Crossword Dictionary
Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry, also called Opry, is a country music show in Nashville, Tenn., U.S., which began weekly radio broadcasts in December 1925, playing traditional country or hillbilly music. Founded by George Dewey Hay, who had helped organize a similar program, the WLS “National Barn Dance,†in Chicago, the show was originally known as the “WSM Barn Dance,†acquiring its lasting name in 1926. It was largely Hay, called “the Solemn Ol’ Judge,†who determined the course of the Opry’s development.
The show flourished through the heyday of radio and on into the television era. Such widening exposure led to tours of Opry stars and in the 1940s to Opry films. The music of the Opry developed from Uncle Dave Macon’s ballads of rural laborers in the 1920s, through the string bands, cowboy music, and western swing of the 1930s, and back to the traditional music characterized by the career of Roy Acuff, who was promoted into stardom by the Opry in the late 1930s.
After World War II, the honky-tonk style of Ernest Tubb, the bluegrass music of Bill Monroe with Earl Scruggs, the honky-tonk music of Hank Williams, the crooning of Eddy Arnold and Tennessee Ernie Ford, and the singing of such female vocalists as Kitty Wells were all Opry staples, as were comedy routines, notably by Minnie Pearl. In 1941 the Opry became a live stage show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville; in 1974 the show moved to the Opryland amusement park and entertainment center. The Opry initiated and promoted the creation of Nashville as the center of country music.
Grand Ole Opry House
The Grand Ole Opry House is an iconic music venue that hosts talented and popular artists while also showcasing the longest-running radio broadcast in American history. The show includes renowned, groundbreaking singers, both traditional and modern, performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music interspersed with comedic skits. The Grand Ole Opry began in 1925 on WSM Radio and has been through multiple changes in venue.
With such distinct culture and resolute tradition, the Grand Ole Opry House attracts hundreds of thousands of international visitors and millions more radio and internet listeners. Performances are broadcast live every week, and the venue hosts additional shows for special events throughout the year.
The Ryman Auditorium was home to the Opry until 1974. By the late 1960s, National Life & Accident desired a new, larger, more modern home for the long-running radio show. The Ryman was beginning to suffer from disrepair as the downtown neighborhood around it fell victim to increasing urban decay. Despite these shortcomings, the show's popularity continued to increase, and its weekly crowds were outgrowing the venue.
National Life & Accident purchased farmland owned by a local sausage manufacturer (Rudy's Farm) in the Pennington Bend area of Nashville. The new Opry venue was the centerpiece of a grand entertainment complex at that location, which later included Opryland USA Theme Park and Opryland Hotel. The theme park opened to the public in 1972, well ahead of the 4,000-seat Opry House, which debuted nearly two years later.
The theme park was closed and demolished following the 1997 season, but the Grand Ole Opry House remains in use.
The Grand Ole Opry continues to be performed every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and occasionally Wednesday at the Grand Ole Opry House from February through October each year, and the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 2015.
The Grand Ole Opry House was also the home of the Country Music Association Awards from 1974 to 2004.