If it seems like The Oak Ridge Boys have been on the Opry quite often in 2026, you would be right as the quartet has appeared over 25 times this year. You can add two more appearances to the list as this weekend the group will be appearing on both the Friday Night Opry and Saturday's Grand Ole Opry.
Joining the group on Friday night are Opry members Riders In The Sky, The Whites and John Conlee. Saturday night, in addition to The Oaks, Bill Anderson returns, joined by Rhonda Vincent and Charlie McCoy.
The non-members appearing on Friday night include gospel great Jason Crabb, Nate Smith, Trish Suhr and Chancey Williams. John Berry returns on Saturday night, along with MaRynn Taylor and John Wesley Rogers, who will be making his Opry debut.
Saturday is Halloween. Once again, I will miss Jeannie Seely as she always had a way to make Halloween special.
(I am sorry to post that once again, I do not have the running order for the shows this weekend. Hopefully this will be corrected, and I will once again be able to post the running order for the shows. Thanks for everyone's patience).
Friday October 31, 1997 was one of those special nights at the Grand Ole Opry as former Opry member Kitty Wells returned to the Opry. The occasion was special as Kitty and her husband Johnny Wright were celebrating 60 years of marriage.
From the Nashville Tennessean Friday October 31, 1997:
Can you imagine waking up to the same person for 60 years? Kitty Wells and Johnny Wright celebrated their diamond anniversary Thursday, and Wells will add to the weekend's upbeat atmosphere by performing on the Grand Ole Opry both Friday and Saturday. Some 45 years ago, Wells became the first woman in country history to have a solo No. 1 record. It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels, an answer to Hank Thompson's The Wild Side of Life, spent six weeks at the top. Wells became the queen of country music and strung together 35 Top 10 hits, including Buck Owens-penned Mommy For A Day, the Harlan Howard written Heartbreak U.S.A., and Makin' Believe, which became a hit again for Emmylou Harris. Wells is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a 1991 recipient of the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Here is the posted lineup for the Friday Night Opry, October 31, 1997:
7:30: Porter Wagoner (host): Oswald & Charlie, Jimmy C Newman, Connie Smith, Johnny Russell
8:00: Grandpa Jones (host): Bill Carlisle, Jeannie Seely, Hank Locklin
8:30: Bill Anderson (host): Kitty Wells, The Whites
9:00: Ricky Skaggs (host): Skeeter Davis, Mike Snider, The 4 Guys
9:30: Jimmy Dickens (host): Charlie Walker, Jeanne Pruett, Ray Pillow, Del Reeves
As was mentioned in the Tennessean article, Kitty was scheduled for all three shows that weekend. Here is the posted lineup from the first show on Saturday November 1:
6:30: Grandpa Jones (host): Connie Smith
6:45: Jimmy Dickens (host): Bill Carlisle
7:00: Porter Wagoner (host): Jeanne Pruett, George Hamilton IV, Jimmy C Newman, The Whites
7:30: Jeannie Seely (host) Diamond Rio, Kitty Wells
8:00: Bill Anderson (host): Charlie Louvin, Johnny Russell, Del Reeves, Opry Square Dance Band, Melvin Sloan Dancers
8:30: Ricky Skaggs (host): Skeeter Davis, Mike Snider, Hank Locklin, The 4 Guys
Finally, the running order from the second show that night:
9:30: Dollar General
Porter Wagoner (host): Dooley
Oswald & Charlie: Prairie Queen
Charlie Louvin: The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea
Bobby Wright: I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head (And Left My Heart Alone)
Kitty Wells, Johnny Wright & Bobby Wright: Ashes of Love/Dust On The Bible
Porter Wagoner: Green, Green Grass of Home
10:00: Opry Book
Grandpa Jones (host): Fix Me A Pallet Down On The Floor
Diamond Rio: Walking In Jerusalem Just Like John/Meet In The Middle
10:15: Banquet/Con Agra Frozen Foods
Jimmy Dickens (host): Take An Old Cold Tater
Jeanne Pruett: A Poor Man's Woman
Jimmy Dickens: We Could
10:30: Purnell's Sausage
Bill Anderson (host): Did She Mention My Name
Jimmy C Newman: Diggy Liggy Lo
Bill Anderson: Always Remember
10:45: Your Quality Certified Home Builders
Mike Snider (host): Instrumental
Opry Square Dance Band & The Melvin Sloan Dancers: Durang's Retreat
Mike Snider: The Fur Coat
11:00: Coke
Ricky Skaggs (host): If I Lose
Del Reeves: The Only Girl I Can't Forget
Charlie Walker: Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
Stonewall Jackson: A Wound Time Can't Erase
The Whites: Steal Away And Pray
Ricky Skaggs: Little Community Church
11:30: Opry Book
Johnny Russell (host): Me & Bobby McGee
The 4 Guys: Cottonfields/Mariah
George Hamilton IV & V: We Will Meet Again
Jeannie Seely: Bubbles In My Beer
Johnny Russell: Orange Blossom Special
Kitty Wells joined the Opry in September 1952. But prior to that, she already had been in the business for an extensive amount of time, and in fact, had retired, deciding to stay home while her husband Johnny Wright and brother-in-law Jack Anglin carried on. In early 1952 at the urging of her husband Johnny, Kitty recorded "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," the answer song to "Wild Side of Life" by Hank Thompson. It quickly went to the top of the charts. With the hit record to her credit, Johnny Wright pushed to have her become a member of the Opry, of which Johnny & Jack were already members.
"We were trying to get her on the Opry," Johnny said, "but Vito Pellettieri, the guy that cleared all the songs, on the show, says 'You can't sing that song on the Opry because of the lyrics.' Roy Acuff went up and talked to Jim Denny and Jack Stapp, and he told them 'Kitty Wells is a female Roy Acuff. She sells songs with her sincerity.' And Honky-Tonk Angels got to be such a hit you know that they had to let her sing it." And the hits and awards just kept coming and while Roy was recognized as the King of Country Music, Kitty earned the title Queen of Country Music.
Kitty Wells remained an Opry member December 1964 when the Opry purged their cast of members who failed to meet the required number of annual appearances. Johnny Wright would claim that he, along with Kitty, were not fired with the rest, but had quit because of the percentages that were paid to the WSM Artists' Service Bureau which booked Opry members road appearances. Johnny was quoted as saying that they quit because they didn't want to pay the fees anymore.
Even though she left the Opry, Kitty would continue to make occasional appearances over the years, including the one in 1997. Years later, it was reported that she had a desire to rejoin the Opry however the request was not granted.
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