Margaret Whiting: Honorary Grand Ole Opry Member

In 1949, vocalist Margaret Whiting was among the most popular stars in the country. That year, Capital Records paired her with singing cowboy Jimmy Wakely in a series of highly successful duets, beginning with "Slipping Around." As a result, Margaret became the first woman to have a No. 1 hit on, what was then, the newly established country music popularity charts. 

Among other highly successful Whiting-Wakely hits were "Wedding Bells," "I'll Never Slip Around Again," "Broken-Down-Merry-Go-Round," "The Gods Were Angry With Me," Let's Go To Church Next Sunday Morning," "A Bushel and a Peck," "When You and I were Young Maggie Blues," and "I Don't Want to Be Free."

So what does all of this have to do with the Grand Ole Opry? Because of her success, and involvement with the Opry, in 1949 Opry General Manager Harry Stone made Margaret Whiting an "honorary member" of the Grand Ole Opry. There is a plague that signifies that event that has been displayed at times at the Opry House. 

Margaret later wrote, "It started the whole crossover movement of country-pop, I was invited to Nashville to perform on the Grand Ole Opry. For a month, I was briefed, as though I were going to a foreign country and should know all the rules of protocol. I was told I was going to meet Little Jimmy Dickens, Roy Acuff, Red Foley, Minnie Pearl, Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb. I kept…trying to remember their names. To me, it was like trying to remember the names of Lithuanian royalty. I had no idea who anybody was…. What a warm welcome they all gave me.”

Hank Williams plugged his tunes to her. As a result, she became one of the first of the many pop stars who recorded his songs.

While Margaret Whiting had country success, she enjoyed a greater career in pop music. Among her hits were "That Old Black Magic" which she recorded in 1944, and "Come Rain or Come Shine" Another one of her big was "Moonlight in Vermont." Later in life she was a highly successful cabaret singer and was recognized for keeping the music of composer Johnny Mercer alive. 

In addition to her 1940s Grand Ole Opry appearances, she also appeared on the television Grand Ole Opry shows in the 1950s. She later appeared on the TNN televised portion of the Opry in the 1996, in what would be her final appearance on the Opry. 

As mentioned, Margaret Whiting became an honorary member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1949. Here is the lineup from one of her appearances that year, November 5, 1949: 

7:30: American Ace Coffee

Bill Monroe; Molly and Tenbrooks

Chubby: Orange Blossom Special

Hank Williams: You're Gonna Change

Bill and Mack: Traveling That Lonesome Road

String Beans: Pretty Polly

Hank Williams: Lost Highway

Uncle Dave Macon: Eleven Cent Cotton, Forty Cent Meat

Bluegrass Quartet: I've Been Waiting

Rudy Lyle: Shortnin' Bread

Hank Williams: I Just Told Mama Goodnight

Chubby: Cacklin Hen

8:00: Purina

Cowboy Copas: Crazy Over You

Lew Childre: I'll Keep Smiling

Hank Garland: Guitar Boogie

Uncle Dave Macon: Tennessee Farmer

Cowboy Copas: One Step More

Crook Brothers: 8th of January

Lonzo & Oscar: She Almost Drives Me Wild

Okie Dokie's: Take It From One Who Knows

Sam and Kirk: Southern Moon

Cowboy Copas: The Gypsie Told Me
Breakdown: To Be Announced

8:30: Royal Flour

Ernest Tubb: Daisy May

Martha White: Mean Mama Blues

Milton Estes: Thirty Pounds of Silver

Jimmy Dickens: Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me

Possum Hunters: Katy Hill

Ernest Tubb: Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello

Milton Estes: I'm On The Battlefield For My Lord

Jimmy Selph: I Love You So Much It Hurts Me

Jimmy Dickens: My Heart's Bouquet

Dale Potter: Black Mountain Rag

Ernest Tubb: There's A Little Bit of Everything in Texas

9:00: Royal Crown Cola

Hank Williams: Move It On Over

Zeb Turner: Guitar Boogie

Lonzo & Oscar: Charming Betsy

Fruit Jar Drinkers: Tennessee Wagoner

Jamup & Honey: Jokes

Bill Monroe: Brakeman Blues

String Beans: Here Rattler

Bluegrass Quartet: When He Reached Down His Hand For Me

Hank Williams: Mind Your Own Business

Lonzo & Oscar: Cornbread & Lasses

Chubby Wise: To Be Announced

9:30: Prince Albert

Red Foley: John Henry

Margaret Whiting: Skipping Around

Wally Fowler: I've Found A Hiding Place

Red Foley: Take Me Hand Precious Lord

Margaret Whiting: Wedding Bells

Old Hickory Quartet: When My Dream Boat Comes Home

Red Foley: Two Cents, Three Eggs & A Postcard

Square Dance: Ida Red

10:00: Wallrite

Bill Monroe: To Be Announced

Uncle Dave Macon: Rock of Ages

Bill and Mack: To Be Announced

Bluegrass Quartet: To Be Announced

Chubby Wise: To Be Announced

10:15: Warren Paint & Color Co.

Lew Childre: Everybody's Fishing

Hank Williams: To Be Announced

String Beans: Pretty Little

Hank Williams: To Be Announced

10:30: Darimix

Milton Estes: Take It Back & Change It For A Boy

Sam and Kirk: Long John Green From Bowling Green

Jimmy Selph: You Can't Pick A Rose in December

Odie & Jodi: Bread & Gravy

Dale Potter: Oklahoma Stomp

10:45: Dr. Le Gear

Cowboy Copas: Read of Broken Hearts

Hank Garland: Sugarfoot Hoe Down

Lazy Jim Day: Singing The News

Cowboy Copas: Stormy Winds

Hal Smith: Sally Goodin

11:00: Willys Overland

Ernest Tubb: Seaman's Blues

Zeb Turner: Zeb's Mountain Boogie

Jimmy Dickens: To Be Announced

Wally Fowler: Dig A Little Deeper in God's Love

Ernest Tubb: Yesterday's Winner Is A Loser Today

Gully Jumpers: Down Yonder

Jimmy Dickens: To Be Announced

Wally Fowler: My Cathedral of Dreams

Hal Smith: Mockingbird

Ernest Tubb: I Hang My Head & Cried

11:30: Jefferson Island Salt

Bill Monroe: To Be Announced

Lonzo & Oscar: Crawdad Song

Crook Brothers: To Be Announced

11:45: Niresk

Cowboy Copas: Jealous Heart

Okie Dokies: I Wonder Where You Are Tonight

Fruit Jar Drinkers: To Be Announced

Cowboy Copas: Blue Pacific Waltz

Fruit Jar Drinkers: Ravin's Gap

Almost 50 years later, Margaret Whiting appeared on the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday August 31, 1996. It would be her final appearance on the Opry. Here is the posted lineup from that night, in which she was on the TNN televised segment of the Opry and sang "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You."

6:30: Mike Snider (host): Bill Carlisle

6:45: Grandpa Jones (host): Jan Howard

7:00: Johnny Russell (host): Charlie Louvin, Jean Shepard, Jim Ed Brown

7:30: Jeannie Seely (host): The Cumberland Boys, Ray Pillow, Margaret Whiting, Melvin Sloan Dancers, Opry Square Dance Band

8:00: Porter Wagoner (host): Jeanne Pruett, Stonewall Jackson, Del Reeves, Charlie Walker

8:30: Hank Snow (host): Jimmy C Newman, Stu Phillips, The Whites, Connie Smith

(Margaret only appeared on the first show that night) 

Later in her career, she recorded country songs for Verve and Dot records while continuing to perform in nightclubs and musicals in New York. While more successful as an adult oriented pop singer, there were a few years where she was at the top of the country charts which earned her the title of being an honorary member of the Grand Ole Opry.