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.
WLS is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, through licensee Radio License Holdings LLC, the station airs a talk radio format. WLS has its radio studios in the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city's Streeterville neighborhood. Its non-directional broadcast tower is located on the southwestern edge of Tinley Park, Illinois in Will County.
WGN-TV is an independent television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister to the company's sole radio property, news/talk/sports station WGN. WGN-TV's studios are located on West Bradley Place in Chicago's North Center community; as such, it is the only major commercial television station in Chicago which bases its main studio outside the Loop. Its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower in the Loop.
WGN is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a talk radio format. WGN's studios are in the Chicago Loop, while the transmitter is in Elk Grove Village. WGN also features broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hockey and Northwestern University football and basketball.
WLS-TV is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's ABC network outlet. It has been owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division since the station's inception. WLS-TV's studios are located on North State Street in the Chicago Loop, and its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower.
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".
A barn dance is any kind of dance involving traditional or folk music with traditional dancing, occasionally held in a barn, but, these days, much more likely to be in any suitable building.
WFLD is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's Fox network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Gary, Indiana–licensed MyNetworkTV outlet WPWR-TV. The two stations share studios on North Michigan Avenue in the Chicago Loop, and transmitter facilities atop the Willis Tower.
WCIU-TV is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is the flagship television property of locally based Weigel Broadcasting, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to two low-power stations: independent outlet WMEU-CD and MeTV/Heroes & Icons flagship WWME-CD. The stations share studios on Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood, while WCIU-TV's transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop.
Music Appreciation Hour was a National Broadcasting Company radio series that offered lectures on classical music aimed at students. The show was part of a broader mid-20th-century movement to popularize serious music. From 1928 to 1942, orchestra conductor Walter Damrosch hosted the show.
In broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalty to a network or station. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls. Not all networks or shows have a flagship station, as some originate from a dedicated radio or television studio.
Renfro Valley is a neighborhood located just off Interstate 75 at the junction of U.S. Route 25 and Kentucky Route 2793 north of Mount Vernon, the county seat of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, United States. The community has its own United States Post Office, zip code 40473.
Renfro Valley Gatherin' is a United States radio program based in Renfro Valley, Kentucky. The Gatherin' is the third oldest continually broadcast radio program in America, and the second-longest continually-running such program featuring country music; only the Grand Ole Opry (1925) and Music & the Spoken Word (1929) have been continually broadcast longer. The Renfro Valley Gatherin' as of 2016 is now exclusively aired on RFDTV'S siriusxm radio channel 147 Rural Radio, Sunday nights at 9:30 pm eastern, and hosted by Scotty Bussell.
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.
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.
Benjamin Francis Ford, known professionally as The Duke of Paducah, was an American country comedian, radio host and banjo player popular from the 1940s to the 1960s.
The Pickard Family was an early American folk and country music group that helped popularize country and folk music with urban audiences in the first half of the 20th century. The group was originally successful on so-called "barn dance" shows like the Grand Ole Opry, but eventually expanded to recording, touring, performing on nationally syndicated radio programs, hosting a television show, and appearing in films.
Prairie Farmer WLS National Barn Dance Crew photograph dated June 16, 1934 in "WLS Family Album 1935." Chicago: The Prairie Farmer Publishing Company, 1934, p. 30.
