Grand Ole Opry 12/8 & 12/9

There are some interesting names on the schedule when looking at the lineups for this week's Friday Night Opry and Saturday's Grand Ole Opry. When I say interesting, I am referring to names we don't often see on the Opry. 

Starting with Friday night, there are only three Opry members on the schedule:  Jeannie Seely, Don Schlitz and Gene Watson. As far as non-members, Opry NextStage artist Elvie Shane is listed, along with Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley and Lisa Layne. 

The other two artists on the Friday schedule are Tommy Prine, who is the son of the late John Prine, and comedian Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, both of whom will be making their Opry debuts. 

Looking ahead to Saturday night, Gene Watson is back, making it a two-show weekend. Joining Gene on Saturday night will be Opry members Connie Smith, Riders In The Sky, John Conlee and Mandy Barnett. 

Steep Canyon Rangers will be appearing, bringing their bluegrass sound to the Opry. Joining that group will be the legendary Marshall Tucker Band and Singer/Songwriter Robert Finley, who will be making his Grand Ole Opry debut. 

Friday December 8
7:00: Jeannie Seely, Tommy Prine, Gene Watson, Lisa Layne
Intermission
8:15: Elvie Shane, Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Don Schlitz

Saturday December 9
7:00: Opry Square Dancers, Gene Watson, Mandy Barnett, John Conlee, Steep Canyon Rangers
Intermission
8:15: Connie Smith, Opry Square Dancers, Robert Finley, Marshall Tucker Band, Riders In The Sky

Tommy Prine, who is making his Opry debut on Friday night, released his debut album This Far South, this past June. The son of late songwriting legend, John Prine, he grew up in Nashville surrounded by music, art and writing. As a child, he thought all parents were musicians, as his father "going to work" meant performing shows for adoring fans and writing songs. Tommy learned to play guitar by watching his father play, copying the ways his fingers moved and inadvertently developing his own singular style. Summers in Ireland lent their own inspiration, as did 10 straight years camping at Bonnaroo. This year, alongside his own runs of headline shows, he opened for Tyler Childers on his "Send In The Hounds Tour" in London. He was also named one of Amazon Music's 2023 Breakthrough Artists to Watch.

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, who is also debuting on Friday night, is one of the most successful stand-up comedians today with six comedy specials streaming on various platforms and selling out theaters across the world.  Her most recent special, Say I Won’t, debuted on YouTube with over 3.2M views. Anjelah published her first memoir titled, Who Do I Think I Am? Stories of Chola Wishes and Caviar Dreams, in March 2022.   

Robert Finley, who is making his Opry debut on Saturday night, is from Louisiana. At the age of 70, his life has been spent making and performing music. Over the last seven years, he has released three critically acclaimed albums—including 2021’s autobiographical Sharecropper’s Son—and even appeared on the fourteenth season of America’s Got Talent (eventually making it to the semi-finals). In addition to touring as a headlining act, he has shared bills with The Black Keys and the Easy Eye Sound Revue and even opened for Greta Van Fleet, which established him as an energetic and uniquely charismatic performer bringing his larger-than-life personality to the stage. Blind since the age of 60 due to a medical condition, he still plays small clubs around the region—even the occasional nursing home—with a small crew of local musicians that includes his daughter and grandchildren.

Opry Country Christmas is back on Sunday night with Opry member Chris Young as the Spotlight Artist and Maggie & Tae as the Special Guests. 

Opry Country Christmas
Sunday December 10
Host: Larry Gatlin
Spotlight Artist: Chris Young
Special Guest: Maddie & Tae
Also Appearing: Gatlin Brothers, Riders In The Sky, Mandy Barnett, Charlie McCoy

As someone who has listed to the majority of the Opry Country Christmas shows, I have really enjoyed them. Yes, with the exception of the Spotlight Artist and Special Guest, the shows are basically the same, but I really enjoy hearing the Gatlins, Mandy, Charlie and the Riders singing those classic Christmas songs. It makes for a nice evening of listening. 

Now from 45 years ago, Saturday December 9, 1978. While going through my records, and if I am wrong, I am sure Ranger Doug will let me know, I do believe this was the first time that Riders In The Sky appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. 

Here is the running order from that night: 

1st show
6:30: Mrs. Grissoms
Charlie Louvin (host): Columbus Stockade Blues
Wilma Lee Cooper: Coming Down From God
Charlie Louvin: Mama's Angels

6:45: Rudy's
Stonewall Jackson (host): B.J. The D.J. 
Ernie Ashworth: You Can't Pick A Rose In December
Vic Willis and Curtis Young: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Stonewall Jackson: My Favorite Sin

7:00: Shoney's
Charlie Walker (host): San Antonio Rose
Jeanne Pruett: I Can't Help It/Many Tears Ago/Wild Side of Life
Justin Tubb: What's Wrong with The Way That We're Doing It Now
Stu Phillips: She Thinks I Still Care
Charlie Walker: Close All The Honky Tonks
Opry Staff Band: Winter Wonderland
Charlie Walker: Pick Me Up On Your Way Down

7:30: Standard Candy
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball/Tennessee Central No. 9/Sunshine Special
Ray Pillow: Daddy. Who's Gonna Tie My Shoes/She's Doing It To Me Again
Wilburn Brothers: Mama's Shoe Box
Crook Brothers: Lafayette
Roy Acuff: Lonely Mound of Clay/Farther Along

8:00: Martha White
Bill Anderson (host): Po' Folks Christmas
Lonzo and Oscar: Fox On The Run
Riders In The Sky: Moon Shadows On The Trail/When Pay Day Rolls Around
Bill Carlisle: I'm Moving
Bill Anderson: Double S

8:30: Stephens
Hank Snow (host): I Don't Hurt Anymore
Del Reeves: Lay A Little Lovin' On Me/I Would Like To See You Again
Jimmy Dickens: May The Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose
Marion Worth: New Lips
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Nubbing Ridge
Hank Snow: You're Easy To Love

2nd show
9:30: Kellogg's
Bill Anderson (host): I Get The Fever/Wild Weekend
Wilma Lee Cooper: Gathering Flowers From The Hillside
Justin Tubb: What's Wrong with The Way That We're Doing It Now
Ernie Ashworth: The DJ Cried
Vic Willis and Curtis Young: Shenandoah
Bill Anderson: Still

10:00: Fender
Stonewall Jackson: Me & You & A Dog Named Boo
Jeanne Pruett: Satin Sheets
Riders In The Sky: Living On The Rhythm Range
Stonewall Jackson: My Favorite Sin

10:15: Fender
Roy Acuff (host): Just A Friend
Stu Phillips: Come Sundown
Roy Acuff: That's The Man I'm Looking For/I Saw The Light

10:30: Trailblazer
Charlie Walker (host): Please, Mr. Please
Lonzo and Oscar: God Made Love
Charlie Walker: T For Texas

10:45: Beechnut
Wilburn Brothers (host): Country Honey
Jimmy Dickens: I'm Little but I'm Loud
Crook Brothers: Liberty
Wilburn Brothers: The Light House

11:00: Coca Cola
Hank Snow (host): Hello Love
Ray Pillow: What Did I Promise Her Last Night/Another Day; Another Dollar
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Grey Eagle
Marion Worth: For The Good Times
Kirk McGee: While I'm Away
Hank Snow: Black Diamond

11:30: Acme
Del Reeves (host): Two Dollars In The Jukebox/A Dime At A Time
Sheila and Bill Carlisle, Jr.: When I Stop Dreaming
Marshall Barnes: Alabama Jubilee
Charlie Louvin: Without Love, A Fancy Place To Cry/Warm, Warm Woman
Del Reeves: Just A Little Lovin;/There Ain't No Good Chain Gang/I'm Walkin'/Blueberry Hill/Born To Lose/Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On

(Porter Wagoner was scheduled to host the 8:00 and 9:30 segments but cancelled). 

Riders In The Sky got their start in late 1977, when guitarist Doug “Ranger Doug” Green, a one-time member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys and country music journalist and historian, invited bassist Fred “Too Slim” Labour to join him for a gig at a Nashville nightclub. With Paul “Woody Paul” Chrisman on fiddle, the trio dubbed themselves Riders In The Sky. Their recorded debut, Three on the Trail (1979), showcased impeccable vocal and instrumental work in the mold of such Western music heroes — and Country Music Hall of Fame members — as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers, while their live shows added a strong dose of broad, quick-witted humor that had them poking gentle fun at one another and at aspects of the movie cowboy image. This combination led to their induction into the Opry’s cast in June 1982. 

For the Riders, who became a quartet when they “promoted” longtime accordionist Joey “The Cowpolka King” Miskulin to full membership, the mission of keeping the cowboy style alive has led to exhaustive touring, a long-running radio show (Riders Radio Theatre), and a long string of popular recordings, including two soundtrack companion CDs (Woody’s Roundup featuring Riders In The Sky, for Toy Story 2, and Monsters Inc.: Scream Factory Favorites) that earned the group Grammy awards in 2001 and 2003.

Along the way, Riders In The Sky have earned multiple awards, including six Western Music Association Entertainer of the Year trophies and membership in the organization’s Hall of Fame, the Academy of Western Artists’ Western Music Group of the Year award (five times), and a presence on both the Country Music Foundation’s Walkway of Stars and the Walk of Western Stars in Newhall, California. On the scholarly front, Ranger Doug — who regularly sits in with the award-winning Time Jumpers Western swing band — earned renown of his own with the 2002 publication of Singing in the Saddle, the first full-length study of the Hollywood “singing cowboy” phenomenon.

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