Grand Ole Opry Saturday June 13

Update: Two more acts have been added for Saturday night: Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum will be doing double duty on Saturday as The Scott Family has been added. In addition, frequent Opry guest Charlie Worsham has also been added. Two good choices to round out the schedule.

Before getting to this weeks show, the Grand Ole Opry broke the news yesterday that on Saturday June 27, the legendary Jimmy Buffett will be making his Opry debut. Joining Jimmy will be Opry member Brad Paisley along with Mac McAnally. That's a big score for the Opry and I am sure that there will be a lot of publicity and new viewers to the Opry. That's the good news.

As we look ahead, Nashville is still in Phase 2 as to reopening. What that means is that the Opry still cannot conduct shows with a live audience at the Grand Ole Opry House. They will be unable to do so until Nashville moves into Phase 3. Sometime in July has been the target date for a return to live audiences at the Opry House, however, with Phase 2 extended it could be tough for the Opry to meet that goal. That's the bad news.

Finally, last week's show was fine. Steve Wariner was his usual good self and acted as host for the hour. There was a lot of young talent on the stage with Carly Pearce, Lee Brice and Michael Ray, each of whom has appeared on the Opry numerous times. In fact, Saturday was Carly's 75th guest appearance and Michael isn't that far behind. It is always good to see young artists, who understand what the Opry is all about, supporting the show. Who knows? Someday, they may be members.

Now moving ahead to this week and as Bobby Bones announced last Saturday night, Lady Antebellum will be on the Opry this week. Unfortunately, as I type this out, the trio is the only act announced for this weeks show. Kind of disappointing that there apparently will be no Opry member present. It has happened before and I am sure it will happen again, Just sad to see that with almost 70 members, one couldn't have been scheduled.
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From 25 years ago, Saturday June 10, 1995:

1st show
6:30: Bill Monroe (host); Clinton Gregory
6:45: Grandpa Jones (host); Osborne Brothers
7:00: Jimmy C Newman (host); Bill Carlisle; Charlie Louvin; The Whites
7:30: Bill Anderson (host); Billy Walker; Rhonda Vincent
8:00: Porter Wagoner (host); Jeannie Seely; Charlie Walker; Johnny Russell; Opry Square Dance Band; The Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); Jim Ed Brown; The Four Guys; Skeeter Davis; Mike Snider

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Brother Oswald; The Whites; Clinton Gregory
10:00: Bill Monroe (host); Charlie Louvin
10:15: Jimmy C Newman (host); Osborne Brothers
10:30: Grandpa Jones (host); Mike Snider
10:45: Bill Anderson (host); Stu Phillips; Opry Square Dance Band; The Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); The Four Guys; Billy Walker; George Hamilton IV; Stonewall Jackson
11:30: Jim Ed Brown (host); Johnny Russell; Charlie Walker; Jeannie Seely

Clinton Gregory was on the schedule for that night. In the 1990s,  he was on the Opry quite a few times, but in recent years has somewhat faded away.

A singer, fiddler, and guitarist who became a star in both country and bluegrass, Clinton Gregory was born in Martinville, Virginia on March 1, 1966. He grew up surrounded by music; his father, Willie Gregory, was a gifted fiddler who came from a long line of musicians and encouraged his son to follow in his footsteps. Clinton began playing the violin when he was five years old, and a year later he was good enough to perform at bluegrass festivals.

When Clinton was 12, his family relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where Willie had landed a gig at the Grand Ole Opry. As Clinton continued to focus on his music, he developed a reputation of his own in the Music City, and began working steadily as a sideman and session player with some of the leading country acts of the day. In 1990, Gregory stepped into the spotlight by releasing his first solo album, Music 'n Me, for the independent country label Step One Records. The album was well-received, but it was Clinton's second long-player, 1991's If It Weren't for Country Music I'd Go Crazy, that proved to be his commercial breakthrough. The title tune became a hit, peaking at 26 on the country singles charts, and three other tunes from the LP earned airplay as singles.

Freeborn ManReleased in 1992, Freeborn Man spawned Gregory's biggest hit, the single "Play, Ruby, Play," which rose to 25 on the country singles chart and another tune from the album, "Who Needs It," fared nearly as well, topping out at 29. By this time, Clinton was appearing frequently at the Grand Ole Opry. (In February 1992, Clinton performed on the Opry stage alongside his father, who died only two months later.) However, after the 1993 album Master of Illusion failed to live up to commercial expectations, Clinton left Step One for a major-label, Polydor. His first album for Polydor, 1995's Clinton Gregory, sold modestly, and a variety of professional and personal setbacks soon followed.

For the better part of the next ten years, Gregory was off the music industry's radar, but in 2005 he returned to music thanks to Neil Young. Young invited Gregory to play on his album Prairie Wind, and to join his band for the concerts that were filmed for the documentary Neil Young: Heart of Gold.

In the wake of his work with Young, Gregory made his way back into performing and songwriting, and in 2012 he completed his first album in 17 years, Too Much Ain't Enough. Released by the independent Melody Roundup label, Too Much Ain't Enough was well received by critics and fans, and a second album, the bluegrass-oriented The Roots of My Raising, appeared in 2013. That album was his last one to have made the charts.
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Now from 50 years ago, Saturday June 13, 1970:

1st show
6:30: Willis Brothers (host); Jack Barlow; Louie Roberts
6:45: Stu Phillips (host); Liz Anderson; Hager Twins
7:00: Bill Monroe (host); Hank Locklin; Stringbean; Jeanne Pruett; Johnny Carver
7:30: Billy Grammer (host); Susan Raye; Leroy Van Dyke; Crook Brothers
8:00: Roy Acuff (host); Martha Carson; Bill Carlisle; Lorene Mann
8:30: Billy Walker (host); Marion Worth; Billy Troy; Fruit Jar Drinkers

2nd show
9:30: Willis Brothers (host); Susan Raye; Hager Twins; Jack Barlow
10:00: Stu Phillips (host); Stringbean; Liz Anderson
10:15: Hank Locklin (host); Jeanne Pruett; Louie Roberts
10:30: Bill Monroe (host); Bill Carlisle; Lorene Mann
10:45: Roy Acuff (host); Martha Carson; Crook Brothers
11:00: Billy Walker (host); Billy Grammer; Leroy Van Dyke; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Sam McGee
11:30: Marty Robbins (host); Marion Worth; Johnny Carver; Billy Troy; Ronnie Robbins
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Looking back to a special night, June 12, 2004 , the night Terri Clark became the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Raised in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Terri Clark grew up on country music — not only hearing records by contemporary artists including Reba McEntire, Ricky Skaggs, and The Judds, but learning from family members, including her grandparents.

By the time she finished high school, she was already making local appearances. Shortly after that came a trip to Nashville, where she honed her craft playing for tips at clubs. Signing with Mercury Records in 1994, she hit the charts in short order with four Top 10 hits (“Better Things to Do,” “When Boy Meets Girl,” “If I Were You,” and “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me”) as Billboard named her its Top New Female Country Artist in 1995. The following year, she picked up her first Canadian Country Music Award, underlining what would turn out to be enduring home country appeal.

For the remainder of the decade, Terri continued to score well at country radio with hits including “Now That I Found You,” “You’re Easy on the Eyes” (her first No. 1), and “Every Time I Cry.” But even as her popularity continued, she began to reach more deeply in her songwriting and performance. In 2000 she released the introspective Fearless, which earned critical acclaim for its artistry and a Top 20 single in “A Little Gasoline.” Two years later, she returned with Pain to Kill, an album that balanced the depth of its predecessor with more radio-friendly production and generated hits including “I Just Wanna Be Mad,” which was the first No. 1 country hit by a female artist in more than two years. In 2004 Mercury released her Greatest Hits collection (which included a new No. 1 hit, “Girls Lie Too”) and Terri joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry.

“Just to be on the Opry is an honor,” Terri says today. “I never thought I’d get to be a member. It’s a tremendous responsibility, too. I feel like a lot of us who are younger members of the Opry really need to make sure that we pass down the tradition of it, and make sure that younger people who are getting into country music know what it means.”

Here is the running order from 16 years ago, Saturday June 12, 2004, the night Terri Clark joined the Grand Ole Opry:

1st show
6:30: Tennessee Pride
Jimmy Dickens (host): Take An Old Cold Tater
Jeannie Seely: Anytime/When He Leaves You
Osborne Brothers: Rock of Ages/Rocky Top
Jimmy Dickens: Mountain Dew

7:00: Tootsie's/Standard Candy
Marty Stuart (host): Rock Island Line
Terri Clark: Girls Lie Too
Mel Tillis: It's A Love Revival/Southern Rains
Mel and Pam Tillis: Waiting on the Wind
Billy Dean: Billy the Kid
Terri Clark: Walkin' After Midnight/I Wanna Do It All
Marty Stuart: Hillbilly Rock

8:00: Martha White
Mike Snider (host): Instrumental
Jean Shepard: Tennessee Waltz
Billy Walker: Don't Stop in My World
Connie Smith: IF It Ain't Love
Opry Square Dance Band; Bile Them Cabbage Down
Mike Snider: Puttin' on the Dog (The Fur Coat)/Fire on the Mountain

8:30: Caribbean Cruise
Bill Anderson (host): Don't She Look Good
George Hamilton IV & V We Will Meet Again
Jimmy C Newman; La Cajun Band
Pam Tillis: Deep Down/Mi Vida Loca
Bill Anderson: Deck of Cards

2nd show
9:30: Coca-Cola
Jimmy Dickens (host): Sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed
Jim Ed Brown: Looking Back to See/The 3 Bells
Billy Dean: Thank God I'm A Country Boy/Billy the Kid
Jimmy Dickens: I'd Rather Sleep in Peace

10:00: Resort Quest
Pam Tillis (host): Band in the Window
Jean Shepard: Virginia; Second Fiddle
Mel Tillis: Good Woman Blues/I Got the Horse; You've Got the Saddle
The Stutteretes: Once A Day/I Fall to Pieces/ You Ain't Woman Enough/Stand By Your Man
Pam and Mel Tillis: Detroit City

10:30: Caribbean Cruise
Marty Stuart (host): The Whiskey Ain't working Anymore
Hank Locklin: Please Help Me I'm Falling
Connie Smith: How Long; How Long/You & Your Sweet Love
Opry Square Dance Band: Cherokee Shuffle
Marty Stuart: In the Pines

11:00: WSMonline.com
Bill Anderson (host): I Love You Drops
George Hamilton IV & V: We Will Meet Again
Jimmy C Newman: Sugar Bee
Terri Clark: Girls Lie Too/Walkin' After Midnight
Bill Anderson: Too Country

11:30: Opry Visa Card
Mike Snider (host): Angeline the Baker/Soldier's Joy/Old Molly Hare
Billy Walker: I'm Back on the Mountain Again
Jack Greene: Walking on New Grass
Julie Roberts: It Ain't Down Home/Break Down Here
Mike Snider: Fire on the Mountain

For those wondering, the Stutteretes were Mel's backup group.

Congratulations again to Terri Clark upon her 16th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting and I hope everyone enjoys the Opry this Saturday night.