Monday, November 28, 2005

The Grand Ole Opry turns a grand ole 80 today...

80 years ago to the day, the longest running live music show debuted on WSM in Nashville. Host George Dewey Hay would become the Dick Clark of country music when he invited an 83-year old Civil War Veteran to play fiddle for an hour and "The WSM Barn Dance" was born. The "Barn Dance" would morph into "The Grand Ole Opry" some years later and the radio show would eventually be shared by television coverage...

Most of the 'Opry' shows originated in the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, a shrine and a national treasure which you should definitely visit the next time you're in 'Music City'. In 1974 the show moved to "Opryland", a sprawling mall-like facility in suburban Nashville. A strange transition from the Ryman to Opryland but a larger venue holding 4,400, about twice the size of the Ryman...

Those who were surprised when the CMA Awards were held in New York a couple of weeks ago, shouldn't be. Opry legends Ernest Tubb and Minnie Pearl brought country music to New York when they appeared at Carnegie Hall in 1947. In 1961 a full Opry troupe featuring Patsy Cline, Grandpa Jones, Elvises Jordanaires, Bill Monroe, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins and Faron Young made the trip to Carnegie Hall...

This humble blogger, although born and raised in Brooklyn, New York was influenced by country music at an early age, which you can read about in my commentary which follows...

More November 28 Memories...

1582) Young Will Shakespeare having already asked Anne Hathaway, "wouldst thou taketh thine hand in holy matrimony ?" and gotten a "yea merrily" walks down the aisle with Anne as Bard and Bardess tie the poetic knot...

1925) The Grand Ole Opry debuts (feature story)...

1932) Groucho Marx debuts on the radio...

1942) Fire destroys the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston killing nearly 500...

1948) The first Polaroid camera is sold...

1956) Dodger pitcher Don Newcombe, winner of 27 games, is named the 1st Cy Young Award winner (tell me this is not a great trivia question)...

1963) "I Want To Hold Your Hand" becomes the 1st million seller prior to release...

1963) President Johnson renames Cape Canaveral, Cape Kennedy (the name was changed back to Cape Canaveral in 1973 by residents)...

1964) Willie Nelson makes his "Grand Ole Opry" debut...

1970) George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" is released...

1970) Elton John's "Your Song" is released...

1974) Elton and John Lennon sing a duet of "I Saw Her Standing There" at John Lennon's last stage appearance (at Madison Square Garden)...

1974) Bowie Kuhn suspends George Steinbrenner for 2 years (Yankee fans celebrate)...

1979) Ringo Starr's home in Los Angeles burns down...

1981) Alabama's Bear Bryant passes Amos Alonzo Stagg as the winningest coach in college history with his 315th win as Joe Namath and other ex-Crimson Tiders watch (Bryant who won 6 national titles and 15 bowl games retires with 323 victories in December, 1982 and dies of a heart attack one month later)...

1986) NBCs Ahmad Rashad proposes to Phylicia Allen on live TV during halftime of the Jets-Lions game (Phylicia accepts but Ahmad had plan B ready if she didn't, proposing to Leslie Uggams)...

1990) Margaret Thatcher resigns as Britain's prime minister...

1994) Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is murdered in prison by a fellow inmate...

1994) 1960's war protester Jerry Rubin dies 2 weeks after being hit by a car. Rubin was 56...

1995) President Bill Clinton signs a bill ending the 55 mph speed limit...

1997) The final episode of "Beavis and Butt-head" airs on MTV...

2000) 9 million people watch a Madonna concert from London over the Internet...

2001) Enron Corporation collapses after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backs out of an $8.4 billion deal to take it over...

Happy Birthday To...

1929) Berry Gordy Jr...

1936) Former senator and "Love Boat" captain Gary Hart...

1943) Randy ("Short People") Newman...

1949) Paul Shaffer...

1952) S. Epatha Merkerson ("Law and Order")...

1965) Jon Stewart...

1967) Anna Nicole Smith...

Commentary...

Before hearing the pop stars of the 50's and rock and roll, country music was the first format of music I remember listening to. My Mother listened to a country station in New Jersey and watched the early TV shows that featured that genre (boy do I hate using "genre" but how else can I say it without repeating "country" ?) of music. I was the only kid at PS 164 who watched the "Midwestern" and "Louisiana" "Hayride" shows and knew who Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow were but who's gonna share that bit of information in Brooklyn ???

Besides playing country music at my first radio station, one of the stops along the way in my radio career was Nashville and the station I worked for (WKDA) was right down the street from the Ryman Auditorium. Several years ago I was fortunate to be inside the historic venue when the syndicated company (Entertainment Radio) I worked for did a special from the Ryman and was impressed by what can only be described as "the cathedral of country music". Do yourself a favor and check it out should your travels take you to Nashville...

Final thought on country music. Although everyone you ever talk to in New York radio treats country music like the plague, it is a viable format. Both Sirius (where my friend Bill Rock hosts a country show) and XM Radio have country music shows even though terrestrial radio refuses to touch it. Their loss...