While radio stations and networks are being shut down all over the world, there is one station that has survived for the past 100 years!
“the longest-running radio show in the world and one of the most important radio programs in broadcasting history”, the Grand Ole Opry celebrates 100 years of music.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is marking the event with a new exhibit – The Grandest Stage: The Opry at 100 – set to open on September 18. The exhibition will run through March 2027.
CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Kyle Young spoke on the Grand Ole Opry and the exhibit saying, “the Opry’s status as America’s leading country music radio show, from the 1940s into the 1960s, made possible Nashville’s emergence as the undisputed center of the country music industry. This exhibit will survey the enduring history of the program, which has survived a century of evolutions in country music and popular culture, major challenges from new media and sources of entertainment, a catastrophic flood and a crippling pandemic.”
CEO of Opry Entertainment Group Patrick Moore added, “as country music continues to expand globally, the Opry has stood as its heart for a century. It’s the birthplace of traditions and stories that define Nashville’s unique imprint on the genre. We’re honored to be the subject of this exhibition at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, showcasing why the Opry is not only a Nashville landmark but also a cherished touchstone for fans worldwide.”
In the days before television, computers, internet, streaming, and smartphones; families would gather around the radio each Saturday night to hear new stars and the biggest names in Country music perform.
During its 100 year history the Opry has become synonymous with country music and has featured country’s biggest stars including Luke Combs, Ashley McBryde, Scotty McCreery, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, Country Music Hall of Fame members DeFord Bailey, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Vince Gill, Bill Monroe, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, and Hank Williams are among the stars who have shared their music via the radio airwaves over the generations.
It all began with a fiddle and a barn dance on November 28, 1925. Nashville radio station WSM aired a performance by Uncle Jimmy Thompson – a 78 year old fiddle player. The performance was so popular that program director George D. Hay started a weekly program: a barn dance featuring local folk artists.
Prince Albert and his show took the Opry national when NBC picked up the program in October 1939 to the joy of millions of Country music fans – in those days it was called Country and Western and encompassed Country, Bluegrass, and Gospel music.
By the 1940’s, Country music artists were launching their careers with Opry programs including Roy Acuff, Eddy Arnold, Minnie Pearl, Bill Monroe, and Ernest Tubb.
For Country artists becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry is a big of an honour as being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
There was even an Opry television program for a time. But it has not always been easy to keep the Grand Ole Opry alive. The Ryman Auditorium – the original home of the Opry – suffered serious damage in a fire and catastrophic floods. The Ryman has been restored, but the Grand Ole Opry has a new home and it includes a piece of the original Ryman Auditorium stage.
During the Covid pandemic, the weekly Grand Ole Opry broadcasts again became as popular as the original radio broadcasts of the 40’s.
The exhibit will feature historic instruments, clothing, photographs, video clips and other artifacts including:
A wooden steamboat whistle used by the Opry’s founder and longtime announcer, George D. Hay.
A Hohner Marine Band chromatic harmonica that belonged to Dr. Humphrey Bate, whose string band, the Possum Hunters, was the first to play country music over WSM.
The hand-built hammered dulcimer Kitty Cora Cline of Westmoreland, Tennessee, played when she became the first female solo performer on the Opry in 1928.
The 1927 Martin 00-42 played at the Opry by Paul Warmack, a mechanic by trade who led the Gully Jumpers, a hoedown band whose members all came from rural communities around Nashville. The group joined the Opry in 1927 and continued with various lineups until the 1970s.
A 16-inch, metal-based acetate disc containing the first performance of “The Prince Albert Show,” the segment of the Opry broadcast over the NBC radio network in October 1939.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Minnie Pearl’s straw hat, decorated with cloth flowers and dangling $1.98 price tag, worn at her Opry debut in 1940.
A letter from Opry manager E. W. “Bud” Wendell, now a Country Music Hall of Fame member, inviting Country Music Hall of Fame member Charley Pride to become a regular Opry member in December 1968.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Reba McEntire’s custom-made boots, modeled after a pair worn by Country Music Hall of Fame member Patsy Cline, which McEntire wore when making her Opry debut in September 1977.
The suit worn by Ella Langley at her debut performance at the Opry in February 2023. Langley customized the suit with beads and embroidery in the style of her grandmother’s handwriting.
A panel discussion is being held on September 18 to open the exhibition with Vince Gil, Carly Pearce, Dan Rogers, and Opry senior VP Paul Kingsbury as moderator. The program begins at 2pm in the Ford Theater at the Museum. Tickets are available now via the Museum website. Other programming is planned throughout the length of the exhibit, including some geared toward families.