Grand Ole Opry 6/5 & 6/6

For the past three weeks, I have featured a group of Grand Ole Opry member who have gone missing and have not appeared on the Opry in years. Previously I highlighted Josh Turner, Little Big Town and Diamond Rio. This week, the spotlight shines on Opry members Rascal Flatts, who last appeared on the Opry over 6 years ago, on Tuesday December 3, 2019. 

Rascal Flatts joined the Grand Ole Opry in October 2011. In fact, their induction took place during the Opry's 86th birthday celebration. Like the others previously mentioned, the group was fairly good with their Opry appearances, averaging between 5 and 9 shows each year, with the majority of those taking place on the Tuesday Night Opry. 

While it is true that the group broke up for a period of time and stopped performing, they have been back touring and on the road for the past several years. Yet, they have not appeared on the Opry. To be fair, individually, they have appeared with Jay DeMarcus and Gary LeVox each appearing several times. But not the group. 

As is the case with Josh Turner, Little Big Town and Diamond Rio, the hope is that they will find their way back to the Opry stage soon. Like the others, they are missed. 

Now looking ahead to this weekend at the Grand Ole Opry, as CMA Fest continues, there are three shows on the schedule: the Friday Night and Saturday Grand Ole Opry shows, along with a special matinee show at the Ryman Auditorium. 

Taking a look at the Friday Night Opry, Opry member Vince Gill heads up the lineup that also includes Old Crow Medicine Show, Connie Smith and Mark Wills. Deana Carter will be making a guest appearance, as will Maggie Rose, Jordan Davis and Maddox Batson. 

Vince is back on Saturday night, along with Suzy Bogguss, Riders In The Sky and Pam Tillis, Guesting are Rhett Akins and Sister Sadie. 

Pam Tillis, Riders In The Sky and Sister Sadie will be making it a two-show day as in addition to the evening show at the Opry House, they are also on the schedule for the matinee show at the Ryman. Also listed are Mark Wills, making it a two show weekend for him, Morgan Myles, Bryce Leatherwood and Chancey Williams. 

Friday June 5
7:00: Mark Wills, Connie Smith, Maddox Batson, Old Crow Medicine Show
Intermission
8:20: Deana Carter, Maggie Rose, Jordan Davis, Vince Gill

Saturday June 6
Matinee at Ryman
2:00: Bryce Leatherwood, Riders In The Sky, Chancey Williams, Pam Tillis
Intermission
3:20: Mark Wills, Morgan Myles, Sister Sadie

Saturday June 6
7:00: Opry Square Dancers, Riders In The Sky, Rhett Akins, John Conlee, Pam Tillis
Intermission
8:20: Sister Sadie, Opry Square Dancers, Suzy Bogguss, Vince Gill

I can remember when Fan Fair weekend at the Opry brought out some of the biggest names and numerous Opry members. Not so much anymore as the main draw for the stars are the stadium shows that CMA Fest has downtown. But back decades ago, the Opry, along with the Midnite Jamboree was where the action was. This doesn't take anything away from the artists at the Opry this weekend as it is a solid lineup. But in many ways, it is pretty much a normal weekend at the Opry House. 

In the history of the Grand Ole Opry, some members are with the show until they pass away, while others just sort of fade away and disappear. One of those members was Tom T. Hall, who on Saturday June 6, 1992 performed on the Opry for the final time. 

One of 10 children born to a Baptist minister, Tom T. began playing guitar at age four and wrote his first song at nine. In his teens, he formed a bluegrass band, which performed locally. After a stint in the Army, while working as a radio copywriter in Roanoke, Virginia, he wrote songs on the side that were recorded by Jimmy C. Newman, Johnnie Wright, Dave Dudley, and Bobby Bare.

After moving to Nashville in 1964, he had several early hit recordings of his own, including “I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew,” and when Jeannie C. Riley’s recording of his “Harper Valley P.T.A.” sold six million copies and swept away multiple awards, Tom T.’s own recording career at Mercury Records accelerated. That career continued through more than 45 albums. For two years, he hosted the syndicated TV program Pop Goes the Country and made guest appearances on several other shows.

He has written 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the No. 1 international pop crossover smash "Harper Valley PTA" and the hit "I Love", which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. He is included in Rolling Stones list of 100 Greatest Songwriters. He became known to fans as "The Storyteller," thanks to his storytelling skills in his songwriting.

In his later years, Tom T. supervised acoustic sessions at his own recording studio, continued to write those utterly distinctive songs, and could be seen at venues from Nashville’s Station Inn to festivals across the country in support of the bluegrass music he holds especially dear.

Tom T. has authored a string of books, including an autobiography, a songwriting textbook, and several novels. His songs continue to be recorded with by bluegrass bands and country and Americana acts alike.

In the course of his career, Tom T. has received numerous honors. He was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2002.  On February 12, 2008, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In regard to Hall's longer-than-anticipated wait to be inducted, he attributed it to being somewhat reclusive and "not well liked" among the Nashville music industry, noting that he almost never collaborated with other songwriters and by the 1990s was largely out of step with the corporate style of country music.

In November 2018 Tom T. and his wife Dixie were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and in June 2019, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Tom T. Hall originally joined the Opry on January 1, 1971. He left the Opry after the move to new Grand Ole Opry House in 1974 but returned as a member in on March 28, 1980. In January 2021, he was recognized upon his 50th anniversary as an Opry member. 

In the years after his final Opry appearance, he reportedly told people that he didn't understand why the Opry kept him as a member as he had no intention of coming back to the show. By that point in his career, he was performing very little, concentrating on his bluegrass recording and songwriting with Dixie.

Here is the running order from Saturday June 6, 1992, Tom T. Hall's final Opry appearance:

1st show
6:30: GHS Strings
Porter Wagoner (host): Ol' Slewfoot
Jim Ed Brown: Lyin' In Love With You
Porter Wagoner: What Ain't to Be, Just Might Happen

6:45: Country Music Hall of Fame
Grandpa Jones (host): Going Down the Country
Charlie Walker: Roly Poly
Del Reeves: Two Dollars in the Jukebox/A Dime at at Time/Looking at the World Thru a Windshield
Grandpa Jones: Dear Old Sunny South by the Sea

7:00: Shoney's
Tom T Hall (host): Ravishing Ruby
Ray Pillow: Someone Had to Teach You
Jeanne Pruett: Satin Sheets
Billy Grammer: Somebody Loves You
Skeeter Davis: The End of the World
Tom T Hall: Old Dogs, Children & Watermelon Wine

7:30: Standard Candy
Bill Monroe (host): Mule Skinner Blues
Brooks & Dunn: Another Neon Moon/Boot Scoop Boogie
Randy Travis: Better Class of Losers/He Walked on Water/Diggin' Up Bones
Bill Monroe: Bluegrass Breakdown

8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
The Four Guys: I'm Bound for Higher Ground/We're Only Here for a Little While
Mike Snider: (?): Puttin; on the Dog (The Fur Coat)
Opry Square Dance Band and The Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Sail Away Ladies
Roy Acuff: Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain/How Beautiful Heaven Must Be

8:30: Opryland
Hank Snow (host): Silver Rails, Keep Me Free
Charlie Louvin and Charles Whitstein: The Family Who Prays
Jeanne Seely: When He Leaves You
Hank Locklin: My Turning Point in Life
Jack Greene: There's a Whole Lot About a Woman A Man Don't Know
Hank Snow: Let Me Go Lover

2nd show
9:30: Dollar General
Porter Wagoner (host): Dooley
Wilma Lee Cooper: Singing Waterfall
Billy Walker: Cross the Brazos at Waco
Brooks & Dunn: Another Neon Moon/Boot Scoop Boogie/Brand New Man
Porter Wagoner: Carolee Cooper Accident/Green, Green Grass of Home

10:00: Little Debbie
Grandpa Jones (host): Ain't it Hard
Stonewall Jackson: Why I'm Walkin'
Bill Carlisle: No Help Wanted
Grandpa Jones: I'll Meet You in the Morning

10:15: Tennessee Pride/Sunbeam
Roy Acuff (host): Sunshine Special
Jim Ed Brown: Pop A Top/The 3 Bells

10:30: Pet Milk
Tom T Hall (host): The Year That Clayton Delaney Died
Roy Drusky: Too Old to Die Young
Tom T Hall: I Love

10:45: B.C. Powder
Bill Monroe (host): Why Did You Wander
Del Reeves: A Dozen Pair of Boots
Opry Square Dance Band and The Stoney Mountain Cloggers: Sugar in the Goard
Bill Monroe: Wayfaring Stranger

11:00: Coca Cola
Hank Snow (host): There's A Fool Such As I
Charlie Louvin and Charles Whitstein: Nobody's Darling But Mine
Billy Grammer: Ain't Misbehaving
The Four Guys: How Married Are You Mary Ann/May You Always
Hank Snow: I've Done at Least One Thing That Was Good in My Life

11:30: Creamette
Jack Greene (host): Satisfied
Hank Locklin: Please Help Me, I'm Falling
Jeannie Seely: Too Far Gone
Mike Snider: Shuckin' the Corn/Snuff Dipper
Jack Greene: Status of a Fool

Some Opry members I miss more than others. Tom T. is one of those.