Grand Ole Opry 10/16 & 10/17

It is going to be a special weekend at the Grand Ole Opry as on Saturday night, Vince Gill will be honored upon his 35th anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. 

But before we get to Saturday night, there is a Friday Night Opry to begin the weekend that will feature Grand Ole Opry members Mandy Barnett, Riders In The Sky and John Conlee. 

The Stanley Brothers are formally being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday as the Medallion Ceremony will be taking place. Ralph Stanley was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and to honor his father, Ralph Stanley II and The Clinch Mountain Boys will be appearing on Friday night. Also on the schedule are Lacy J. Dalton, Tigirlily Gold, Nate Smith, and making his Opry debut, Andy Grammer. 

While Vince Gill actually joined the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday August 10, 1991, on Saturday night, he will celebrate his 35th anniversary as a member of the Opry's cast. 

From The Tennessean, Friday August 9, 1991: 

Gold Record awardee, Grammy winner, Country Music Association honoree and all-around nice guy Vince Gill becomes the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry this weekend. 

Gill will be inducted into the Opry cast during the 7:30 p.m. portion of Saturday night's show hosted by Roy Acuff. The segment will be televised live on The Nashville Network. 

Gill's When I Call Your Name was one of the biggest country records of 1990. It won Song of the Year from the CMA and a Grammy Award from the Recording Academy. He's been scaling the charts since then with Pocket Full of Gold, Liza Jane and other hits. 

A brilliant tenor singer, multi-instrumental wizard and top songwriter, Gill is adept in bluegrass, rock, swing, and a wide variety of other styles. This many-faceted entertainer appears frequently on other artist's albums. In fact, he co-wrote Alabama's current No 1. single, Here We Are. 

I know it has been mentioned many times what an asset Vince is to the Grand Ole Opry. Since joining the cast, he has continually supported the show and has challenged many of his contemporaries to do the same. While his appearances have increased even more frequently over the past several years, taking in his 35 years as an Opry member, he has averaged 20 appearances per year. Yes, he continues to set the example. 

Joining Vince on Saturday night will be Opry members Patty Loveless and Ricky Skaggs, Charlie Worsham, Wendy Moten, and Amy Grant. 

Friday October 16
7:00: Mandy Barnett, John Conlee, Andy Grammer, Tigirlily Gold
Intermission
8:20: Lacy J. Dalton, Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys, Nate Smith, Riders In The Sky

Saturday October 17
1st show
7:00: Opry Square Dancers, Ricky Skaggs, Wendy Moten, Amy Grant, Charlie Worsham, Patty Loveless, Vince Gill

2nd show
9:30: Opry Square Dancers, Ricky Skaggs, Wendy Moten, Amy Grant, Charlie Worsham, Patty Loveless, Vince Gill

I don't know how the show will go on Saturday night, but one of the best Grand Ole Opry shows I have ever attended, and I have been to over 300 shows, was the night in 2016 when Vince celebrated his 25th Opry anniversary. The show that night included Bill Anderson, Amy Grant, Patty Loveless, Charlie Worsham, Andrea Zonn, Ashley Monroe, The Time Jumpers, Opry Square Dancers, Rodney Crowell and Jenny Gill. I looked at my notes from that night, and Vince was on stage the entire show with his band. There were no Opry Staff Band and no Opry singers. What was amazing was that the first show lasted just under 3 hours, with the second show not starting until 10:30. That show did not end until 1:00 a.m. It was just an amazing night. 

While Vince Gill joined the Opry on August 10, 1991, he made his Opry debut on July 29, 1989. Here is the posted Opry schedule from that night: 

1st show
6:30: Billy Walker (host): Jan Howard
6:45: Stonewall Jackson (host): Del Wood
7:00: The 4 Guys (host): Skeeter Davis, Ray Pillow, Larry Boone
7:30: Jimmy C Newman (host): Jeannie Seely, Wilma Lee Cooper, Vince Gill
8:00: Roy Acuff (host): Charlie Louvin, Connie Smith, Opry Square Dance Band, Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Hank Snow (host): Del Reeves, Jean Shepard, Roy Drusky, Jeanne Pruett

2nd show
9:30: Ray Pillow (host): The 4 Guys, Ernie Ashworth, Teddy Wilburn, Del Wood
10:00: Bill Walker (host): Larry Boone
10:15: Roy Acuff (host): Carlisles
10:30: Jimmy C Newman (host): Vince Gill
10:45: Stonewall Jackson (host): Jeannie Seely, Opry Square Dance Band, Melvin Sloan Dancers
11:00: Hank Snow (host): Roy Drusky, Connie Smith, Justin Tubb, Jean Shepard
11:30: Del Reeves (host): Jeanne Pruett, Charlie Louvin

Finally, here is the running order from Saturday August 10, 1991, the night Vince Gill officially became an Opry member: 

1st show
6:30: Bonanza
Del Reeves (host): Girl on the Billboard
Skeeter Davis: The End of the World
Del Reeves: A Dozen Pair of Boots

6:45: Country Music Hall of Fame
Charlie Walker (host): Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
Bill Carlisle: Leave that Liar Alone
Charlie Walker: Drinking Champagne/Take Me Back to Tulsa

7:00: Shoney's
Jim Ed Brown (host): Everyday People
Jan Howard: You Don't Know Me
Billy Walker: You Gave Me A Mountain
Wilma Lee Cooper: Wildwood Flower
Ray Pillow: That Ain't No Way to Treat My Heart
Jim Ed Brown: Scarlet Ribbons

7:30: Standard Candy
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Osborne Brothers: Rocky Top/Kentucky
Vince Gill: Look At Us/When I Call Your Name

8:00: Martha White
Jimmy C Newman (host): Colinda
Jeannie Seely: Too Far Gone
Boxcar Willie: Cowboys & Horses; Hobos & Trains
Roy Drusky: Wings of A Dove
Opry Square Dance Band/Melvin Sloan Dancers: Sugar in the Gourd
Jimmy C Newman: Jambalaya

8:30: Pops Rite
Hank Snow (host): A Vanishing Breed
Jean Shepard: Home In San Antone/Time Changes Everything/Roly Poly
4 Guys: Tennessee
Mike Snider: Shuckin the Corn
Hank Snow: I Almost Lost My Mind

2nd show
9:30: Dollar General Stores
Del Reeves (host): Bells of Southern Bell
Skeeter Davis: O Happy Day
Vic Willis Trio: Colorado
Teddy Wilburn; Somebody's Back in Town
Bill Carlisle: Business Man
Del Reeves: Luckenbach Texas

10:00: Little Debbie
Jim Ed Brown (host): Southern Loving
Charlie Louvin: When I Stop Dreaming
Jim Ed Brown: The Old Lamplighter

10:15: Tennessee Pride/Sunbeam
Roy Acuff (host): Just A Friend
Vince Gill: Pocket Full of Gold/When I Call Your Name

10:30: Pet Milk
Charlie Walker (host): San Antonio Rose
Jan Howard: Somebody's Always Saying Goodbye
Charlie Walker: Don't Squeeze My Sharmon

10:45: B.C. Powder
Jimmy C Newman (host): Big Mamou
David Houston: My Elusive Dreams
Opry Square Dance Band/Melvin Sloan Dancers: Blackberry Blossom
Jimmy C Newman: Mottland

11:00: Coca-Cola
Hank Snow (host): Between Fire & Water
Jean Shepard: Slippin Away
Justin Tubb: Waltz Across Texas
Osborne Brothers: Bluegrass Melodies/Midnight Flyer
Hank Snow: I've Done at Least 1 Good Thing in My Life

11:30: Creamette
Boxcar Willie (host): Fireball Mail/Train of Love/Hank Me Down My Walking Cane/Wreck of the Old 97/I'm Moving On/Wabash Cannonball/Night Train to Memphis
Jeannie Seely: Go Down Swinging
4 Guys: Elvira/Elizabeth/Old Flames/Church on the Cumberland Road/Dumas Walker
Mike Snider: Snuff Dipper
Boxcar Willie: Cowboys & Horses; Hobos & Trains

While I was not at the Opry on the night of Vince's induction, I do remember watching it on The Nashville Network and I just had a feeling then that Vince knew what it was about, being an Opry member and he would be a member that could be counted on in the future. 

To conclude the weekend, there is a Sunday Night Opry on the schedule. The only Opry members on the schedule are Riders In The Sky. Rounding out the show are Wyatt McCubbin, Caylee Hammack, The Steel Wheels, Tia Sillers, Kyle Morgan, Ryan and Rory and Appalachian Road Show. 

Sunday October 18
7:00: Riders In The Sky, Wyatt McCubben, The Steel Wheels, Kyle Morgan
Intermission
8:20: Ryan and Rory, Tia Sillers, Caylee Hammack, Appalachian Road Show

For The Steel Wheels, it will be their Opry debut.