Grand Ole Opry 2/18 & 2/19

It is always a pleasant surprise when a former Grand Ole Opry member shows up on the Opry schedule. This week, if everything goes well, Doug Kershaw will be making an appearance on the Opry. 

According to the records that I have, Doug and his brother Rusty, joined the Grand Ole Opry on May 18, 1957. They remained Opry members until the early 1960s, after which the brothers broke up. 

Doug Kershaw is a Louisiana music legend, born Tiel Ridge. Growing up in a French speaking household, Doug learned the fiddle at an early age. With his brother Rusty, who played guitar, and his older brother Peewee, in 1948 they formed the Continental Playboys. In the early 1950s, Peewee left, thus leading Rusty and Doug. Hickory released "So Lovely, Baby," Rusty and Doug's first single, in 1955, and it climbed up to number 14 on Billboard's country charts. Its rise coincided with Rusty and Doug signing onto the Louisiana Hayride. "Love Me to Pieces" also went to number 14 in 1957, leading to an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry.

During the same time period in which they joined the Opry, Doug and Rusty enlisted in the Army, where they remained for the next three years. During their absence, "Hey Sheriff" went to number 22 in 1958 -- and after they returned to the U.S., they cut Doug's new composition, "Louisiana Man." The song was Rusty and Doug's biggest single, reaching number ten on the Billboard country chart in 1961, on its way to becoming an American roots music standard (it also peaked at number four on its Bubbling Under chart). "Diggy Liggy Lo" followed "Louisiana Man" to number 14 on Billboard's country charts. Hickory rushed out their debut album, Sing Louisiana Man and Other Favorites, in 1961. The duo moved to RCA in 1963, inaugurating their stint at the label with "My Uncle Abel." Two other singles -- "Cajun Stripper" and "St. Louis Blues" -- appeared before the pair parted ways in 1964.

After breaking up with his brother and leaving the Grand Ole Opry, Doug signed a songwriting contract with BMI in 1967 and then inked a deal with Warner Bros., releasing his solo debut The Cajun Way in 1969. He stayed with Warner through 1978, releasing a grand total of 11 albums in his decade there. His biggest album arrived in 1974, when Mama Kershaw's Boy peaked at number 14 on the Billboard country chart. Its trio of sequels -- 1975's Alive & Pickin', 1976's Ragin' Cajun, and 1977's Flip, Flop & Fly -- were his three other albums to reach the charts. 

After leaving Warner Bros., Doug moved around to several different labels and continued to release albums on a semi-regular basis, with his output declining over the years. Still active and making personal appearances, it will be wonderful to see and hear Doug Kershaw back on the Opry on Saturday night. 
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Looking at the rest of the Opry schedule for this weekend, both nights look solid with a nice group of Opry members listed for both nights. 

Mark Wills and John Conlee are scheduled for both shows this weekend, joined on the Friday Night Opry by members Rhonda Vincent and Connie Smith. On Saturday night, the duo will be joined by Jeannie Seely, Del McCoury and Riders In The Sky. 

Lainey Wilson, who is scheduled for Friday night, is one of the bright young talents in country music. She recently received two Academy of Country Music Award nominations, one for Song of the Year, and also for New Female Artist of the Year. Her song, "Things A Man Oughta Know" was her first No. 1 hit. Tony Jackson is also scheduled for Friday night, as is Jacob Bryant, who will be making his Opry debut. 

Besides Doug Kershaw, comedian Dusty Slay and The War & Treaty are scheduled for Saturday night. Both have appeared on the Opry several times, with Dusty seemingly in the comedian's rotation.  

Friday February 18
7:00: Rhonda Vincent, John Conlee, Jacob Bryant, Connie Smith
Intermission
8:15: Tony Jackson, Charles Esten, Lainey Wilson, Mark Wills

Saturday February 19
7:00: Opry Square Dancers, Mark Wills, Jeannie Seely, Del McCoury Band, John Conlee
Intermission
8:15: Doug Kershaw, Dusty Slay, The War & Treaty, Riders In The Sky

Comedian Aaron Weber was originally on the scheduled for Friday night but has been taken off and replaced by Charles Esten. Also, no live TV this week on Circle. 
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Now from 50 years ago, Saturday February 19, 1972: 

1st show
6:30: Charlie Louvin (host) and Diane McCall; Ernie Ashworth; Del Wood
6:45: Osborne Brothers (host); Stu Phillips; Bill Carlisle
7:00: Bill Monroe (host); Skeeter Davis; Stonewall Jackson; Stringbean
7:30: Roy Acuff (host); Earl Scruggs Revue; Connie Smith; Crook Brothers; Willis Brothers
8:00: Lester Flatt (host); Loretta Lynn; Grandpa Jones; Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper; Ray Pillow
8:30: Hank Snow (host); Billy Walker; Marion Worth; The 4 Guys; Fruit Jar Drinkers

2nd show
9:30: Charlie Louvin (host); and Diane McCall; Willis Brothers; Earl Scruggs Revue; Osborne Brothers
10:00: Stu Phillips (host); Bill Carlisle; Del Wood
10:15: Bill Monroe (host); Skeeter Davis; Billy Grammer; Stringbean
10:30: Lester Flatt (host); Grandpa Jones; Loretta Lynn
10:45: Roy Acuff (host); Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper; Crook Brothers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Ray Pillow; Connie Smith; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Sam McGee
11:30: Billy Walker (host); Marion Worth; The 4 Guys; Justin Tubb

(Ernie Ashworth and Stonewall Jackson appeared only on the 1st show, while Billy Grammer and Justin Tubb appeared only on the late show. Additionally, for Loretta Lynn, that was her first appearance on the Opry in 4 months). 
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Looking back, it was on February 19, 1998, that longtime Grand Ole Opry member Grandpa Jones passed away. 

Louis Marshall "Grandpa" Jones was one person who aged right into his makeup. Like his real appearance, however, his actual background and role in country music were deceptive and more complex than they seem. Beginning in the 1920s, he began attracting attention with his boisterous performing style, old-time banjo performing, and powerful singing, and by the 1940s, with hits like "Rattler" and "Mountain Dew," he began receiving national attention. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1946 and remained there throughout his career; in the 1960s, with hits like "T for Texas," he continued making a place for himself on the country charts, and as a regular on Hee Haw since its inception in 1969, he became a television celebrity. But Jones' influence went much further than that chain of successes would indicate -- he was almost single-handedly responsible for keeping the banjo alive as a country music instrument during the 1930s and 1940s, and in addition to his own work and songs, he was an important associate and collaborator of Merle Travis.

Grandpa Jones was born in Niagra, KY, and grew in industrial Ohio and Kentucky, living in factory towns. His father was a fiddle player, and his mother was a ballad singer. He listened to a lot of radio growing up, especially the National Barn Dance out of Chicago, and his strongest influences included old-time country music and gospel songs as well as the music of Jimmie Rodgers, which led him to begin yodeling. He'd made it onto the radio himself by 1929 at the age of 18 as the Young Singer of Old Songs. Later on, he moved to Chicago, teamed with Bashful Harmonica Joe, and appeared on the Lum and Abner show. During the mid-'30s, he started working with Bradley Kincaid, the man who gave Jones the "Grandpa" name, a result of his grouchy moods during their early-morning radio broadcasts -- Jones thought the name worked and adopted makeup to match. Coupled with his skills as a comedian and raconteur, the image was a natural. It was with Kincaid that Jones' career moved to Boston, where their brand of country music proved extremely popular among rural New Englanders.

As a solo act later in the 1930s, Jones had radio shows on numerous stations from West Virginia and Connecticut to Cincinnati, where he sang folk ballads and more old-time country ballads as well as gospel songs. He also learned to play the banjo and made it an integral part of his act at a time when the instrument had all but vanished from country music; it was the combination of Jones' old-time repertory and humor that helped to keep the banjo alive as a viable, popular country instrument. Jones later hooked up with Alton and Rabon Delmore and Merle Travis and played with them throughout World War II as Brown's Ferry Four. He and Travis also became the first artists to record for the newly founded King label, under the name of the Shepherd Brothers. Jones' own earliest solo records were also done for King during this period, among them "It's Raining Here This Morning," "Eight More Miles to Louisville," "Rattler," and "Mountain Dew."

Those singles brought Grandpa Jones to national attention, and he was poised for the next step in his career, a move to Nashville. Before that, however, he married Ramona Riggins, who became not only his wife but his accompanist on fiddle and mandolin. In 1946, he began playing on the Grand Ole Opry and touring with acts such as Lonzo & Oscar and Cowboy Copas. He didn't stay in Nashville too long at first, moving to Lorton, VA, and a radio show in Arlington, and later on the Old Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond. Finally, he returned to Nashville as a regular member of the Opry. Jones recorded with King Records from 1945 until 1952, when he moved to RCA Victor, where he remained for four years, recording both traditional-sounding country and topical songs ("I'm No Communist").

In 1956, he began a six-year stint on Decca Records, recording a total of 16 songs including the talking-blues country hit "The All-American Boy" in 1959. Jones moved to Fred Foster's Monument Records in 1962 and had a Top Five country hit the following year with "T for Texas." His career during the 1960s continued uninterrupted, and in 1969 he joined the cast of the new country music/comedy showcase Hee Haw, which gave him unprecedented national exposure for the next two decades. By 1978, he'd been elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and, by that time, was taking on the real-life role of elder statesman within the community. He continued recording into the 1980s, although his music is somewhat under-represented today on compact disc, apart from the Monument and Decca sides. In 1984, Jones published his autobiography, Everybody's Grandpa.

Grandpa Jones last appeared on the Opry on January 3, 1998. After hosting his segment on the late show, Grandpa suffered the first of what would be a series of strokes. He was taken directly to the hospital from the Opry House. His condition would continue to decline before passing away on February 19. 

The next Saturday, February 21, the Grand Ole Opry honored Grandpa by dedicating the show in his memory. I happened to be at the Opry that night and during the 8:00 segment, Grandpa's close friend Bill Carlisle, along with Porter Wagoner and Vince Gill, led the cast in singing "Fallen Leaves," a wonderful song written by Grandpa. Also joining in were Ramona Jones and their children. 

Here is the running order from Saturday February 21, 1998, the night in which the Grand Ole Opry was dedicated to the memory of Grandpa Jones: 

1st show
6:30: GHS Strings
Bill Anderson (host): Mountain Dew
Skeeter Davis: I Can Call Jesus Anytime
Bill Anderson: Still

6:45: Jogging in A Jug
Jimmy Dickens (host): John Henry
Bill Carlisle: Elvira
Jimmy Dickens: We Could

7:00: Shoney's
Johnny Russell (host): Folsom Prison Blues
Charlie Louvin: See the Big Man Cry
Jimmy C Newman: Sugar Bee
Stonewall Jackson: Jesus Is My Lifeline
Jeanne Pruett: Temporarily Yours/Satin Sheets

7:30: Standard Candy
Lorrie Morgan (host): As Good as I Was to You
Leroy Van Dyke: Walk on By/Auctioneer
Jim and Jesse: Southbound Train
Jeannie Seely: Another Bridge to Burn
Vince Gill: My Old Grandpa
Lorrie Morgan: He

8:00: Martha White
Porter Wagoner (host): Dooley
Brother Oswald: Moutain Dew
Jack Greene: Statue of a Fool
The Whites: Keep on the Sunny Side
Opry Square Dance Band and The Melvin Sloan Dancers: Old Joe Clark
Porter Wagoner and The Grand Ole Opry Cast: Falling Leaves

8:30: Clifty Farms
Ricky Skaggs (host): Little Maggie
Jim Ed Brown: The Old Lamplighter
Riders In The Sky: Jingle, Jangle, Jingle
Mike Snider: The Fur Coat
The 4 Guys: I'm Bound for Higher Ground
Ricky Skaggs: Get Down on Your Knees and Pray/Boston Boy

2nd show
9:30: Dollar General
Porter Wagoner (host): Y'all Come
Stonewall Jackson: Why I'm Walkin'
Ray Pillow: Cinderella
Lorrie Morgan: I Didn't Know My Own Strength/You Can't Take That
Porter Wagoner and Cristy Lynn: Forty Miles from Poplar Bluff

10:00: Opry Book
Jimmy Dickens (host): Take an Old Cold Tater
Jeanne Pruett: Satin Sheets
Jimmy Dickens: Raggedy Ann

10:15: Banquet
Johnny Russell (host): Got No Reason Now for Gong Home
Vince Gill: My Old Grandpa/The Key to Life

10:30: Purnell
Bill Anderson (host): I Got the Fever
The 4 Guys: Turn Your Radio On
Bill Anderson: Walk Out Backwards

10:45: White By MTD
Riders In The Sky (host): South of the Border
Jimmy C Newman: Allon Oh Lafayette
Opry Square Dance Band and The Melvin Sloan Dancers: Ragtime Annie
Riders In The Sky: Annie Laurie

11:00: Coca Cola
Mike Snider (host): Foggy Mountain Chimes
Billy Walker: Charlie's Shoes/Heartaches by the Numbers/Slowly
Jim and Jesse: Gosh, I Miss You All the Time
Jeannie Seely: Bubbles in My Beer/When He Leaves You

11:30: Turbo Nutrition
Ricky Skaggs (host): I Wouldn't Change You if I Could
Jim Ed Brown: The 3 Bells
Charlie Walker: A way to Free Myself
The Whites: I Just Steal Away and Pray
Ricky Skaggs: Your Selfish Heart/A Pig at Home in a Pen

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