I’ve heard it said we each have a story to tell. Set that story to music and the angst comes alive with every heartbreaking note. Make it country music and the story hits home with a twang and a tear.
Home for country music would have to be the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville was our home for one night and half a day as Jimmy and I made our way south from Chicago to Miami last month.
Home for country music would have to be the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville was our home for one night and half a day as Jimmy and I made our way south from Chicago to Miami last month.
No moon the night we were in Nashville, but there was plenty of moonshine.
Who knew the Grand Ole Opry would be closed for the month of January. Dang it! Who knew today's post would be the mother of all posts!
Jimmy, pickin' and grinnin' outside the Grand Ole Opry.
Jimmy and I drove through the nearly deserted 120-acre Opryland site, home to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, the Grand Ole Opry and Opry Mills Mall. Even the mall was basically deserted at 10 o’clock in the morning.
We stopped at the Grand Ole Opry House holding out hope for a tour of country music’s famous venue, the same building that suffered water damage in 2010 when the nearby Cumberland River overflowed its banks.
We stopped at the Grand Ole Opry House holding out hope for a tour of country music’s famous venue, the same building that suffered water damage in 2010 when the nearby Cumberland River overflowed its banks.
No crowds in mid-January.
Bless our pea pickin’ hearts, nothing but the gift shop was open.
Ya'll know this ain't my first rodeo, right?
It was there we learned of the Grand Ole Opry’s annual pilgrimage to the Ryman Auditorium during the winter months. Halleluiah! The doors to the “Mother Church of the Grand Ole Opry” were still open; tours were still available!
We high tailed it to downtown Nashville faster than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest to see this National Historic Landmark, hailed as the birthplace of bluegrass.
We high tailed it to downtown Nashville faster than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest to see this National Historic Landmark, hailed as the birthplace of bluegrass.
Cigars for everyone.
That birth occurred in 1945, when Bill Monroe brought his mandolin and bluegrass style music to the Grand Ole Opry’s new home of two years. The building’s past proved fertile ground for that birth.
Built in 1892, the Ryman Auditorium was originally called the “Union Gospel Tabernacle,” the dream of Nashville businessman and riverboat captain Thomas Green Ryman. He was looking to provide a permanent home for the fiery traveling evangelist, the Reverend Sam Jones. It was important the acoustics for his new tabernacle be capable of carrying the reverend's voice across the hundreds of rows of faithful. When Ryman died twelve years later, the Union Gospel Tabernale was renamed the Ryan Auditorium in his honor.
Built in 1892, the Ryman Auditorium was originally called the “Union Gospel Tabernacle,” the dream of Nashville businessman and riverboat captain Thomas Green Ryman. He was looking to provide a permanent home for the fiery traveling evangelist, the Reverend Sam Jones. It was important the acoustics for his new tabernacle be capable of carrying the reverend's voice across the hundreds of rows of faithful. When Ryman died twelve years later, the Union Gospel Tabernale was renamed the Ryan Auditorium in his honor.
Originally the Ryman Auditorium could seat close to 6000 people.
Captain Ryman may have been the big daddy for this historic landmark, but it’s taken a woman, several times over, to keep this National Landmark afloat.
Land, ho!
Lula C. Naff eventually took the helm after Ryman’s death. Initially she booked the speaking engagements, concerts and other attractions for the Ryman Auditorium as an employee for the Delong Rice Lyceum Bureau. When that bureau dissolved in 1914, she stepped up and began leasing the Ryman Auditorium as an independent agent, signing correspondences with prospective agents with the initials L.C. Naff. Women didn’t carry much clout in the business world at the turn of the century, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from booking the Ryman Auditorium.
In 1920, when the Board of Directors for the Ryman Auditorium hired her directly to manage the auditorium, she did so with considerable success until her retirement in 1955 at the age of 80. Well, I’ll be just swaney! That was an impressive run, honey chil'!
During her tenure, L.C. booked noted celebrities such as Bob Hope, Roy Rogers, Katherine Hepburn, Valentino, and the Ziegfeld Follies. Shrewd, determined, and capable, L.C. even booked boxing matches, livestock auctions, speakers and political debates. Well, I declare!
In 1920, when the Board of Directors for the Ryman Auditorium hired her directly to manage the auditorium, she did so with considerable success until her retirement in 1955 at the age of 80. Well, I’ll be just swaney! That was an impressive run, honey chil'!
During her tenure, L.C. booked noted celebrities such as Bob Hope, Roy Rogers, Katherine Hepburn, Valentino, and the Ziegfeld Follies. Shrewd, determined, and capable, L.C. even booked boxing matches, livestock auctions, speakers and political debates. Well, I declare!
Stairway to the stars.
Once dubbed the “Carnegie Hall of the South” for its legendary acoustics and star performers, including the Metropolitan Opera, it didn’t take long for the popular “Grand Ole Opry” Radio Show on 650 WSM, now the oldest continuous commercial radio show in America, to take notice of this entertainment hot spot. By 1943, the “Grand Ole Opry” had found a new home in the Ryman Auditorium.
I could tell you the rest was history, but if you’re like me, I really didn’t know much of that history. I came late in life to country music thanks to Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, the Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum. I will say though, before adolescence brought Elvis, the Monkees, the Beatles and rock and roll, I remember singing along to the likes of Roy Acuff’s Wabash Cannonball, Red Foley’s Goodnight Irene and Patsy Cline’s I Fall to Pieces on my parents' radio.
Yes, I have a soft spot for Johnny Cash and June Carter, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, and of course Dolly Parton when it comes to country legends in my time. When you sing from the heart, the song trumps genre. Besides, I’m too much the chameleon when it comes to music to stick to one color.
I think that’s what I found so interesting about the Ryman Auditorium; all that colorful history.
I could tell you the rest was history, but if you’re like me, I really didn’t know much of that history. I came late in life to country music thanks to Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, the Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum. I will say though, before adolescence brought Elvis, the Monkees, the Beatles and rock and roll, I remember singing along to the likes of Roy Acuff’s Wabash Cannonball, Red Foley’s Goodnight Irene and Patsy Cline’s I Fall to Pieces on my parents' radio.
Yes, I have a soft spot for Johnny Cash and June Carter, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, and of course Dolly Parton when it comes to country legends in my time. When you sing from the heart, the song trumps genre. Besides, I’m too much the chameleon when it comes to music to stick to one color.
I think that’s what I found so interesting about the Ryman Auditorium; all that colorful history.
Best cast party I've ever been to. It's my only cast party.
It was like stumbling into your grandmother’s attic and finding a goldmine of heirlooms and antiques to keep you wonderfully entertained on a rainy afternoon.
This was top of the line entertainment.
The Ryman Auditorium may be the Mother Church of Country Music, but her doors are open to anyone wanting to worship, as long as you can sing in country harmony and you’re willing to return for choir practice at least six times a year (years ago members were required to return home to the stage that helped launch their careers at least 12 times a year).
Elvis performed at the Grand Ole Opry – once, in 1954 as a teenager, hoping to become a member of that most enduring “hall of fame” after moving to Tennessee with his family at the age of 13. The audience’s cool response to Elvis’ Blue Moon of Kentucky and his uptempto backbeat-driven fusion of country and rhythm and blues didn’t result in an encore that night, or any other night.
According to the Grand Ole Opry’s website, “there is no magic formula, no secret code that grants access to one of the most coveted invitations in all of music.”
The powers that be like to see a country singer have a musical and generational balance, a relationship with their fans as well as other performers, and a combination of career accomplishment and commitment. Singing harmony is not always easy. If you lose sight of what you stand for, you can drown in a sea of cacophonous distractions.
Sorry, after a wonderful 90-minute tour of the Mother Church of Country Music, my soap box is a natural next step. Their soap box was a beautiful four-story version, complete with a balcony, stained glass windows and a rich history carried on the notes of the heartache, hard times, love, and laughter revealed on that stage.
Elvis performed at the Grand Ole Opry – once, in 1954 as a teenager, hoping to become a member of that most enduring “hall of fame” after moving to Tennessee with his family at the age of 13. The audience’s cool response to Elvis’ Blue Moon of Kentucky and his uptempto backbeat-driven fusion of country and rhythm and blues didn’t result in an encore that night, or any other night.
According to the Grand Ole Opry’s website, “there is no magic formula, no secret code that grants access to one of the most coveted invitations in all of music.”
The powers that be like to see a country singer have a musical and generational balance, a relationship with their fans as well as other performers, and a combination of career accomplishment and commitment. Singing harmony is not always easy. If you lose sight of what you stand for, you can drown in a sea of cacophonous distractions.
Sorry, after a wonderful 90-minute tour of the Mother Church of Country Music, my soap box is a natural next step. Their soap box was a beautiful four-story version, complete with a balcony, stained glass windows and a rich history carried on the notes of the heartache, hard times, love, and laughter revealed on that stage.
The symmetry alone was breathtaking.
I could feel the gospel roots while sitting in those hard pews circling the stage where the pulpit once stood. I could imagine the hum of a thousand prayers and halleluiahs reach to the heavens in the shadows of those stained glass windows.
Somewhere over the rainbow there's Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.
A circular piece of that stage was removed in 1974 and set into the stage at the Grand Ole Opry’s new home across town, part of the then new Opry Theme Park (the park rides have since been replaced with a mall). The Ryman Auditorium fell silent; the pews sat empty as the past gave way to the future and owners National Life Insurance considered their options in light of the now aging financial albatross that was part of the Grand Ole Opry Radio Show and empire.
As the story goes, a second woman was instrumental in saving the Ryman Auditorium from the wrecking ball. Mind you, L.C. Naff was now long gone as the 20th century was nearing a close. Apparently Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, aka Minnie Pearl, country singer and comedian, had friends in high places.
That friend, Oklahoma businessman Ed Gaylord, bought all of the combined properties that constituted the Grand Ole Opry Radio Show (Opryland Theme Park, Opryland Hotel and Convention Center and the famed WSM radio Station, all across town at the new location; and the Ryman Auditorium, still sitting in its original location in downtown Nashville since 1892) in 1992 for a mere $225 million. When the dust settled, concerns about the future of the Ryman Auditorium were put to rest with Gaylord’s $8.5 million commitment to restoring Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to a premier theater by night and a museum by day.
As the story goes, a second woman was instrumental in saving the Ryman Auditorium from the wrecking ball. Mind you, L.C. Naff was now long gone as the 20th century was nearing a close. Apparently Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, aka Minnie Pearl, country singer and comedian, had friends in high places.
That friend, Oklahoma businessman Ed Gaylord, bought all of the combined properties that constituted the Grand Ole Opry Radio Show (Opryland Theme Park, Opryland Hotel and Convention Center and the famed WSM radio Station, all across town at the new location; and the Ryman Auditorium, still sitting in its original location in downtown Nashville since 1892) in 1992 for a mere $225 million. When the dust settled, concerns about the future of the Ryman Auditorium were put to rest with Gaylord’s $8.5 million commitment to restoring Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to a premier theater by night and a museum by day.
Howdie!
Backstage at the renovated Ryman Auditorium, the dressing rooms are dedicated to Ryman stars, including one dedicated to Minnie Pearl (gosh darn, no photos were allowed backstage during our tour!). Her talent and her commitment to country music’s past and future earned her the distinction of “Queen of Country Comedy.”
She sits front and center in the lobby of the theater alongside the “King of Country Music,” Roy Acuff. Acuff is credited with moving the “hoedown” and string band format of country music to the star singer-based format that helped bring success to the Grand Ole Opry.
She sits front and center in the lobby of the theater alongside the “King of Country Music,” Roy Acuff. Acuff is credited with moving the “hoedown” and string band format of country music to the star singer-based format that helped bring success to the Grand Ole Opry.
These two will forever be in the spotlight when it comes to the Ryman.
It seems fitting that dreams have always been a part of the foundation of this historic venue; fitting that the stardust that fell on this house of worship for a little more than a century has truly rendered it hallowed ground.
If I had to sing for my supper, I'd be at least 30 pounds lighter.
You can still record a record here at the Ryman Auditorium in hopes of making your own dream come true. Or you can simply share the dreams of those shooting stars past and present who dot the sky above this beautiful country road to stardom with a backstage tour or a concert ticket; or both.
Touring new venues with my special guy is always a dream come true. It leaves me happy as a clam at high tide!
Touring new venues with my special guy is always a dream come true. It leaves me happy as a clam at high tide!
Jimmy's prepared for that high tide.
Bottom Line on Ryman Auditorium:
Verdict: What a gem! Next trip, we see a concert!
How to Get There: Head southwest on James Robertson Parkway/US-31 toward 2nd Avenue North. Take the first left onto 3rd Avenue North. Turn right onto Broadway/US-70/TN-24. Turn right onto 5th Avenue North. Ryman Auditorium (116 5th Avenue North) will be on the right.
Insider Information: Parking in downtown Nashville reminds me of parking in Chicago; it cost us $10 for two hours of parking at a little lot just southwest of the auditorium. This may be the south, but the prices for parking are not cheap.
Nearby Food: There was plenty to pick from within walking distance. We hightailed it out of the area because of parking and the 9 hour drive ahead of us to Atlanta.
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RYMAN AUDITORIUM TRIVIA
1. The Ryman Auditorium earned Pollstar Magazine’s National Theater of the Year Award in 2003, 2004, 2010 and 2011.
2. The Ryman Auditorium comes with a curse, officially called the Opry Curse, associated with the deaths of numerous artists who found fame at the Grand Ole Opry only to die tragically at the height of their careers, including Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves (separate plane crashes), the murder of “Stringbean Akeman,” Ira Louvin (car crash) and “Texas Ruby” Fox (fire).
3. It’s believed the Ryman Auditorium is also haunted. Sightings of a “Gray Man” have been reported backstage as well as in the balcony, usually during rehearsals or after performances.
Some repeat performers have come to look for the “Gray Man” when preparing for upcoming performances.
4. The Ryman Auditorium hosts artists that cover alternative rock, bluegrass, blues, country, classical, folk, jazz, pop and rock concerts, as well as musical theater and stand-up comedy shows, including folk singer Patty Griffin in 2003, country singer and star Josh Turner in 2006, as well as the synthpop English band Erasure in 2006.
5. Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan spoke to the first ever sold-out show at the Ryman on October 2, 1913.
6. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt (1907) and William Taft (1911) both stepped onto the Ryman stage to speak to constituents.
7. Five years after commercial radio was born in the U.S., the Grand Ole Opry Radio Show hit the airwaves (1925) under the call letters, WSM. National Life and Accident Insurance Comapny radio station owners hoped to sell more insurance policies via their new medium. Their motto, We Shield Millions, provided the impetus for their call letters WSM.
Insider Information: Parking in downtown Nashville reminds me of parking in Chicago; it cost us $10 for two hours of parking at a little lot just southwest of the auditorium. This may be the south, but the prices for parking are not cheap.
Nearby Food: There was plenty to pick from within walking distance. We hightailed it out of the area because of parking and the 9 hour drive ahead of us to Atlanta.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
RYMAN AUDITORIUM TRIVIA
1. The Ryman Auditorium earned Pollstar Magazine’s National Theater of the Year Award in 2003, 2004, 2010 and 2011.
2. The Ryman Auditorium comes with a curse, officially called the Opry Curse, associated with the deaths of numerous artists who found fame at the Grand Ole Opry only to die tragically at the height of their careers, including Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves (separate plane crashes), the murder of “Stringbean Akeman,” Ira Louvin (car crash) and “Texas Ruby” Fox (fire).
3. It’s believed the Ryman Auditorium is also haunted. Sightings of a “Gray Man” have been reported backstage as well as in the balcony, usually during rehearsals or after performances.
Some repeat performers have come to look for the “Gray Man” when preparing for upcoming performances.
4. The Ryman Auditorium hosts artists that cover alternative rock, bluegrass, blues, country, classical, folk, jazz, pop and rock concerts, as well as musical theater and stand-up comedy shows, including folk singer Patty Griffin in 2003, country singer and star Josh Turner in 2006, as well as the synthpop English band Erasure in 2006.
5. Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan spoke to the first ever sold-out show at the Ryman on October 2, 1913.
6. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt (1907) and William Taft (1911) both stepped onto the Ryman stage to speak to constituents.
7. Five years after commercial radio was born in the U.S., the Grand Ole Opry Radio Show hit the airwaves (1925) under the call letters, WSM. National Life and Accident Insurance Comapny radio station owners hoped to sell more insurance policies via their new medium. Their motto, We Shield Millions, provided the impetus for their call letters WSM.
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