Grand Ole Opry

The longest-running radio (see entry under 1920s—TV and Radio in volume 2) show in broadcasting history, the Grand Ole Opry has long been the symbolic heart of country music (see entry under 1940s—Music in volume 3). For a long time, it represented the pinnacle of success in country music; musicians who were invited to play on the Grand Ole Opry radio show knew they were on their way to becoming stars. The Opry was important to country musicians, but it played an even more important role in American cultural life by bringing country music to a national audience.

In 1925, George D. Hay (1895–1968) began a show called the WSM Barn Dance in Nashville, Tennessee. The show featured local folk musicians. In 1927, Hay changed the name of the show to the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry was to be serious music for ordinary country people, just like opera was for the rich. Every Saturday night, Hay began the show by saying, "Let her go, boys," and off they went. As the show grew in popularity during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, it featured some of the biggest names in country music, including Roy Acuff (1903–1992), Bill Monroe (1911–1996), Eddy Arnold (1918–), Hank Williams (1923–1953), George Jones (1931–), Johnny Cash (1932–), Patsy Cline (1932–1963), Loretta Lynn (1934–), and many, many others. Performers were paid very little, but they played for national exposure and the honor of being on the Opry.

The Opry truly made country music into a national phenomenon. Because the Opry's radio signal could reach far from Nashville, even as far north as Canada, country music, which before the Opry was largely a musical style from the southern United States, now reached people well beyond the south. As a result, country music became popular across the United States. Although the influence of the Grand Ole Opry diminished over the years as performers found concerts and regular radio a better way to attract fans, the show still stands as one of the most powerful forces in the history of American popular music.

—Timothy Berg

For More Information

Hagan, Chet. Grand Ole Opry. New York: Owl Books, 1989.

The Official Website of the Grand Ole Opry.http://www.opry.com (accessed January 23, 2002).

Stambler, Irwin, and Grelun Landon. Country Music: The Encyclopedia. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.

Wolfe, Charles K. A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry. Nashville: Country Music Foundation and Vanderbilt University Press, 1999.