Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a regular live country-music radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the time of year. It was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as the WSM Barn Dance, taking its current name in 1927. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a joint venture between NBCUniversal, Atairos and majority shareholder Ryman Hospitality Properties[1]), it is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history.[2][3] Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits.[4] It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.
Other names
WSM Barn Dance (1925–1927)
Saturdays: 120 minutes (+15-minute intermission) (7:00 pm – 9:15 pm)
- Willie's Roadhouse (radio)
- Circle (television)
- Bill Cody
- Mike Terry
- Charlie Mattos
- Kelly Sutton
- Larry Gatlin (spin-off shows)
- Bobby Bones (television broadcast)
- Grand Ole Opry House (Nashville) (1974–present)
- Ryman Auditorium (Nashville) (1943–1974, winter venue 1999–2020, 2023-present)
- War Memorial Auditorium (Nashville) (1939–1943)
- Dixie Tabernacle (Nashville) (1936–1939)
- Hillsboro Theatre (Nashville) (1934–1936)
- National Life and Accident Insurance Company, Studio C (Nashville) (1925–1934)
November 28, 1925
5,125 (as of March 23, 2024; counting only Saturday prime time editions)
In the 1930s, the show began hiring professionals and expanded to four hours. Broadcasting by then at 50,000 watts, WSM made the program a Saturday night musical tradition in nearly 30 states.[5] In 1939, it debuted nationally on NBC Radio. The Opry moved to its most famous former home, the Ryman Auditorium, in 1943. As it developed in importance, so did the city of Nashville, which became America's "country music capital".[6] The Grand Ole Opry holds such significance in Nashville that it is included as a "home of" mention on the welcome signs seen by motorists at the Metro Nashville/Davidson County line.
Membership in the Opry remains one of country music's crowning achievements.[7] Since 1974, the show has been broadcast from the Grand Ole Opry House east of downtown Nashville, with an annual three-month winter foray back to the Ryman from 1999 to 2020, and again for shorter winter residencies beginning in 2023. In addition to the radio programs, performances have been sporadically televised over the years. Video compilations of previous Opry performances are distributed digitally every Saturday evening on FAST network Circle Country as well as the Opry's YouTube and Facebook outlets, and syndicated to a number of television stations across North America.
Location
600 Opry Mills Dr, Nashville, Tennessee 37214[25]
4 acres (approx.)[25]
1972-74[25]
Welton Becket & Associates; Pierre Cabrol[25]
Modern/Brutalist[25]
2010 (flood damage remediation)
January 27, 2015
Controversies[edit]
In April 1963, Opry management mandated that members had to perform no less than 26 shows a year in order to maintain their membership.[62] WSM decreased the number of those required performances to 20 in January 1964,[62] and the minimum number was 12 in 2000.[63] Although the minimum number of performances has been reduced over the years, artists offered membership are expected to display their dedication to the Opry with frequent attendance.[63]
Another controversy raged for years over permissible instrumentation, especially the use of drums and electrically amplified instruments. Some purists were appalled at the prospect; traditionally, a string bass provided the rhythm component in country music, and percussion instruments were seldom used. Electric amplification, new in the beginning days of the Opry, was regarded as the province of popular music and jazz in the 1940s. Although the Opry allowed electric guitars and steel guitars by World War II, the restrictions against drums and horns continued, causing a conflict when Bob Wills[64] and Pee Wee King[65] defied the show's ban on drums. Wills openly flouted the rule. King, who performed at the Ryman in 1945 after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's death, did not technically defy the ban. He did not use his drums on the Opry, but this particular Saturday night, the Opry was cancelled due to FDR's death. He and his band were asked to perform their theater show (with their drummer) because a number of fans showed up assuming the Opry would go on. It took years after that before drums became commonly accepted at the Opry; as late as 1967, an item in Billboard claimed that "[a] full set of drums was used on the 'Grand Ole Opry' for the first time in history when Jerry Reed performed last week. Jerry's drummer, Willie Akerman, was allowed to use the entire set during his guest performance there."[66]
Stonewall Jackson, an Opry member since 1956, sued the Opry management in 2007 alleging that manager Pete Fisher was trying to purge older members of the Opry from its membership and committing age discrimination.[67] Jackson settled the lawsuit in 2008[68] and resumed appearing on the program until retiring in 2012.[69]
In early 2022, Morgan Wallen performed on the Grand Ole Opry alongside Ernest. This move was criticized, as Wallen had been taped less than a year prior shouting a racial slur, and the Opry had previously made stances against racism on social media. In response to the latter, music writer Holly G. founded the Black Opry as a means of raising awareness of black artists in country music.[70]
