I have been listening and following the Grand Ole Opry since the early 1970s, and last night was a first as Charlie McCoy and Don Schlitz were both asked to become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry cast, with Vince Gill doing the formal invites.
While there have been cases where several members were added or inducted the same night, (Connie Smith and Bob Luman come to mind), this is the first time in my memory that two were asked to join on the same night. Of course, this concept of doing an invitation to join, and then having a formal induction weeks or months later, is a fairly new concept that has evolved over the past several decades.
For those who did not listen last night, Charlie McCoy closed out the first half of the show with "Orange Blossom Special." Vince then came out, making a joke about Mike Terry being temporarily unavailable, then talking to Charlie about his career, ending with the invite. While Don Schlitz was performing, Vince was out on stage with him, then they kind of joked around for a few minutes, ending with Vince doing the invite. I got the sense that Don was very surprised and had to ask a few times if this was real or not. It was.
Both Charlie and Don have supported the Opry over the past few years with their many guest appearances and I know both will continue to appear on the show. As I have stated before, I really like what Dan Rogers and his team are doing at the Opry as they continue to add to the cast artists that understand what being an Opry member is all about and will actually appear on the Opry.
I was asked last night if Charlie is the oldest person to become an Opry member. Doing a quick check, Brother Oswald joined in January 1995, which would have made him 83, while Bobby Bare was the same age when he rejoined in April 2018 (if I did my quick math correctly, Oswald was maybe 3 weeks older). Charlie comes in at 81.
A well deserved honor for both of these Hall of Fame members and each actually adds a different dynamic to the show, with Charlie known for his musician skills, while Don adds his great songwriting talent. Congratulations to both and we now await their formal induction dates.
As to the upcoming mid-week shows, in addition to the Tuesday Night Opry, the Wednesday Night Opry returns this week.
The Tuesday show will feature Opry members Riders In The Sky, Rhonda Vincent and Dailey & Vincent, while Jeannie Seely, Mandy Barnett and Ricky Skaggs will be appearing on Wednesday night.
Tuesday June 14
7:00: Riders In The Sky, Skip Ewing, Rhonda Vincent, Matt Stell
Intermission
8:15: Niko Moon, Leanne Morgan, Lindsay Ell, Daily & Vincent
Wednesday June 15
7:00: Jeannie Seely, Easton Corbin, Mandy Barnett, Jason Crabb
Intermission
8:15: Tenille Towns, Dusty Slay, Michael Ray, Ricky Skaggs
Again, congratulations to both Charlie McCoy and Don Schlitz
Hats off to Dan Rogers. I could stop there and everything that needs to be said would be said. But I also want to comment that the vision Rogers sees for the Opry is exactly what I believe the real Opry fans and followers of this blog feel. I long for the old Opry days with hosts of the caliber of Acuff, Grandpa, Snow, Porter, and others. That is slowly returning. With this "90's theme" going on I suspect that at some point we may have a few more invitations coming this summer. Tracy Lawrence, Suzy Bogguss, Kathy Mattea, and John Berry all come to mind. I fully believe they all would be excellent members. Again, hats off to Dan Rogers.
ReplyDeleteI know at times we can find things that we’re displeased with concerning the Opry. We have to agree that Dan Rogers has been a great manager. My only complaint is I wish he became manager years ago. Lol.
ReplyDeleteI guess the last member that was just a musician was Del Wood. I know Oswald was, but he still sang. Curry
So glad folks who actually appreciate the 'Opry are being asked to be members. Fabulous !
ReplyDeleteOur beloved Opry is finally patronizing we traditionalists who have sustained the Opry for almost 100 years !!! Dan Rogers , please keep adding members who understand what the Opry has been about all these years. Thanks Dan --- Dashmann, Flushing , Michigan --
ReplyDeleteAnd Byron --- thanks so much for making commentary easier --- and thanks for your leadership and incisive posts --- Dashmann
ReplyDeleteI think Dan Rogers is doing a great job (I think Sally Williams did well in her brief time, but she had 17 years of awfulness to clean up). No one will ever confuse Don Schlitz with a polished singer, but then I think of a line a wise critic had, that Charley Pride sang Hank Williams's songs the way Hank wished he could have sung them, and a comment from my mother: "I think Willie Nelson is a great guitarist and songwriter. I just wish he'd let someone else sing his songs." And then Roger Miller on Kris Kristofferson: "He sings like a duck." No offense to any of them as singers, because they all had style, and no offense to Don Schlitz. What a songwriter! One of the great instrumentalists ever in Charlie McCoy! Two Hall of Famers joining in one night! THIS is what we want.
ReplyDeleteI love how even with the carerr he has had, it's not lost on Charlie what this means! Don will continue the tridition of folks like Bill Anderson who no one would confuse with a great singer but it doesn't matter!! I am curious and slightly confused by the Hank comment though! I thought he was a fantastic singer! Also sorry for any typos lately. For some strange reason the site is not letting my blind people software go back and fix mistakes so that's lame!
ReplyDeleteE.Z., I'm a fan of Hank's singing, too, but I think the point was that Hank had a style, as so many others did in that era, but it wasn't that anyone would think he had a great voice. Ernest Tubb used to say that a lot of people listening to him felt they could sing better than he could. It's not a knock, believe me.
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