Here is the line-up for this week's Tuesday Night Opry, June 1. This week's show will be at the TPAC's Jackson Hall. Having been in this facility a couple of times, this is a pretty nice hall and it should suit the Opry well.
7:00: Jim Ed Brown; Holly Williams
7:30: Jean Shepard; Billy Dean
INTERMISSION
8:15: John Conlee; Jim Lauderdale
8:45: Jimmy Dickens; Cherryholmes
We have been seeing a lot of Holly Williams on the Opry over the past several months. I know she has a new CD out and is trying to establish her career. I know that in the past the Opry likes to hook on to younger singers and give them exposure hoping that they will make it and remember the Opry after they do. Josh Turner is a good example of someone that this worked out well for, while there are a couple of others who just never hit it big, despite the Opry's help. I can think of Mandy Barnett and Rebecca Lynn Howard, who fall into that group.
Also, I did listen to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night and thought it was a pretty good show. I especially enjoyed John Conlee singing, "They also Serve", which I think is a great song.
Happy Memorial Day to all. And, please remember.
Nationally recognized independent Grand Ole Opry historian Byron Fay offers news and comments regarding country music's premier show.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Grand Ole Opry Line-Up 5/28 & 5/29
The Grand Ole Opry has announced their line-ups for this weekend's shows. There is one show on Friday night and one show on Saturday night, with both shows taking place at the Ryman Auditorium. Here are the line-ups:
Friday May 28
7:00: Mel Tillis(host); Riders In The Sky; John Conlee
7:30: Jimmy Dickens(host); Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; John Michael Montgomery
INTERMISSION
8:15: Bill Anderson(host); Jean Shepard; Ole Crow Medicine Show
8:45: Mike Snider(host); Jack Greene; Lee Greenwood
Saturday May 29
7:00: Jimmy Dickens(host); Jimmy C. Newman; Rebecca Lynn Howard
7:30: Jeannie Seely(host); John Conlee; Dan Tyminski & Ronnie Bowman
INTERMISSION
8:15: Mike Snider(host); Jan Howard; Exile; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Bill Anderson(host); Jaron & The Long Road To Love; The Whites
As far as the Midnight Jamboree at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, the hosts this week will be Riders In The Sky.
Finally, I am hearing of some people having issues involving the shows that were originally scheduled for Tuesday night June 8. This is night during the CMA Music Fest that has scheduled Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Trisha Yearwood and others. Originally, there were going to be two shows, one at 7 and the second at 9:30, both at the Grand Ole Opry House. Now there is one show scheduled at the Municipal Auditorium. Here are the issues that some ticket holders are having:
>The Opry said it would refund the tickets to those who held tickets for the 9:30 show and were unable to attend the earlier show. Some have said that there is confusion when they call the Opry asking about getting a refund.
>The second issue involves seating. The Opry is offering "comparable" seating to the ticket holders when the show is moved to a different location. But, in this case, as they are turning two shows into one show and the talent line-up that is being advertised, all who had tickets in the front row at the Opry House want seats in the front row at the Auditorium. Obviously that cannot happen, so you have some unhappy customers. Also, for those who have been in the Municipal Auditorium, it is not like the Opry House. It is an older arena, better suited for the circus and wrestling shows, than the Opry. That also means that many people who thought they would have good seats looking straight into the stage, will have seats on the side of the arena. The Opry says it is doing their best to make everyone happy, and knowing a few of the customer service folks who work for Gaylord, I am sure that they are working very hard to try to make that happen.
Friday May 28
7:00: Mel Tillis(host); Riders In The Sky; John Conlee
7:30: Jimmy Dickens(host); Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys; John Michael Montgomery
INTERMISSION
8:15: Bill Anderson(host); Jean Shepard; Ole Crow Medicine Show
8:45: Mike Snider(host); Jack Greene; Lee Greenwood
Saturday May 29
7:00: Jimmy Dickens(host); Jimmy C. Newman; Rebecca Lynn Howard
7:30: Jeannie Seely(host); John Conlee; Dan Tyminski & Ronnie Bowman
INTERMISSION
8:15: Mike Snider(host); Jan Howard; Exile; Opry Square Dancers
8:45: Bill Anderson(host); Jaron & The Long Road To Love; The Whites
As far as the Midnight Jamboree at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, the hosts this week will be Riders In The Sky.
Finally, I am hearing of some people having issues involving the shows that were originally scheduled for Tuesday night June 8. This is night during the CMA Music Fest that has scheduled Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Trisha Yearwood and others. Originally, there were going to be two shows, one at 7 and the second at 9:30, both at the Grand Ole Opry House. Now there is one show scheduled at the Municipal Auditorium. Here are the issues that some ticket holders are having:
>The Opry said it would refund the tickets to those who held tickets for the 9:30 show and were unable to attend the earlier show. Some have said that there is confusion when they call the Opry asking about getting a refund.
>The second issue involves seating. The Opry is offering "comparable" seating to the ticket holders when the show is moved to a different location. But, in this case, as they are turning two shows into one show and the talent line-up that is being advertised, all who had tickets in the front row at the Opry House want seats in the front row at the Auditorium. Obviously that cannot happen, so you have some unhappy customers. Also, for those who have been in the Municipal Auditorium, it is not like the Opry House. It is an older arena, better suited for the circus and wrestling shows, than the Opry. That also means that many people who thought they would have good seats looking straight into the stage, will have seats on the side of the arena. The Opry says it is doing their best to make everyone happy, and knowing a few of the customer service folks who work for Gaylord, I am sure that they are working very hard to try to make that happen.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Opry Country Classics-May 27
Here is the line-up for Opry Country Classics, at the Ryman Auditorium on Thursday May 27
Host: T.G. Sheppard
Spotlight Artist: John Anderson
Also Appearing: Rhett Akins, David Frizzell, Opry Square Dancers, Shelly West, Chris Young.
Just a couple of comments:
>I find it interesting that David Frizzell and Shelly West are not scheduled together. I would assume that they would sing a duet or two.
>How can you have an Opry sponsored show and not have an Opry member on it? I just don't get it. There are 66 current members and Pete Fisher could not find one of them who could or would appear on the show? I find this totally unacceptable! And when I think of classic artists, I think of folks like Jimmy Dickens, Ray Price, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Bill Anderson, Jim Ed Brown, etc. (I think you get the idea). I don't think of any of those listed for this show.
Come on Grand Ole Opry. If you are going to have an Opry show, let's get some members appearing and if you are going to call the show a "classics" show, let's feature some classic country music performers.
Host: T.G. Sheppard
Spotlight Artist: John Anderson
Also Appearing: Rhett Akins, David Frizzell, Opry Square Dancers, Shelly West, Chris Young.
Just a couple of comments:
>I find it interesting that David Frizzell and Shelly West are not scheduled together. I would assume that they would sing a duet or two.
>How can you have an Opry sponsored show and not have an Opry member on it? I just don't get it. There are 66 current members and Pete Fisher could not find one of them who could or would appear on the show? I find this totally unacceptable! And when I think of classic artists, I think of folks like Jimmy Dickens, Ray Price, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Bill Anderson, Jim Ed Brown, etc. (I think you get the idea). I don't think of any of those listed for this show.
Come on Grand Ole Opry. If you are going to have an Opry show, let's get some members appearing and if you are going to call the show a "classics" show, let's feature some classic country music performers.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Observations on Tuesday's "Televised" Opry Show
After watching tonight's Tuesday Night Opry on opry.com, I wanted to offer my observations and opinions on what I saw tonight.
First, let's look at what I view as the positives:
>I thought that the picture quality and sound were excellent and far better than the last attempt at a live video stream of the Opry when Carrie Underwood was on.
>It was great that they showed the Opry as it was actually taking place, uninterrupted, on the Ryman stage. There was no Nan Kelley or Storme Warren acting as an "tv" announcer. The show was shown straight through, including Eddie Stubbs being shown reading all of the commercials and introducing each segment and act.
>The Ryman Auditorium looked full, although I know that tickets were still on sale earlier today. Also, I was pleased that they used the backdrop that is used for Opry country classics and was used in previous years, instead of the mini-version of the backdrop that is used at the Opry house.
>All the artists were great, and they all played with their full road bands. If you have listened or been to the Opry lately, you know that Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill have been appearing without their bands. Same with Steve Wariner when I saw him on the Opry in April. The crowd was also very enthusiastic.
Now for the negative:
>The show started out great with Steve Wariner, but as the show went into Ricky Skagg's segment, then buffering and video streaming problems started. I am not a computer expert, but I would suspect that many more people were trying to watch it tonight than the server could handle. And, I was not the only one with the issue as I went on the Opry's facebook page, and the Opry was acknowledging the problem and suggesting people go to a couple of different sites to watch it. But, the Opry should have anticipated that a high number of people would be interested in this broadcast and should have been prepared. I will say that the buffering and streaming problem seemed to get a little better when the jam started so maybe some of those watching finally quit watching or when to other sites because of the issues.
>On the video site, there was the option to join a chat. I did and it was not what I had expected. There were only around 15-20 people on it during the several times that I checked, and only a couple were actually chatting about the show. The others were just off on other things. Also from what I could tell, there was no moderator for the chat.
>The jam at the end was good but it consisted of only 2 songs. I kept hoping that a guest star, such as Jimmy Dickens, would come out. Nobody did.
>Finally, the Opry only televised 1 hour of what was a 2 hour show at the Ryman. The first hour included Jimmy Dickens, Bill Anderson and Jeannie Seely. Since the Opry was producing this show themselves and not having a network tell them who they could or could not put on, I don't understand why they did not include any legends. Of course, what are the chances that this hour would have been shown live if Steve, Ricky, Vince and Brad were not on the Opry tonight? The answer in none.
A couple of final observations:
They showed a little video at the end with Steve Buchanan showing some of the work and damage at the Opry house with some video taken backstage. There was nothing new to report on the damage. The Opry is supposed to announce in a couple of weeks their timetable for returning to the Opry House. Everything up until September has been moved to other sites. I think sometime in September might be a good guess, but I would not be suprised at all if they did not make it back until the birthday celebration in October. Either way, I expect a big, big weekend when they do return to the Opry House and billing it as a grand re-opening or a homecoming.
I noticed on the video site that Brad Paisley was appearing courtesy of Arista Nashville. None of the other artists were appearing courtesy of anyone. But that begs a couple of questions? Does Brad have to get Arista's permission to do the Opry or their permission to be televised while on the Opry? Or did Arista pick up a portion of Brad's pay for being on the Opry tonight while nobody picked up the Opry's cost for Steve, Ricky or Vince? Just a couple of questions, that is all. I know that all of the Opry's members are covered by the musician union's contract and the television and internet rights are covered in that contract, but I have never seen anyone appearing before courtesy of their record company.
I would love to see the Opry do this again. Obviously, they are experimenting with various ways to do a better job at getting the Opry out in the public eye and television continues to be a problem for them. Nobody wants to pay the price that Gaylord is asking to televise the show and there are few options available. I have said in the past that I would love for RFD-TV to try to work something out, but I have not heard anything in that regard. Doing an internet show is a great idea and I would love to see them continue to do it. I am sure that if they make the decision to do another of these shows, they will continue to work at making the presentation better. Just like this one was better than the first one that they did, I am sure the next one will be even better. And, if they were to show an entire Opry show every once in a while, even if it was just one time each year, I am sure most people would pay a reasonable cost to watch it. And, this gives everyone across the country an opportunity to see an Opry show.
Overall, I would give this show a thumbs up!!!!!
First, let's look at what I view as the positives:
>I thought that the picture quality and sound were excellent and far better than the last attempt at a live video stream of the Opry when Carrie Underwood was on.
>It was great that they showed the Opry as it was actually taking place, uninterrupted, on the Ryman stage. There was no Nan Kelley or Storme Warren acting as an "tv" announcer. The show was shown straight through, including Eddie Stubbs being shown reading all of the commercials and introducing each segment and act.
>The Ryman Auditorium looked full, although I know that tickets were still on sale earlier today. Also, I was pleased that they used the backdrop that is used for Opry country classics and was used in previous years, instead of the mini-version of the backdrop that is used at the Opry house.
>All the artists were great, and they all played with their full road bands. If you have listened or been to the Opry lately, you know that Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill have been appearing without their bands. Same with Steve Wariner when I saw him on the Opry in April. The crowd was also very enthusiastic.
Now for the negative:
>The show started out great with Steve Wariner, but as the show went into Ricky Skagg's segment, then buffering and video streaming problems started. I am not a computer expert, but I would suspect that many more people were trying to watch it tonight than the server could handle. And, I was not the only one with the issue as I went on the Opry's facebook page, and the Opry was acknowledging the problem and suggesting people go to a couple of different sites to watch it. But, the Opry should have anticipated that a high number of people would be interested in this broadcast and should have been prepared. I will say that the buffering and streaming problem seemed to get a little better when the jam started so maybe some of those watching finally quit watching or when to other sites because of the issues.
>On the video site, there was the option to join a chat. I did and it was not what I had expected. There were only around 15-20 people on it during the several times that I checked, and only a couple were actually chatting about the show. The others were just off on other things. Also from what I could tell, there was no moderator for the chat.
>The jam at the end was good but it consisted of only 2 songs. I kept hoping that a guest star, such as Jimmy Dickens, would come out. Nobody did.
>Finally, the Opry only televised 1 hour of what was a 2 hour show at the Ryman. The first hour included Jimmy Dickens, Bill Anderson and Jeannie Seely. Since the Opry was producing this show themselves and not having a network tell them who they could or could not put on, I don't understand why they did not include any legends. Of course, what are the chances that this hour would have been shown live if Steve, Ricky, Vince and Brad were not on the Opry tonight? The answer in none.
A couple of final observations:
They showed a little video at the end with Steve Buchanan showing some of the work and damage at the Opry house with some video taken backstage. There was nothing new to report on the damage. The Opry is supposed to announce in a couple of weeks their timetable for returning to the Opry House. Everything up until September has been moved to other sites. I think sometime in September might be a good guess, but I would not be suprised at all if they did not make it back until the birthday celebration in October. Either way, I expect a big, big weekend when they do return to the Opry House and billing it as a grand re-opening or a homecoming.
I noticed on the video site that Brad Paisley was appearing courtesy of Arista Nashville. None of the other artists were appearing courtesy of anyone. But that begs a couple of questions? Does Brad have to get Arista's permission to do the Opry or their permission to be televised while on the Opry? Or did Arista pick up a portion of Brad's pay for being on the Opry tonight while nobody picked up the Opry's cost for Steve, Ricky or Vince? Just a couple of questions, that is all. I know that all of the Opry's members are covered by the musician union's contract and the television and internet rights are covered in that contract, but I have never seen anyone appearing before courtesy of their record company.
I would love to see the Opry do this again. Obviously, they are experimenting with various ways to do a better job at getting the Opry out in the public eye and television continues to be a problem for them. Nobody wants to pay the price that Gaylord is asking to televise the show and there are few options available. I have said in the past that I would love for RFD-TV to try to work something out, but I have not heard anything in that regard. Doing an internet show is a great idea and I would love to see them continue to do it. I am sure that if they make the decision to do another of these shows, they will continue to work at making the presentation better. Just like this one was better than the first one that they did, I am sure the next one will be even better. And, if they were to show an entire Opry show every once in a while, even if it was just one time each year, I am sure most people would pay a reasonable cost to watch it. And, this gives everyone across the country an opportunity to see an Opry show.
Overall, I would give this show a thumbs up!!!!!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Grand Ole Opry---December 30, 1961
Here we go again. I am posting another of my classic Grand Ole Opry line-ups from the past. This time, I go back to December 30, 1961 as the Opry had one show at the Ryman Auditorium.
7:30
Porter Wayne Wagoner(host)
Robert L. Lord
Thurman Theodore & Virgil Doyle Wilburn
David Akeman
Margie Bowes
Justin Wayne Tubb
8:00
Lester Raymond Flatt & Earl Eugene Scruggs(host)
Carl Robert Butler
William Toliver Carlisle
Jimmy Yves Newman
Louis Marshall Jones
8:30
Donald Eugene Gibson(host)
George Thomas Morgan
Archie James Campbell
Ira Lonnie & Charles Elzer Loudermilk
Polly Adelaide Hendricks Hazelwood
Claude Sharpe, Ross Dowden, Luther Heatwole, Joseph McPherson
9:00
Martin David Robinson(host)
William Smith Monroe
Lloyd Estel Copas
Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon
James Clue Summey
9:30
Clarence Eugene Snow(host)
Wilma Lee Leary & Dale T. Cooper
Harold Franklin Hawkins
Lloyd Leslie George & Rollin Lillian Sullivan
Ollie Imogene Shepard
Thomas Paul, Charles & James Glaser
10:00
Porter Wayne Wagoner(host)
Thurman Theodore & Virgil Doyle Wilburn
Margie Bowes
10:15
Lester Raymond Flatt & Earl Eugene Scruggs(host)
George Thomas Morgan
Robert L. Lord
Justin Wayne Tubb
10:30
Donald Eugene Gibson(host)
William Toliver Carlisle
Carl Robert Butler
Polly Adelaide Hendricks Hazelwood
10:45
Martin David Robinson(host)
David Akeman
11:00
Clarence Eugene Snow(host)
William Smith Monroe
Jimmy Yves Newman
Lloyd Leslie George & Rollin Lillian Sullivan
Louis Marshall Jones
Claude Sharpe, Ross Dowden, Luther Heatwole, Joseph McPherson
11:30
Harold Franklin Hawkins(host)
Thomas Paul, Charles & James Glaser
James Clue Summey
Ollie Imogene Shepard
Lloyd Estel Copas
Wilma Lee Leary & Dale T. Cooper
Ira Lonnie & Charles Elzer Loudermilk
Ok, before everyone gets excited and thinks that I have lost my mind, I decided to post the line-up with the artist's real/legal names. I wonder how many of you knew who each artist was? Just having some fun with everyone and testing how much all of you know about those classic Opry stars. Now, here is the line-up as I am sure most would recognize:
7:30: Porter Wagoner, Bobby Lord, Wilburn Brothers, Stringbean, Margie Bowes, Justin Tubb
8:00: Flatt & Scruggs, Carl Butler, Bill Carlisle, Jimmy Newman, Grandpa Jones
8:30: Don Gibson, George Morgan, Archie Campbell, Louvin Brothers, Del Wood, Old Hickory Singers
9:00: Marty Robbins, Bill Monroe, Cowboy Copas, Minnie Pearl, Cousin Jody
9:30: Hank Snow, Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, Hawshaw Hawkins, Lonza & Oscar, Jean Shepard, Glaser Brothers
10:00: Porter Wagoner, Wilburn Brothers, Margie Bowes
10:15: Flatt & Scruggs, George Morgan, Bobby Lord, Justin Tubb
10:30: Don Gibson, Bill Carlisle, Carl Butler, Del Wood
10:45: Marty Robbins, Stringbean
11:00: Hank Snow, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Newman, Lonzo & Oscar, Grandpa Jones, Old Hickory Singers
11:30: Hawshaw Hawkins, Glaser Brothers, Cousin Jody, Jean Shepard, Cowboy Copas, Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, Louvin Brothers
The only artists that appeared only one time that night were Archie Campbell and Minnie Pearl. Remember, this was in the era of only one show on each Saturday night, with the general rule that each artist would appear one time before 10:00 and one time again after 10:00.
Hope you enjoyed this.
7:30
Porter Wayne Wagoner(host)
Robert L. Lord
Thurman Theodore & Virgil Doyle Wilburn
David Akeman
Margie Bowes
Justin Wayne Tubb
8:00
Lester Raymond Flatt & Earl Eugene Scruggs(host)
Carl Robert Butler
William Toliver Carlisle
Jimmy Yves Newman
Louis Marshall Jones
8:30
Donald Eugene Gibson(host)
George Thomas Morgan
Archie James Campbell
Ira Lonnie & Charles Elzer Loudermilk
Polly Adelaide Hendricks Hazelwood
Claude Sharpe, Ross Dowden, Luther Heatwole, Joseph McPherson
9:00
Martin David Robinson(host)
William Smith Monroe
Lloyd Estel Copas
Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon
James Clue Summey
9:30
Clarence Eugene Snow(host)
Wilma Lee Leary & Dale T. Cooper
Harold Franklin Hawkins
Lloyd Leslie George & Rollin Lillian Sullivan
Ollie Imogene Shepard
Thomas Paul, Charles & James Glaser
10:00
Porter Wayne Wagoner(host)
Thurman Theodore & Virgil Doyle Wilburn
Margie Bowes
10:15
Lester Raymond Flatt & Earl Eugene Scruggs(host)
George Thomas Morgan
Robert L. Lord
Justin Wayne Tubb
10:30
Donald Eugene Gibson(host)
William Toliver Carlisle
Carl Robert Butler
Polly Adelaide Hendricks Hazelwood
10:45
Martin David Robinson(host)
David Akeman
11:00
Clarence Eugene Snow(host)
William Smith Monroe
Jimmy Yves Newman
Lloyd Leslie George & Rollin Lillian Sullivan
Louis Marshall Jones
Claude Sharpe, Ross Dowden, Luther Heatwole, Joseph McPherson
11:30
Harold Franklin Hawkins(host)
Thomas Paul, Charles & James Glaser
James Clue Summey
Ollie Imogene Shepard
Lloyd Estel Copas
Wilma Lee Leary & Dale T. Cooper
Ira Lonnie & Charles Elzer Loudermilk
Ok, before everyone gets excited and thinks that I have lost my mind, I decided to post the line-up with the artist's real/legal names. I wonder how many of you knew who each artist was? Just having some fun with everyone and testing how much all of you know about those classic Opry stars. Now, here is the line-up as I am sure most would recognize:
7:30: Porter Wagoner, Bobby Lord, Wilburn Brothers, Stringbean, Margie Bowes, Justin Tubb
8:00: Flatt & Scruggs, Carl Butler, Bill Carlisle, Jimmy Newman, Grandpa Jones
8:30: Don Gibson, George Morgan, Archie Campbell, Louvin Brothers, Del Wood, Old Hickory Singers
9:00: Marty Robbins, Bill Monroe, Cowboy Copas, Minnie Pearl, Cousin Jody
9:30: Hank Snow, Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, Hawshaw Hawkins, Lonza & Oscar, Jean Shepard, Glaser Brothers
10:00: Porter Wagoner, Wilburn Brothers, Margie Bowes
10:15: Flatt & Scruggs, George Morgan, Bobby Lord, Justin Tubb
10:30: Don Gibson, Bill Carlisle, Carl Butler, Del Wood
10:45: Marty Robbins, Stringbean
11:00: Hank Snow, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Newman, Lonzo & Oscar, Grandpa Jones, Old Hickory Singers
11:30: Hawshaw Hawkins, Glaser Brothers, Cousin Jody, Jean Shepard, Cowboy Copas, Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, Louvin Brothers
The only artists that appeared only one time that night were Archie Campbell and Minnie Pearl. Remember, this was in the era of only one show on each Saturday night, with the general rule that each artist would appear one time before 10:00 and one time again after 10:00.
Hope you enjoyed this.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Tuesday Night Opry to be shown on Opry.com
The Grand Ole Opry has announced that the Tuesday Night Opry on May 25 will be shown live on opry.com. The show will feature Grand Ole Opry members Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs and Steve Wariner.
The night is set to both raise funds for Middle Tennessee flood relief and kick off the Opry's months-long 85th Birthday Celebration. Each Opry member will take the stage individually followed by a guitar jam finale featuring the group's take on some of the most popular songs in the Opry's 85-year history.
My opinion is that I am glad that the Opry is doing this. Since they can't seem to get a television deal, it looks like they are exploring other options. This is a good start and perhaps we will see more of this. On the down side, it would have been great if they were to show the entire 2 hour show, as the 1st hour of the show will feature Jimmy Dickens, Bill Anderson and Jeannie Seely, true Opry legends. Since the Opry is producing this themselves, I would ask what is the reason for not showing the entire show? Based on the press release, they are not.
The night is set to both raise funds for Middle Tennessee flood relief and kick off the Opry's months-long 85th Birthday Celebration. Each Opry member will take the stage individually followed by a guitar jam finale featuring the group's take on some of the most popular songs in the Opry's 85-year history.
My opinion is that I am glad that the Opry is doing this. Since they can't seem to get a television deal, it looks like they are exploring other options. This is a good start and perhaps we will see more of this. On the down side, it would have been great if they were to show the entire 2 hour show, as the 1st hour of the show will feature Jimmy Dickens, Bill Anderson and Jeannie Seely, true Opry legends. Since the Opry is producing this themselves, I would ask what is the reason for not showing the entire show? Based on the press release, they are not.
Billy Walker
Just a note that we lost Billy Walker 4 years ago today, on May 21, 2006. He really had one of the great voices in country music and had a string of hits. I will tell you that my favorite was, "When a Man Loves a Woman." He was always well received when he was on the Opry. It is just too bad that during his last several years on the show, he was considered one of those artists that didn't have to be scheduled every week as Pete Fisher started the push to use younger artists. If you remember, Billy was one of the artists who spoke out, along with Del Reeves and Charlie Louvin.
Billy was really underrated in the history of country music and I think that he does deserve serious consideration for the Country Music Hall of Fame.
RIP-Billy Walker.
Billy was really underrated in the history of country music and I think that he does deserve serious consideration for the Country Music Hall of Fame.
RIP-Billy Walker.
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