Today In Pop Culture: The Grand Ole Opry Still Exists

By Jeffery X Martin

There was a time when radio was king. That was your nightly entertainment. No cable, no Internet, no television, nothing but tinny voices coming out of a vacuum-tube powered box. Weird, huh? We’re so spoiled.

It was 88 years ago today that the phrase “Grand Ole Opry” was first spoken on the air on radio station WSM out of Nashville, Tennessee. It’s the longest-running radio show in history.

National distribution came when NBC Radio picked the show up in 1939. At that time, WSM was broadcasting at a whopping 50,000 watts and the signal could be picked up in 30 states. In 1943, the show moved to its permanent home, the Ryman Auditorium.

The Grand Ole Opry helped establish Nashville as “Music City USA,” the capital of country music for the world. It became the show to guest on, if you were a country or bluegrass musician. Fringe acts were not allowed, especially during the 1960s. The Opry was not big on hippies or long-haired freaks gracing their stage.

It seems strange to think of a band like The Byrds, with their 12-string guitars and sweet harmonies being booed, but that’s what happened at the Opry. The band was mocked and hooted at. So The Byrds decided to break the Opry rules. Instead of playing a Merle Haggard cover during their set, they played Gram Parsons’ “Hickory Wind.” Management was not pleased.

Jerry Lee Lewis seems like a perfect fit for the Grand Ole Opry, but the Opry runners gave him two rules: no profanity and no rock and roll. Who would tell Jerry Lee Lewis not to rock and roll? Lewis was a hellraiser. He broke all those rules just by walking into the place. During his performance, Lewis referred to himself as a “motherf***er” and played all the rock and roll he wanted. There was probably some boogie-woogie involved, too.

One of the interesting things is that the Opry offers membership to musicians who play there. Once you’re a member of the Opry, you have to play at least 12 shows a year there. It’s like a country club.

Actually, it is exactly a country club.

The Opry was so popular that at one point, they built an amusement park around it. Literally. Around it. The Ryman was on the grounds of Opryland. When the park finally failed, they tore it down and built a gigantic mall called Opry Mills. The Ryman is right there in the parking lot of the shopping center.

It’s not only for Opry shows, though. The Ryman is a beloved venue for performers, with lots of artists, including The Pixies, The Raconteurs, and Jonny Lang, releasing live albums recorded there.

You may not like country music, but the existence of the Grand Ole Opry helped drag that kind of music out of the hills and into the living rooms of America. For that reason alone, and for probably somehow being responsible for the musical career of Jason Isbell, we should all be glad that the Opry exists.

By the way, the Grand Ole Opry broadcasts on satellite radio these days. The future is now, and it’s amazing.