Happy Birthday Opry!

October 14, 2005

The Grand Ole Opry concludes a year of celebrations with a final week of partying to mark its 80th anniversary of radio broadcasts. In October, 1925 (only a few years after the birth of commercial radio in America), WSM first went on the air with real country music. George D. Hay began hosting a weekly program the next month, which formally became the Grand Ole Opry two years later. When audiences for the live broadcasts kept growing, the Opry moved to the Ryman Auditorium (a former tabernacle) in 1943. Home to most of the influential country artists - Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Bill Monroe and more recent musicians, such as Alison Krauss and Vince Gill, built international reputations from the Opry stage. In 1974, the Opry christened its current home, an extensive entertainment complex outside of Nashville.

This weekend, there will be additional shows (with artists including Krauss, Ralph Stanley, The Whites and Little Jimmy Dickens), a dedication of a statue of Minnie Pearl, and a celebrity pie auction. There are still two days left in the Opry's 80-day-long auction of random donations from the many musicians that have stood in the famous circle center stage.