Welcome to the Grand Ole Opry!
Categories: Cookbooks , Entertainment , Nonfiction
I am a little girl again...it is Saturday evening...and I hear the wooden steamboat whistle and the long-awaited announcement, "Welcome to the Grand Ole Opry!!" I actually teared up when I saw the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville for the first time a couple of years ago. You just never forget!
I have found a book that makes me happy: Around the Opry Table: A Feast of Recipes and Stories from the Grand Ole Opry, by Kay West (2007). This book is full of stories of original and modern Opry stars, including favorite recipes of the musicians and a few induction party menus.
There are a lot of books on Opry history, but a couple that I have enjoyed are A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry (1999) by Charles K. Wolfe, about the origins and savvy business decisions that established the radio show; and Saturday Nights With Daddy at the Opry (2003) by Libby Leverett-Crew, a fascinating memoir about being the take-along daughter of the Opry photographer (lots of photos in this one!).
For those of us who grew up listening to the Opry there is no need to explain the satisfaction that I still feel when the Saturday Night Opry comes on the air. It is the longest running live radio show in the world, broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee on 650 WSM on Saturday evenings and carried locally on Time Warner cable channel Great American Country, or online at WSMOnline. Opry Live is also on YouTube.
There are performances at the Opry on Tuesday and Friday as well, but they are not broadcast.
Performance lineups at the Opry can range from the Opry Square Dancers to Brad Paisley to Bill Anderson to Carrie Underwood to Bluegrass greats The Grascals to Little Jimmy Dickens; there is always a wide variety of many different performances, but every one of those performances is top notch. The quality of musicianship and professionalism is exceptional.
The newest Opry member is Carrie Underwood, inducted this summer into the elite clan of country music talent. She is a quickly rising star, made famous by her winning debut on American Idol. Opry members are obligated to a certain number of performances per year, but may also drop in whenever they wish. Opry membership includes old timers such as Bill Anderson, not-so-old-timers such as Dolly Parton and Marty Stuart, and newbies like Carrie Underwood and Dierks Bentley, and my personal favorite Del McCoury Band.
