The Grand Ole Opry is a regular live country-music radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the time of year. It was founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as the WSM Barn Dance, taking its current name in 1927. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.
George Hege Hamilton IV was an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, switching to country music in the early 1960s.
WSM is a commercial AM radio station, located in Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a country music format and is known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry, the world's longest running radio program. The station is owned Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. WSM currently operates out of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, and visitors to the hotel may look into the studio 24 hours a day, provided the curtains are open, which they usually are.
DeFord Bailey was an American country music and blues star from the 1920s until 1941. He was one of the first performers to be introduced on Nashville radio station WSM's Grand Ole Opry, the first African-American performer to appear on the show, and the first performer to have his music recorded in Nashville. Bailey played several instruments in his career but is best known for playing the harmonica, often being referred to as a "harmonica wizard".
Ryman Auditorium is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark, National Historic Landmark, and the former home of the Grand Ole Opry, it is one of the most influential and revered concert halls in the world. It is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. It is owned and operated by Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. Ryman Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was later designated as a National Historic Landmark on June 25, 2001, for its pivotal role in the popularization of country music. A storied stage for Rock & Roll artists for decades, the Ryman was named a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark in 2022.
National Barn Dance, broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the Grand Ole Opry.
David Harrison Macon, known professionally as Uncle Dave Macon, was an American old-time banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Known as "The Dixie Dewdrop", Macon was known for his chin whiskers, plug hat, gold teeth, and gates-ajar collar, he gained regional fame as a vaudeville performer in the early 1920s before becoming the first star of the Grand Ole Opry in the latter half of the decade.
Walter Ralph Emery was an American country music disc jockey, radio and television host from McEwen, Tennessee.
George Dewey Hay was an American radio personality, announcer and newspaper reporter. He was the founder of the original Grand Ole Opry radio program on WSM-AM in Nashville, Tennessee, from which the country music stage show of the same name evolved.
Jesse Donald "Uncle Jimmy" Thompson was an American old-time fiddle player and singer-songwriter. He is best remembered as the first performer to play on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, appearing with founder and host George D. Hay on the evening of November 28, 1925. The positive response generated by Thompson's performance would be an important influence on the show's creative direction in its formative years. While Thompson made only a handful of recordings late in his life, his cantankerous and eccentric personality and his fiddle skills have made him one of the best-known icons of early country music.
The Johnson Mountain Boys were a popular bluegrass band throughout the 1980s from the Washington, D.C. area. Their style favored a more traditional approach to bluegrass than some of their contemporaries. They released two 45 RPM single records, one EP record, ten albums and toured widely, playing venues such as Madison Square Garden, The White House, the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Grand Ole Opry in the United States. Other tours took them around the world to Canada, England, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India, and Africa. The group was frequently recognized with nominations for Grammy Awards, International Bluegrass Music Awards, and awards from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America. Many of the band's members are still active in other musical groups and settings.
The Bailey Brothers and the Happy Valley Boys were an American bluegrass act widely considered to be among the first to cultivate the duo harmony vocal technique widely used in modern bluegrass music today. Charlie Bailey began his musical career in 1936. His brother, Danny Bailey, teamed up with him in 1940, and the brothers began making frequent appearances on Tennessee radio stations in the Knoxville area. Danny formed the Happy Valley Boys after Charlie joined the military in 1941.
Humphrey Bate was an American harmonica player and string band leader. He was the first musician to play old-time music on Nashville-area radio. Bate and his band, which had been given the name "Dr. Humphrey Bate & His Possum Hunters" by Opry founder George D. Hay, were regulars on the Grand Ole Opry until Bate's death in 1936. The band's recordings, while scant, are considered some of the most distinctive and complex string band compositions in the old-time genre.
The Binkley Brothers' Dixie Clodhoppers were an American Old-time string band consisting of Amos Binkley (1888–1952) on banjo, his brother Gale Binkley (1893–1946) on fiddle, Tom Andrews on guitar, and Jack Jackson on guitar and vocals. The Binkley Brothers first performed on Nashville radio station WSM in 1926, and in 1928 became one of the first bands to record commercially in the city. The group performed regularly on the Grand Ole Opry until they disbanded in 1938.
The McGee Brothers were an American old-time performing duo of brothers Sam McGee and Kirk McGee. Sam typically played guitar and Kirk usually played banjo or fiddle, although they were both proficient in multiple string instruments. The McGee Brothers were one of the most enduring acts on the Grand Ole Opry during the show's first fifty years. They made their initial appearance on the Opry in 1926 and the following year joined Uncle Dave Macon's band, the Fruit Jar Drinkers. In the 1930s, the McGees teamed up with early Opry fiddler Arthur Smith to form a string band known as the "Dixieliners," and in the 1940s they played and toured with Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys and several other notable acts.
Keith Bilbrey is an American country music disc jockey and television host in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as a disc jockey at Nashville's WSM, as an announcer on the Grand Ole Opry, and as the host of TNN’s Grand Ole Opry Live. He is also the show announcer for Huckabee, a variety show hosted by Mike Huckabee, on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
The Midnite Jamboree is a radio program that has aired on WSM in Nashville, Tennessee since May 3, 1947. It was launched by country musician Ernest Tubb. The program was recorded from Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville, Tennessee each Saturday. Through a brokered programming arrangement with Ernest Tubb Record Shop, the Jamboree aired following the Grand Ole Opry; as the program's name implied, it aired at midnight Central Time.
Bernarr Graham Busbice, known professionally as Buzz Busby, was an American bluegrass musician, known for his mandolin style and high tenor voice. He was nicknamed the "Father of Washington, D.C. Bluegrass".
Milton Esco Estes was an American country music and Southern gospel singer and musician. Estes was a host and house performer at the Grand Ole Opry.
Grant Turner was an American disc jockey known as the long time host of the Grand Ole Opry and on WSM AM radio in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1981, Turner was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the first announcer or disk jockey to achieve that honor.
