Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Grand Ole Opry Begins...!

I know that usually have some cowboys and Indian stuff here on Western Wednesday, but this is more or less along those lines.

1925
The Grand Ole Opry begins broadcasting

The Grand Ole Opry, one of the longest-lived and most popular showcases for western music, begins broadcasting live from Nashville, Tennessee. The showcase was originally named the Barn Dance, after a Chicago radio program called the National Barn Dance that had begun broadcasting the previous year.

Impressed by the popularity of the Chicago-based National Barn Dance, producers at WSM radio in Nashville decided to create their own version of the show to cater to southern audiences who could not receive the Chicago signal. Both the Grand Ole Opry and the National Barn Dance aired on Saturday nights and featured folk music, fiddling, and the relatively new genre of country-western music. Both shows created a growing audience for a uniquely American style of music and were launching grounds for many of America’s most-loved musicians–the singing cowboy Gene Autry got his first big break on the National Barn Dance. The WSM producers recognized that Americans were growing nostalgic for the rural past, so all live performers at the Grand Ole Opry were required to dress in hillbilly costumes and adopt old-time names.

The four-and-a-half-hour Grand Ole Opry program became one of the most popular broadcasts in the South, and like its Chicago cousin, helped make country-western an enduring part of the popular American musical landscape.

Guess you could say that this was the show that started it all, as far as the country music craze. I know my folks used to love to listen to it.

Coffee out on the patio this morning. Going to be a tad warmer, I think.

8 comments:

Mamahen said...

We use to gather around the radio on Saturday nights and listen to and sing along with the Grand Ole Opery. Oh the memories:)) 26° degrees so no patio sitting here. Your's will be a pleasant change. Starting my Christmas baking. Does anyone like M&M cookies. I always start with them. They're my hubbies faves:))

Gorges Smythe said...

I remember it on TV, rather than radio. It sure beat the music that they call country today.

linda m said...

I loved all that music. Country today sure isn't what it used to be. Wish I could have been at one of their broadcasts. !7 degrees here this morning. Brrr! Thanks for the cookies Mamahen.

Momlady said...

And it's still going strong.

HermitJim said...

Hey Mamahen...
I love the way the house smells when someone is baking cookies!
Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey Gorges...
You are certainly right about that!
Thanks for coming over this morning!


Hey Linda...
Sure more pleasant to listen to than today.
Thanks for the visit today!


Hey Momlady...
Gotta be some kind of record, right?
Many thanks for stopping by today!

JO said...

I never liked country music myself, my dad sang in Barber Shop quartets so it was lots of that around and other oldies. Having an older sister it was rock n roll.

Chilly here but nothing like you ladies are having. M&M cookies sound wonderful thank you.

HermitJim said...

Hey Jo...
I like the old quartets and still enjoy some of that music from time to time.
Many thanks, dear, for dropping by today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

I remember when I was a kid, my dad would always listen to the Grand Ole Opry and would especially like Minnie Pearl. Maybe that is why I love folk and country western music so much.