One of country music’s critically-important performers from the Golden Era of the 50’s and 60’s, and one of the Grand Ole Opry’s most regular performers throughout the years, has passed on to that big stage in the sky. Stonewall Jackson was not a nickname.
There are few tours that are more legendary to the history of country music than the six-week tour that Gram Parsons embarked on in 1973 behind his album GP. Yes, there were certainly bigger tours with higher grossing receipts, or tours that featured a more scintillating lineup.
“I feel like I’m just getting started. ’29’ is the album I’ll always look back on in my career and say that was the turning point for me in the way I want to be looked at in country music. I hope when people look at my music and my little legacy, I hope they say, ‘She was a country music purist.’”
‘An Old Time Christmas’ has always been considered one of the better bets for Christmas albums from country legends. That is how it achieved its Certified Gold status by the RIAA—something many of Randy’s 90’s and early 2000’s studio albums didn’t achieve.
There’s just about nothing that will give you deeper chills in country music than the delivery of the final verse in the song “The Ride” written by Gary Gentry, J. B. Detterline Jr., and performed by David Allan Coe. It’s almost like seeing a ghost. That may not be by accident.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The owners of the longest-running music radio show in America—The Grand Ole Opry—want to purchase the location of the longest-running music television show in America—Austin City Limits—setting off alarm bells.
When it comes to the banjo in bluegrass or anywhere else, aside from maybe Earl Scruggs, nobody else has been heard and enjoyed more than Sonny Osborne of The Osborne Brothers. Both prolific and influential, the Osborne Brothers rendition of the iconic song “Rocky Top.”
Imagine having backed Hank Williams on his legendary Grand Ole Opry debut in 1949, or playing behind any of the other country music legends who performed on that hallowed stage during the Opry’s golden era. This was the fortune of steel guitarist Billy Robinson.
A couple of deserving bands from the Texas and Red Dirt side of country are finally receiving their due with upcoming opportunities to step into the hallowed circle at the Grand Ole Opry. It’s just the latest sign things are opening up a bit under the new Opry management.
Original Red Dirt music legend Jason Boland may be best known for straightforward country music heaters such as “Pearl Snaps” and “Somewhere Down in Texas,” but those that have followed his 20-year career know that if you know Boland, you best stay on your toes.
Celebrating her 46th birthday by performing on the Tuesday night Opry, she was surprised on stage by Connie Smith, who sauntered up to lead the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to Barnett before presenting her with a birthday card. Inside was an invitation.
Bluegrass gospel group The Issacs have been around in one incarnation or another since 1992, but really since the early 70’s, paying dues and putting in service time, making fans in both the country and Christian markets. And now they will be the next members of the Grand Ole Opry.
It’s a rite of passage for any artist or band. And no matter how bygone the honor and opportunity might feel to some, to any act in the country and roots realm with any notion of history, it’s a bucket list item they will cherish and remember forever.
There are some items that are so important, so revered, they shouldn’t be possessed by any individual, but by us all. In country music, this includes a specific set of instruments tied to the music’s history so irrevocably, they comprise the very bedrock of the genre.
when it comes to the Opry picking its next contemporary member—meaning not someone past their commercial prime that could instill a little youth and vigor into the institution—there’s just about no better pick than Carly Pearce. Only fitting that Dolly Parton was the one to dole out the invitation.
It’s crazy how things sometimes work out, making it hard to doubt divine intervention. Marty Stuart selected the song “Skip a Rope” for his latest installment, releasing it on Tuesday, May 25th. Lo and behold, the next day we find out that the song’s writer has passed away.
Zach Bryan may have been regarded as an amateur before. But after his performance at the Grand Ole Opry, it doesn’t feel fitting to refer to him as a “viral songwriter” anymore. He’s just Zach Bryan, and folks should be paying attention.
In the latest sign that viral songwriting sensation turned singer/songwriting powerhouse Zach Bryan has reached the next level, he’s been tapped for one of the highest distinctions any up-and-coming artist in country music can be bestowed with—a Grand Ole Opry debut.
If you want to get a shocked reaction from a country music fan, tell them that George Strait is not a member of the Grand Ole Opry. But a question that arose recently was, has George Strait ever even played the Grand Ole Opry? It took some digging to answer.
The Grand Ole Opry is celebrating its 95th Anniversary with a big primetime special on Sunday, February 14th on NBC. Called ‘Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music,’ it comes as the Opry is enjoying arguably one of its biggest resurgences in interest in the institution’s history.
Placing aside for a second the list of all of the great traditional country artists and country legends that should be considered for induction into The Grand Ole Opry, and it is ample. I mean goodness, what does Jamey Johnson have to do at this point to make it in?
Sorry Jamey Johnson. Sorry Elizabeth Cook. Sorry Miranda Lambert. Sorry Carly Pearce and Charles Esten, who continue to be some of the most frequent Opry performers who haven’t received membership yet. Sorry cool up-and-coming names like Billy Strings that could be the shot of youth.
The 2020 pandemic has exposed how essential many country music institutions are to society. The Grand Ole Opry beamed its signal into households to the tune of becoming the most successful streaming concern in music during the entirety of 2020.
The Grand Ole Opry will begin celebrating its 95th Anniversary on Saturday, October 3rd, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, gathering for the country music institution’s 4,944th consecutive Saturday night broadcast with Dierks Bentley, Vince Gill, Terri Clark, and Lorrie Morgan.