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The '''Grand Ole Opry''' is a landmark American country music institution based in [[Nashville]], Tennessee. | The '''Grand Ole Opry''' is a landmark American country music institution based in [[Nashville]], Tennessee. On November 28, 1925, it went on the air as a radio broadcast, playing what folks back then called hillbilly music. Today it's the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, a joint venture between NBCUniversal, Atairos, and majority shareholder [[Ryman Hospitality Properties]], the Opry has become something much larger than anyone imagined. It celebrates country music and its rich history by showcasing famous singers and chart-topping artists performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music, along with comedy acts and skits. Over a hundred years, the Opry transformed from a modest radio program into one of the most recognizable stages in American music, drawing performers and audiences from around the world and solidifying Nashville's place as the nation's country music capital. | ||
== Origins and Founding == | == Origins and Founding == | ||
On October 5, 1925, the [[National Life & Accident Insurance Company]] launched Nashville's first radio station. | On October 5, 1925, the [[National Life & Accident Insurance Company]] launched Nashville's first radio station. WSM were its call letters, standing for the insurance company's motto: "We Shield Millions." What would become the Grand Ole Opry started as the WSM Barn Dance, with that first broadcast coming from the station's small fifth-floor Studio A on November 28, 1925. | ||
George D. Hay | George D. Hay arrived about a month after the station went on air. He was a former Memphis newspaper reporter who'd recently started a barn dance show on Chicago's WLS radio. At 8 p.m. on November 28, 1925, Hay announced himself as "The Solemn Old Judge" (he was only 30 at the time) and launched the WSM Barn Dance alongside championship fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson. | ||
Thompson, who claimed he could fiddle the bugs off a potato vine, opened the show. The early cast included Dr. Humphrey Bate and his daughter Alcyone, the Crook Brothers, and Kirk McGee. Hay, one of America's pioneer radio showmen, served as the announcer. | |||
How'd it get that unforgettable name? Almost by accident. The NBC Red Network's ''Music Appreciation Hour'' featured classical music and grand opera selections, and it aired right before Hay's Barn Dance. One evening, as he was introducing DeFord Bailey, Hay said: "For the past hour, we have been listening to music largely from Grand Opera, but from now on, we will present 'The Grand Ole Opry'." The name stuck in 1927. | |||
The Opry | The Opry didn't just entertain. It created Nashville as the center of country music. Through the show, WSM built the musical family that inspired former WSM personality David Cobb to call Nashville "Music City, USA." | ||
== A Show on the Move: Early Venues == | == A Show on the Move: Early Venues == | ||
As the WSM Barn Dance grew in popularity, | As the WSM Barn Dance grew in popularity, the original broadcast home couldn't keep up. Audiences for the live show kept swelling. The National Life & Accident Insurance Company's radio venue became packed. They built a larger studio, but it still wasn't big enough. After several months of broadcasting with no live audience, National Life allowed the show to move outside its offices. | ||
In October 1934, the Opry | In October 1934, the Opry relocated to the then-suburban Hillsboro Theatre, now called [[The Belcourt]]. By June 13, 1936, it had moved again, this time to the Dixie Tabernacle in East Nashville. That venue had 3,500 seats, wooden benches, sawdust floors, and no dressing rooms. It sat at 410 Fatherland Street. In July 1939, the Opry moved downtown to the 2,200-seat [[War Memorial Auditorium]]. Because this auditorium had about a third fewer seats than the Dixie Tabernacle, the show started charging admission at 25 cents. | ||
During the 1930s, the show hired professionals and expanded to four hours. With WSM broadcasting at 50,000 watts, the program became a Saturday night tradition in nearly 30 states. National broadcasts on NBC Radio began in 1939. Prince Albert cigars sponsored the show. Featured artists included Uncle Dave Macon, Roy Acuff, Little Rachel, the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, and the Solemn Old Judge. | |||
== The Ryman Years (1943–1974) == | == The Ryman Years (1943–1974) == | ||
The Opry | The Opry's most legendary home arrived in June 1943. The [[Ryman Auditorium]], a 2,300-seat Victorian-style former religious revival house in downtown Nashville, became known as "the Mother Church of Country Music." Stories piled up within those walls. Hank Williams made his Opry debut there in 1949 and took six encores, setting a record. Elvis Presley performed there once in 1954. | ||
On a cold December night in 1945, Earl Scruggs | On a cold December night in 1945, something historic happened. Earl Scruggs debuted with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, completing the legendary lineup that would define the bluegrass sound: Monroe on mandolin, Scruggs on banjo, Lester Flatt on guitar, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Howard Watts on bass. | ||
Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Jeannie Seely, and Dolly Parton joined the Opry family during | Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Jeannie Seely, and Dolly Parton joined the Opry family during these Ryman years. Johnny Cash became a member. He met his future wife there. During one notorious show, he broke all the footlights at the stage's front. Cash encountered June Carter backstage at the Ryman for the first time. | ||
The Ryman | The Ryman era ended on March 15, 1974. George Morgan, a tenor singer and father of 1990s country star Lorrie Morgan, closed out the theater with his hit "Candy Kisses." The next evening, the show broadcast from its new home: a 4,400-seat Grand Ole Opry House at the Opryland USA amusement and entertainment center. | ||
The Ryman fell into disrepair after 1974. But it was restored to its original condition and reopened in 1994. It earned National Historic Landmark designation in 2001. | |||
== The Grand Ole Opry House == | == The Grand Ole Opry House == | ||
Seven miles northeast of downtown Nashville sits the current home of this iconic country music show: the Grand Ole Opry House. Roy Acuff opened the first show in the new 4,440-seat venue with "The Wabash Cannonball." President [https://biography.wiki/r/Richard_Nixon Richard Nixon] attended and led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to First Lady Pat Nixon. | |||
The Opry's new home in the Pennington Bend of the [[Cumberland River]] | The Opry's new home wasn't just a music hall. It was part of Opryland USA, a 442-acre complex in the Pennington Bend of the [[Cumberland River]] that included an amusement park, gift shops, a golf course, the General Jackson riverboat, a museum, and a three-thousand-room hotel with convention center. By 2000, declining attendance led to replacing the amusement park with a 1.2-million-square-foot mall called [[Opry Mills]]. | ||
One | One feature stands out at the Opry House. A circle of lighter-colored wood sits in the center of the stage. It's made from an eight-foot piece cut from the Ryman Auditorium's stage, the Opry's home from 1943 to 1974. That symbolic connection matters deeply. | ||
The Grand Ole Opry House | The Grand Ole Opry House joined the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2015. It also hosted the [[Country Music Association Awards]] from 1974 to 2004 and three weeks of ''Wheel of Fortune'' tapings in 2003. | ||
May 2010 brought one of the venue's greatest challenges. A historic flood devastated the Opry House, forcing it to close for five months. The show went on at other Nashville venues, including two former homes: War Memorial Auditorium and the Ryman. After careful restoration, the Opry House welcomed audiences back on September 28, 2010. | |||
== Membership, Broadcast, and Legacy == | == Membership, Broadcast, and Legacy == | ||
Membership in the Grand Ole Opry | Membership in the Grand Ole Opry stands as one of country music's highest honors. Just over 225 acts have held membership out of thousands of acts that've existed throughout country music history. As of 2024, about 75 acts are members. | ||
Since 1974, | Since 1974, broadcasts have come from the Grand Ole Opry House east of downtown. From 1999 to 2020, the show had an annual three-month winter run back at the Ryman. Beginning in 2023, shorter winter residencies resumed there. Over the years, performances have been televised sporadically on The Nashville Network, CMT, GAC, and Circle. | ||
As | As country music's popularity soared into the twenty-first century, the Grand Ole Opry remained central to the field. Modern artists still see membership as a major achievement. Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, and [https://biography.wiki/k/Keith_Urban Keith Urban] joined in the early 2000s. The venue kept drawing crowds. Listeners tuned in from mobile apps, SiriusXM satellite radio, Circle TV, and local radio stations. | ||
In February 2026, the Opry celebrated Ronnie Milsap's 50th anniversary and introduced the Opry NextStage class of 2026. Since launching in 2019, Opry NextStage artists have earned 42 No. 1 hits combined, spending 52 weeks atop the Country Aircheck/Mediabase airplay chart. | |||
The | The centennial year kicked off with ''Opry 100: A Live Celebration'', a three-hour NBC special that aired on March 19, 2025. | ||
It still performs every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and occasionally Wednesday and Sunday at the Grand Ole Opry House. Nashville residents know its importance. The Opry appears on "home of" mentions on the welcome signs motorists see at the Metro Nashville/Davidson County line. | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
Latest revision as of 18:27, 23 April 2026
The Grand Ole Opry is a landmark American country music institution based in Nashville, Tennessee. On November 28, 1925, it went on the air as a radio broadcast, playing what folks back then called hillbilly music. Today it's the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, a joint venture between NBCUniversal, Atairos, and majority shareholder Ryman Hospitality Properties, the Opry has become something much larger than anyone imagined. It celebrates country music and its rich history by showcasing famous singers and chart-topping artists performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music, along with comedy acts and skits. Over a hundred years, the Opry transformed from a modest radio program into one of the most recognizable stages in American music, drawing performers and audiences from around the world and solidifying Nashville's place as the nation's country music capital.
Origins and Founding
On October 5, 1925, the National Life & Accident Insurance Company launched Nashville's first radio station. WSM were its call letters, standing for the insurance company's motto: "We Shield Millions." What would become the Grand Ole Opry started as the WSM Barn Dance, with that first broadcast coming from the station's small fifth-floor Studio A on November 28, 1925.
George D. Hay arrived about a month after the station went on air. He was a former Memphis newspaper reporter who'd recently started a barn dance show on Chicago's WLS radio. At 8 p.m. on November 28, 1925, Hay announced himself as "The Solemn Old Judge" (he was only 30 at the time) and launched the WSM Barn Dance alongside championship fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson.
Thompson, who claimed he could fiddle the bugs off a potato vine, opened the show. The early cast included Dr. Humphrey Bate and his daughter Alcyone, the Crook Brothers, and Kirk McGee. Hay, one of America's pioneer radio showmen, served as the announcer.
How'd it get that unforgettable name? Almost by accident. The NBC Red Network's Music Appreciation Hour featured classical music and grand opera selections, and it aired right before Hay's Barn Dance. One evening, as he was introducing DeFord Bailey, Hay said: "For the past hour, we have been listening to music largely from Grand Opera, but from now on, we will present 'The Grand Ole Opry'." The name stuck in 1927.
The Opry didn't just entertain. It created Nashville as the center of country music. Through the show, WSM built the musical family that inspired former WSM personality David Cobb to call Nashville "Music City, USA."
A Show on the Move: Early Venues
As the WSM Barn Dance grew in popularity, the original broadcast home couldn't keep up. Audiences for the live show kept swelling. The National Life & Accident Insurance Company's radio venue became packed. They built a larger studio, but it still wasn't big enough. After several months of broadcasting with no live audience, National Life allowed the show to move outside its offices.
In October 1934, the Opry relocated to the then-suburban Hillsboro Theatre, now called The Belcourt. By June 13, 1936, it had moved again, this time to the Dixie Tabernacle in East Nashville. That venue had 3,500 seats, wooden benches, sawdust floors, and no dressing rooms. It sat at 410 Fatherland Street. In July 1939, the Opry moved downtown to the 2,200-seat War Memorial Auditorium. Because this auditorium had about a third fewer seats than the Dixie Tabernacle, the show started charging admission at 25 cents.
During the 1930s, the show hired professionals and expanded to four hours. With WSM broadcasting at 50,000 watts, the program became a Saturday night tradition in nearly 30 states. National broadcasts on NBC Radio began in 1939. Prince Albert cigars sponsored the show. Featured artists included Uncle Dave Macon, Roy Acuff, Little Rachel, the Weaver Brothers and Elviry, and the Solemn Old Judge.
The Ryman Years (1943–1974)
The Opry's most legendary home arrived in June 1943. The Ryman Auditorium, a 2,300-seat Victorian-style former religious revival house in downtown Nashville, became known as "the Mother Church of Country Music." Stories piled up within those walls. Hank Williams made his Opry debut there in 1949 and took six encores, setting a record. Elvis Presley performed there once in 1954.
On a cold December night in 1945, something historic happened. Earl Scruggs debuted with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, completing the legendary lineup that would define the bluegrass sound: Monroe on mandolin, Scruggs on banjo, Lester Flatt on guitar, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Howard Watts on bass.
Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Jeannie Seely, and Dolly Parton joined the Opry family during these Ryman years. Johnny Cash became a member. He met his future wife there. During one notorious show, he broke all the footlights at the stage's front. Cash encountered June Carter backstage at the Ryman for the first time.
The Ryman era ended on March 15, 1974. George Morgan, a tenor singer and father of 1990s country star Lorrie Morgan, closed out the theater with his hit "Candy Kisses." The next evening, the show broadcast from its new home: a 4,400-seat Grand Ole Opry House at the Opryland USA amusement and entertainment center.
The Ryman fell into disrepair after 1974. But it was restored to its original condition and reopened in 1994. It earned National Historic Landmark designation in 2001.
The Grand Ole Opry House
Seven miles northeast of downtown Nashville sits the current home of this iconic country music show: the Grand Ole Opry House. Roy Acuff opened the first show in the new 4,440-seat venue with "The Wabash Cannonball." President Richard Nixon attended and led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to First Lady Pat Nixon.
The Opry's new home wasn't just a music hall. It was part of Opryland USA, a 442-acre complex in the Pennington Bend of the Cumberland River that included an amusement park, gift shops, a golf course, the General Jackson riverboat, a museum, and a three-thousand-room hotel with convention center. By 2000, declining attendance led to replacing the amusement park with a 1.2-million-square-foot mall called Opry Mills.
One feature stands out at the Opry House. A circle of lighter-colored wood sits in the center of the stage. It's made from an eight-foot piece cut from the Ryman Auditorium's stage, the Opry's home from 1943 to 1974. That symbolic connection matters deeply.
The Grand Ole Opry House joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. It also hosted the Country Music Association Awards from 1974 to 2004 and three weeks of Wheel of Fortune tapings in 2003.
May 2010 brought one of the venue's greatest challenges. A historic flood devastated the Opry House, forcing it to close for five months. The show went on at other Nashville venues, including two former homes: War Memorial Auditorium and the Ryman. After careful restoration, the Opry House welcomed audiences back on September 28, 2010.
Membership, Broadcast, and Legacy
Membership in the Grand Ole Opry stands as one of country music's highest honors. Just over 225 acts have held membership out of thousands of acts that've existed throughout country music history. As of 2024, about 75 acts are members.
Since 1974, broadcasts have come from the Grand Ole Opry House east of downtown. From 1999 to 2020, the show had an annual three-month winter run back at the Ryman. Beginning in 2023, shorter winter residencies resumed there. Over the years, performances have been televised sporadically on The Nashville Network, CMT, GAC, and Circle.
As country music's popularity soared into the twenty-first century, the Grand Ole Opry remained central to the field. Modern artists still see membership as a major achievement. Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, and Keith Urban joined in the early 2000s. The venue kept drawing crowds. Listeners tuned in from mobile apps, SiriusXM satellite radio, Circle TV, and local radio stations.
In February 2026, the Opry celebrated Ronnie Milsap's 50th anniversary and introduced the Opry NextStage class of 2026. Since launching in 2019, Opry NextStage artists have earned 42 No. 1 hits combined, spending 52 weeks atop the Country Aircheck/Mediabase airplay chart.
The centennial year kicked off with Opry 100: A Live Celebration, a three-hour NBC special that aired on March 19, 2025.
It still performs every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and occasionally Wednesday and Sunday at the Grand Ole Opry House. Nashville residents know its importance. The Opry appears on "home of" mentions on the welcome signs motorists see at the Metro Nashville/Davidson County line.
References
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