at Two Rivers Church. Perhaps Jim, could you confirm that date or not? That is the only one where I am showing no dancers.
Byron: Yes, I agree that the Saturday May 15 show did not feature the square dancers. The weekend before which was the first Saturday after the flood, they played at the Ryman and they appeared. Then on the 22nd they performed at the War Memorial Auditorium and on the 29th back at the Ryman. June 5 was at Allen Arena at Lipscomb University, the 12th, 19th, 26th back to the Ryman where it appears they stayed on Saturday night until August 28 when they went back to the War Memorial Auditorium where it appears they stayed until Saturday September 11 when they returned to Two Rivers Baptist Church. September 18 we were back to the Ryman as well as the 25th. On Tuesday September 28 the the Opry House was reopened with that Tuesday night Opry with "Country Comes Home: An Opry Celebration.
DeleteThroughout this time, all other Opry performances bounced around to all of the various facilities listed. Sometimes Friday would be at a place other than where the following Saturday show would be.
So, from what I see, that May 15th show was the only Saturday through the flood event that the Square Dancers did not appear.
Doesn't seem like it has been ten years!
As to last night, it was really nice to see the Opry live. I hope they will continue this through the 4th. Some appropriate songs were performed and leave it to Bill Anderson to just happen to have a new song that fits the occasion so well. This is what needs to be happening right now, adjustments made to our routines that keep some notion of normalcy. Another great job by Dan Rogers and company.
Thanks Byron.
Jim
Knightsville, IN
DeleteI got carried away in that time line above. All CAPS below show the correction!
June 5 was at Allen Arena at Lipscomb University, the 12th, 19th, 26th back to the Ryman where it appears they stayed on Saturday night until August 28 when they went back to the War Memorial Auditorium THEN BACK TO THE RYMAN THE NEXT WEEK WHERE they stayed until Saturday September 11 when they returned to Two Rivers Baptist Church. September 18 we were back to the Ryman as well as the 25th.
Jim
Knightsville, IN
Jim, Ol' Whisper probably spun that one off in the past week!
DeleteI was thinking about this. We talked about other artists stepping up. Another reason for the younger ones to do more is the ages of the three members who performed Saturday night: Bill is 82, Jeannie turns 80 this year (she probably doesn't want that said too loud), and Connie is 78. They all look spectacularly healthy (and if I may say so of Jeannie and Connie, just plain spectacular). But that's the age group that has to be most careful not to get exposed.
The show last night was uplifting and gave us hope. The artists and Mike Terry did a wonderful job. The video quality was excellent.
ReplyDeleteBig thanks to all who put this show together last night.
That was wonderful, and, absolutely, this is a chance for some of the touring artists to show what they really think of the Opry and the audience.
ReplyDeleteI saw that WSM and the Opry is going to replay Dolly Parton's 50th anniversary show tonight in place of the Tuesday Night Opry.
ReplyDeleteNice start but personally I was hoping they would go further back in their archives. Maybe they will as time goes on.
I wonder if there's a clause in some of the older sponsors contracts that prohibit re-airing of an Opry if they are no longer a sponsor. I don't know if that's even possible, but it's just a thought.
DeleteA.B.
I suspect it is more of a case of they can still charge the current sponsors for sponsoring the Tuesday night programming by airing their current sponsors. If they do go back in time further, I would suspect that WSM may insert new ads into the show so that they can still get advertising money for those time slots.
DeleteThe Opry is going to livestream again this Saturday night. Last Saturday, almost half a million viewers watched the show.
ReplyDeleteByron, where can I find that ?? ---thanks -- Dash
ReplyDeleteThe easiest place that I found it last week was on Facebook, but they were also promoting that it was on Youtube, their website, and I believe on the actual Circle TV network.
DeleteThe Opry Was NOT on Circle Network Saturday night.
ReplyDeleteBronco Billy, a really lame movie, was on Circle Network instead.
Half a million on Facebook live, etc, while I will bet good money FAR fewer watched Bronco Billy on Circle Network.
Circle Network flat blew it, especially since they profess to be a Nashville based network. Shame on 'em.
My email to Charlie Mattos and incessant griping must have worked.
ReplyDeleteNot likely I had anything to do with it, but I would like to think so.
From the Circle TV Network website:
"Due to global events, country music fans can’t come to Nashville to see the Grand Ole Opry – so Circle and the Opry are bringing the Historic Saturday Night Opry to the globe with an acoustic version of the iconic show.
The Grand Ole Opry will keep the music playing (and the artists safe) while bringing us together during this powerful LIVE event.
To watch, tune in on Saturday, March 21 at 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT. If Circle is broadcast in your area, you can tune in on your digital antenna."
Now we're talking!
No Bobbie Bones, no dressing room interviews, just the live 'Opry.
Good move Circle TV Network! :)
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ReplyDeleteReading some of the questions about Opry performances in earlier crisis situations made me wonder if the shows went on as usual the weekend of JFK'S assassination? Do anyone have info? (Steve)
ReplyDeleteYes, the Opry did take place that night. However, I don't have a program or line-up in my files.
DeleteSo glad that Circle is going to carry the Opry over the air - will be much better to watch on 54" screen versus a 7" screen.
ReplyDelete