No visit to Nashville would be complete without a stop at the Grand Ole Opry House. For those of you new to country music, the Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay, as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on the local AM radio station WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest running radio broadcast in US history. Wow, 92 years and counting.
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. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners. We borrowed this photo from the internet since it was pouring rain when we arrived and none of our photos turned out.
The performance we attended was on Tuesday, October 16, 2018. This show was being broadcast live over the air, via satellite and across the internet. Everything was timed down to the second. About a half hour before the show started, a young woman came out and "warmed up" the audience. She asked where everyone was from. It was amazing to see that most of the audience were first-time Opry attendees. The largest group, by far, were the snowbirds from Canada. It makes sense to us, having spent the whole summer in Canada. Country and folk music is big in Canada. The Grand Ole Opry would make the perfect stopping point on the trip south for these snowbirds.
At exactly 7:00 p.m., the ON AIR lights lit up and Bill Anderson started the show. Known as Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, he is an American country music singer, songwriter and television personality. He has been a member in long standing of the weekly Grand Ole Opry radio program, since 1961. He has released more than 40 studio albums and has reached No. 1 on the country charts seven times. He has a great sense of humor and we really enjoyed his opening set of songs.
During the commercial break, which we got to listen to, the musicians completely changed. Next up was Luke Combs, an up-and-coming country artist. He has only released one album for Columbia Records, which has produced four singles: "Hurricane," "When It Rains It Pours," "One Number Away," and "She Got the Best of Me," all four of which have charted on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay. The Opry is excited about this up and coming performer. "She Got the Best of Me" was a very emotional and powerful song.
After another commercial break, we were introduced to the Charlie Daniels Band. Charles Edward Daniels (born October 28, 1936) is an American multi-instrumentalist, lyricist, and singer, known for his contributions to Southern rock, country, and bluegrass music. He is perhaps best known for his number-one country hit, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Daniels has been active as a singer and musician since the 1950s. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008, the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016. Charlie is going to be celebrating his 82nd birthday this month, but you couldn't tell based on the energy we saw on stage.
Charlie finished his set with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." By the time he was done, that fiddle was smokin'. The highlight was when he broke so many strings on the bow, he threw it into the audience. A stage hand seamlessly replaced it and Charlie didn't miss a note.
Jon Pardi had a tough act to follow. This California country boy has released two studio albums, one extended play, and eight singles that have charted on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. He's opened for a number of country artists. He's just waiting for that one breakout song to put him on the top of the charts.
Next up was Craig Morgan. Craig is a veteran of the United States Army as a forward observer, and began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records. This year, Craig is celebrating his 10th Anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He has charted seventeen times on the Billboard country charts. Beside "That's What I Love About Sunday," six more of his singles have reached that chart's top 10: "Almost Home," "Redneck Yacht Club," "Little Bit of Life," "International Harvester", "Love Remembers", and "Bonfire." He performed several of his hits. As full-time RVers, we can totally relate to "Redneck Yacht Club."
The last performance of the evening was Kelsea Ballerini. She released her first album "The First Time" in 2015. Her second album "Unapologetically" was released on November 3, 2017. She received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 2017 Grammy Awards. Ballerini's two albums have accounted for seven charted songs on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. She has four No. 1 singles on the latter, starting with her debut single "Love Me Like You Mean It", which made her the first female artist to send a debut single to the top of that chart since Carrie Underwood did so in 2006. She was a breath of fresh air after all those good old boys.
Membership in the Opry remains one of country music's crowning achievements. Such country music legends as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Marty Robbins, Roy Acuff, the Carter family, Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells, and Minnie Pearl were regulars on the Opry's stage throughout its history. In recent decades, the Opry has hosted such contemporary country stars as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton, Chris Young, and Ricky Skaggs.
If you want to be a movie star, you go to Hollywood. If you want to be a stage actor, you have your sights set for Broadway in New York. If country music is in your soul, there's no place you'd rather be than the Grand Ole Opry.
We drove home from the performance with a much greater appreciation of the central role the Grand Ole Opry plays in contemporary popular country music. Interestingly, just a short distance to the southwest of the Grand Ole Opry, Memphis represents the home of the Blues. We can't wait to get down there and hear some of that soulful music.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.