This is sort of, what I would call, an in-between weekend at the Grand Ole Opry as there was the special Loretta Lynn honors show last Tuesday night, while this coming Tuesday is the annual Salute To The Troops, which is always a special night.
Even with those two big events on the Opry 100 calendar, there are still a couple of nice Grand Ole Opry shows this weekend.
The Friday Night Opry features Opry members Mandy Barnett, T. Graham Brown, Charlie McCoy, Gene Watson and Mark Wills. The Cleverlys, that wonderful and fun group, is guesting, as is Annie Bosko and the legendary Charlie Nagatani, Japan's biggest country music star.
Charlie first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in 1985 and has appeared several times since then. In addition to the Opry, he has appeared on the Midnite Jamboree, TNN and other network programing.
Taking a look at Saturday night, Riders In The Sky, Gene Watson and Mark Wills are back to make it a two-show weekend. Joining that group will be Don Schlitz, Connie Smith and Lorrie Morgan. The only non-member on the schedule is Compton & Newberry, who will be making a return appearance.
(I have been traveling this week and as most of you know, I am a huge baseball fan. As I write this, I am in Cooperstown, New York, visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Hopefully when I get back in town on Friday morning, I will be able to post the final lineups).
The Opry100 spotlight this week shines on former Grand Ole Opry member Tammy Wynette for a couple of different reasons.
First, it was on Saturday May 17, 1969, that Tammy Wynette was introduced as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry (of which she did not stay as a member for very long), and it was on May 17, 1997, that Tammy made her final guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.
Tammy Wynette first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in 1966. Regarding her first time on the Opry, Tammy said, "Roy Acuff introduced me the first time I was on the Opry and I sang 'A Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad.' I had out that record and 'Apartment #9' at the time. Then he introduced me again when I had 'D-I-V-O-R-C-E,' and my daughter Georgette crawled out on the Ryman stage and pulled on my dress and waited till I finished. I had to carry her off." She concluded by saying, "I love Roy Acuff. God, he paved the way for so many of us. In those days when they didn't make hardly anything he was out there working and setting it up so that we all could make something later."
At the time she joined the Opry, Tammy was in the process of winning the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year for three successive years-1968, 1969 and 1970. She was one of the leading record sellers in the business.
Now, here is the running order from the night she was introduced as an Opry member, May 17, 1969, a night that included her husband Geroge Jones and a guest appearance by a former Opry member, Johnny Cash:
1st show
7:00: Luzianne
Bill Anderson (host): I Love You Drops
Charlie Walker: Honky Tonk Season
Stringbean: Ol' Man, Can You Play The Banjo
Del Wood: Ballin' The Jack
Bill Anderson: My Life
Charlie Walker: Jambalaya
Jimmy Gateley: Cryin' Don't Pay
Stringbean: Nine Pound Hammer
Bill Anderson: City Lights/I'll Do Down Swinging/I Don't Love You Anymore/Once A Day/Cold Hard Facts Of Life/Cincinnati, Ohio/I Think I'll Go Somewhere And Cry Myself To Sleep
7:30: Standard Candy
Roy Acuff (host): Once More
Stonewall Jackson: Don't Be Angry
Jean Shepard: I'm Tied Around Your Finger
Archie Campbell: Scarlet Ribbons
Crook Brothers: Eighth Of January
Justin Tubb: The Great River Road Mystery
Roy Acuff: Filipino Baby
8:00: Martha White
George Jones (host): White Lightening
Tammy Wynette: D-I-V-O-R-C-E
Grandpa Jones: Old Blue
George Jones: I'll Share My World With You
Tammy Wynette: Stand By Your Mand
George Jones & Tammy Wynette: Milwaukee, Here I Come
Grandpa Jones: Mountain Laurel
Tammy Wynette: Singing My Song
Jones Boys: Fire On The Mountain
8:30: Stephens
Bill Monroe (host): Train 45
Glaser Brothers: California Girl
Margie Bowes: Understand Your Gal/Big City
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die
Bill Monroe: I Haven't Seen Mary In Years
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Bill Cheatham
Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues/Orange Blossom Special
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash: Jackson
2nd show
9:30: Kellogg's
Hank Locklin (host): Geisha Girl
Willis Brothers: Bob
Jean Shepard: Many Happy Hangovers To You
Bill Carlisle: No Help Wanted
Hank Locklin: Country Hall Of Fame
Willis Brothers: Rambling Boy
The 4 Guys: Daddy Sang Bass
Justin Tubb: Be Glad
10:00: Fender
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Charlie Walker: Little Old Wine Drinker Me
Del Wood: Are You From Dixie
Roy Acuff: The Great Speckled Bird
10:15: Pure
Bill Anderson (host): Wild Weekend
Stringbean: Gonna Make Myself A Name
Jimmy Gateley: Heavenly Sunshine
Bill Anderson: My Life
10:30: Buckley's
Stonewall Jackson (host): A Wound Time Can't Erase
Bobby Lord: Yesterday's Letters
Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash: Jackson
Stonewall Jackson: Waterloo
10:45: True
Bill Monroe (host): Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Margie Bowes: That Completely Destroys My Plans
Crook Brothers: Sally Ann
Bill Monroe: I'm On My Way Back To The Old Hone
11:00: Coke
George Jones (host): The Race Is On
Tammy Wynette: Stand By Your Man
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Cotton Eyed Joe
George Jones: I'll Be Over You When The Grass Grows Over Me
Tammy Wynette: Your Good Girls Gonna Go Bad
Sam McGee: Uncle Bud
George Jones: Walk Thru This World With Me
11:30: Lava
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper (host): My Georgia Moon
Grandpa Jones: Raining On The Mountain; Now My Love
The 4 Guys: Swing Down Chariot
Wilma Lee Cooper: I Don't Care If Tomorrow Never Comes
Grandpa Jones: T For Texas
The 4 Guys: Love Of The Common People
L.E. White: I'll Love You More Today, Then He Can From Now On
(The first show started at 6:30 and that half hour included Hank Locklin, Willis Brothers, Bill Carlisle and The 4 Guys)
While Tammy appeared on this May 17th show, the only other Saturday night she appeared in 1979 was on July 19, again with George Jones. It was pretty obvious from the beginning that Tammy wasn't going to be much of an Opry member.
Moving ahead now to May 17, 1997, and this from the Tennessean:
Tammy Wynette makes her first appearance in seven years on the Grand Ole Opry this weekend with performances on both Saturday shows. Wynette, dubbed the first lady of country music, s best-known for her classic "Stand By Your Man," though her history also includes such standards as "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Another Lonely Song," "'Til I Get It Right," and "'Til I Can Make It On My Own," plus a number of duets with former husband George Jones. Wynette's Opry appearance will be telecast on TNN's Grand Ole Opry Live at 7:30 p.m. in a segment that features host Lorrie Morgan, Jan Howard and Anita Cochran, making her Opry debut.
Tammy gave up her Opry membership long before this final appearance. On this particular night, she ended up appearing only on the televised segment which was hosted by Lorrie Morgan. Here is the running order from that first show:
1st show
6:30: GHS Strings
Jimmy Dickens (host): Family Reunion
Skeeter Davis: The End Of The World
Jimmy Dickens: Life Turned Her That Way
6:45: Jogging In A Jug
Grandpa Jones (host): Apple Jack
Bill Carlisle: Go Home
Grandpa Jones: Any Old Time
7:00: Shoney's
Jimmy C Newman (host): Cajun's Dream
Jean Shepard: Farewell Party/Second Fiddle
Brother Oswald: Prairie Queen
Opry Staff Band: Buckeroo
Jimmy C Newman: Jambalaya/Alligator Man
7:30: Standard Candy
Lorrie Morgan (host): I Didn't Know My Own Strength
Anita Cockran: Daddy Can You See Me
Jan Howard: Take Me As I Am
Tammy Wynette: Your Good Girls Gonna Go Bad/Stand By Your Man/Apartment #9
Lorrie Morgan: Good As I Was To You
8:00: Martha White
Bill Anderson (host0: Wild Weekend
Wilma Lee Cooper: I'm Going Home On The Morning Train
Charlie Louvin: Nobody's Darling But Mine
The Whites: Pins & Needles
Opry Square Dance Band & The Melvin Sloan Dancers: Sally Goodin
Bill Anderson: Still
8:30: Clifty Farms
Mike Snider (host): The Whole World Smiles With You
Jack Greene: Follow Me
Connie Smith: I've Got My Baby On My Mind
The 4 Guys: Cottonfields/Mariah
Del Reeves: I Would Like To See You Again
(Porter Wagoner was scheduled to host the 7:00 segment but cancelled)
While Tammy rarely appeared on the Opry, she was always welcome and those attending always gave her a warm welcome.
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.
Always a good weekend when Mark is around and I love the fact that most of the people appearing are members of the cast. Also, I purchased the Opry 100 audiobook which is available at all major audio retailers like Audible. I haven’t listened to it yet, but I am impressed with the fact that it apparently has some music on it and, when there are quotes from members, the quotes are not red, they are recordings of the interviews with the members. Ez
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Cooperstown--or I hope you enjoyed it. A lot of country music fans enshrined there!
DeleteOn the Friday Night Opry, these are the Opry members who appeared: Mark Wills, T. Graham Brown, Charlie McCoy, Mandy Barnett and Gene Watson.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they each have in common? All have joined the Opry since 2019. In other words, these 5 are among the newer members of the Opry. And each of these 5 have continued to make numerous appearances on the show since joining the cast.
Think for a minute where the Opry without them.
God bless these members and Dan Rogers and the staff who saw fit for them to be members.
DeletePeople end up getting more than they think they’re getting with all the people you mentioned above Byron. Like for example you guys hear all know how much I think of Mark as a singer, but the fact is, even with my generation, which was the generation when he had his massive radio success you have to remind a lot of people of who he is But then, when they hear him, they’re blown out of the water. The others you mentioned, a lot of people again I’ll just use my own generation on up, have never heard of. But when they hear them, Mandy in particular, for example because she’s never had a radio record in her life, they’re just blown away, so I feel like, not only are they doing an amazing thing to contribute to the success of the show, but they’re giving fans an experience that is sometimes even better than the big names. Because they’re honestly just such incredible performers. Ez
ReplyDeleteIn total agreement with your comments regarding Mandy and Mark EZ.
DeleteI have said before here that I think when the 'Opry invited Mandy, she felt so good about it that she now sings with even more enthusiasm and joy.
While some of today's radio and industry successes can't carry a tune in a bucket and should be embarrassed to take the stage, Mandy and Mark have never missed a note in their lives as best I can figure. And they BOTH are very valuable members of the 'Opry.
Great observation on the new member's participation Byron. The 'Opry would be in a world of hurt without the names you mentioned. Add Don Schlitz to the list. He absolutely captivates the crowd. ENTERTAINERS ALL!