Grand Ole Opry Saturday June 27

A few quick hits:

There were a couple of comments that I saw that it was one of the best shows, if not the best, that the Opry has done since the COVID-19 shows have been taking place. Clint Black and Darius Rucker were a fantastic pairing and it was enjoyable to see and hear a full band behind them. I know some have questioned Darius' commitment to country music, however I think by now we know he is the real deal and an asset to the Opry. As far as Clint Black, he makes so few Opry appearances that we forget how good he is, and he has aged well. I know he lives in California and doesn't get to Nashville very often, but when he does, it is a treat. Great singer and guitar player. I saw one comment that he is Hall of Fame worthy and I agree. Hopefully he doesn't have to wait too long.

While the Opry will not have a live audience show until July 18 at earliest, they are going to be resuming the backstage tours at both the Grand Old Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium beginning this week. A quick look at the calendar shows just morning tours being conducted. Getting the Opry House back opened is a good start and I think is a good sign that live shows could be resuming soon. We all are waiting for the word.

Now, looking at the show for this Saturday night, I am sure that Opry management was in a tough spot after the cancellation of Jimmy Buffett and Mac McAnally. That left Brad Paisley, in a show that was being advertised as "Brad Paisley and Friends." The only other addition for Saturday has been Keb' Mo'. That should be an interesting pairing. On a personal note, I have seen Keb' Mo' on the Opry previously and he is very talented. I'm looking forward to hearing him again. How he fits in with Brad will be interesting to see.
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From 25 years ago, Saturday June 24, 1995:

1st show
6:30: Jimmy Dickens (host); Wilma Lee Cooper
6:45: Jean Shepard (host); Bill Carlisle
7:00: Grandpa Jones (host); Jan Howard; Charlie Louvin; Brother Oswald; Jimmy C Newman
7:30: Jack Greene (host); Jeanne Pruett; Ray Pillow; Roy Clark
8:00: Porter Wagoner (host); Jeannie Seely; The Four Guys; Charlie Walker; Opry Square Dance Band; The Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host); Roy Drusky; Mike Snider; Riders In The Sky

2nd show
9:30: Porter Wagoner (host); Jan Howard; Jimmy C Newman; The Whites
10:00: Marty Stuart (host);
10:15: Jimmy Dickens (host); Mike Snider
10:30: Grandpa Jones (host); Jack Greene
10:45: Jeannie Seely (host); Stu Phillips; Opry Square Dance Band; The Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Th Four Guys Ray Pillow; Joe Stampley
11:30: Riders In The Sky (host); Roy Drusky; Charlie Walker

And 50 years ago, Saturday June 27, 1970:

1st show
6:30: Jimmy C Newman (host); Ernie Ashworth; Joe and Rose Lee Maphis
6:45: Billy Grammer (host); Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper; Cousin Jody
7:00: Bill Monroe (host); James William Monroe; Earl Scruggs Revue; The Four Guys; Bill Carlisle
7:30: Bobby Lord (host); Grandpa Jones; Willis Brothers; Crook Brothers; Warner Mack
8:00: Roy Acuff (host); Mel Tillis; Hank Williams, Jr., Diane Trask
8:30: Hank Snow (host); Bob Luman; Charlie Louvin; Fruit Jar Drinkers

2nd show
9:30: Billy Grammer (host); Willis Brothers; Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper; Joe and Rose Lee Maphis
10:00: Jimmy C Newman (host); The Four Guys; Ernie Ashworth
10:15: Bill Monroe (host); Earl Scruggs Revue; Diana Trask
10:30: Roy Acuff (host); Hank Williams, Jr.
10:45: Bobby Lord (host); Grandpa Jones; Crook Brothers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Mel Tillis; Bill Carlisle; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Sam McGee
11:30: Charlie Louvin (host); Bob Luman; Warner Mack; Dianne McCall
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This week's look back takes us back to June 27, 1981 as this would appear to be the date that Buck White and The White Sisters, later to be known as The Whites, made their debut on the Grand Ole Opry.

The Whites have been a part of the Grand Ole Opry family more than 30 years and have been showcasing their own family harmony as a professional stage act for nearly 40 years. Daddy Buck and daughters Cheryl, Sharon, and Rosie are all top-level singers and musicians individually.

Buck’s skills on the piano landed him early gigs with the Opry’s Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb and others. He married Pat Goza in 1951, and in 1962 they moved from Texas to Arkansas, where they began performing with another couple as the Down Home Folks. Their children performed as the Down Home Kids.

By the mid-’60s, the family was well known in bluegrass circles, and when the younger Whites decided they wanted to sing professionally, the family moved to Nashville in 1971. During their first years in Nashville, they performed as the Down Home Folks and recorded several bluegrass albums.

In 1973, mother Pat retired from the group, and in 1975, The Whites played a Washington, D.C. show with Emmylou Harris. That association led to Sharon and Cheryl providing background vocals on Harris’ 1978 Blue Kentucky Girl album.

“She just opened so many doors for us and put us in front of people who had never seen us before,” Sharon told interviewer Paul Edward Joyce. “We just had a great relationship and will forever be grateful to her for how she helped us.”

In 1982, Sharon White married Ricky Skaggs, a one-time member of Emmylou’s Hot Band who also co-produced The Whites’ major-label debut, Old Familiar Feeling. The album yielded four Top 10 hits, including “You Put the Blue in Me,” and “Hangin’ Around.” The album also featured the distinctive dobro work of Jerry Douglas, now a member of Opry star Alison Krauss’ band, Union Station. Other albums by The Whites, which blend country, folk, bluegrass, and gospel sounds include Forever You, Ain’t No Binds, and Doin’ It by the Book.

In 2000, The Whites appeared in the film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, performing the Carter Family classic, “Keep on the Sunny Side.” Also in 2000, they released the album, A Lifetime in the Making. The Whites were inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, the same year their collaboration with Skaggs called Salt of the Earth won a Grammy award.

And while these “down home folks” have graced stages all over the world, they continue to perform regularly on the Grand Ole Opry.

Here is the running order from 39 years ago, June 27, 1981:

1st show
6:30: Mrs. Grissoms
Stonewall Jackson (host): Full Moon; Empty Pockets
Ernie Ashworth: There's No Place I'd Rather Be Tonight
Stonewall Jackson: Waterloo

6:45: Rudy's
Billy Walker (host): Word Games
Jeannie Seely: You Don't Need Me, But You Will
Billy Walker: You Don't Know Me

7:00: Shoney's
Porter Wagoner (host): Ol' Slewfoot
Charlie Louvin: Ten Years; Three Kids; Two Loves Too Late/Red, Red Wine
Jimmy Dickens: Sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed
Wilma Lee Cooper: I'm Going Home on the Morning Train
Porter Wagoner: Everything I've Always Wanted/Cold Hard Facts of Life/Carroll County Accident/Green, Green Grass of Home/On A Highway Headed South

7:30: Standard Candy
Grandpa Jones (host): Banjo Sam
Jean Shepard: Chime Bells
Bill Carlisle: Elvira
Ray Pillow: Too Many Memories
Crook Brothers and The Tennessee Travelers: Lafayette
George McCormick: Y'all Come
Grandpa Jones: Fallen Leaves

8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Connie Smith: Satisfied/Sing; Sing; Sing
Vic Willis Trio: Colorado
Roy Drusky: If the Whole World Stopped Loving
Brother Oswald: Mountain Dew
Roy Acuff: Cabin in Gloryland

8:30: Acme
Hank Snow (host): Gonna Find Me a Bluebird
The Four Guys: Cottonfields/Maria
David Houston: Texas Ida Red
Buck White and The White Sisters: Send Me the Pillow You Dream On
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Fire on the Mountain
Hank Snow and Kelly Foxton: Things

2nd show
9:30: Kellogg's
Porter Wagoner (host): Tennessee Saturday Night
The Four Guys: I'm Almost Ready
Jeannie Seely: Make the World Go Away
Wilma Lee Cooper: The White Rose
Ernie Ashworth: You Can't Pick a Rose in December
Porter Wagoner: Ol' Slewfoot/Cold Hard Facts of Life/Carroll County Accident/Green, Green Grass of Home

10:00: Little Debbie
Charlie Louvin (host): Faded Love
Jean Shepard: Too Many Rivers
Charlie Louvin: She Is

10:15: Sunbeam
Grandpa Jones (host): Kitty Klide
Billy Walker: Funny How Time Slips Away
Jimmy Dickens: Out Behind the Barn
Grandpa Jones: Nashville on My Mind

10:30: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Sunshine Special
Stonewall Jackson: Full Moon; Empty Pockets/Life to Go
Roy Acuff: The Great Speckled Bird

10:45: Beechnut
Roy Drusky (host): Strangers
Connie Smith: I've Got My Baby on My Mind
Crook Brothers and The Tennessee Travelers: Gray Eagle
Roy Drusky: Remember Me, I'm the One Who Loves You

11:00: Coca Cola
Hank Snow (host): The First Hurt is the Worst Hurt of All
Bill Carlisle: I'm Movin'
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Nubbing Ridge
Ray Pillow: Even the Bad Times are Good
Kirk McGee: St. James Infirmary
Hank Snow and Kelly Foxton: Check

11:30: Bama
David Houston (host): Texas Ida Red
Vic Willis Trio: American Trilogy
Buck White and The White Sisters: Follow the Leader/Send Me the Pillow You Dream On
David Houston: After All

The Whites became Grand Ole Opry members on March 2, 1984 and have been very loyal and popular members since joining. It is always a pleasure to see them on the Opry stage.

That takes care of it for this week. As always, thanks for reading and commenting and I hope everyone enjoys the Opry this Saturday night.