HOW THE OPRY CAN RETURN TO ITS HEYDAY
JIM PATTERSON
* 01/30/99
The Plain Dealer Cleveland, OH
(Copyright (c) The Plain Dealer 1999)
"The Grand Ole Opry" is getting creaky with age.
America's longest continuously running radio program has changed
little in 73 years, and with attendance down, it's time for a reality
check.
For starters, the show might consider moving from the suburbs back
to its original home, the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown
Nashville.
It also should be televised in its entirety on The Nashville
Network. And how about finding new talent outside normal channels,
or at least making sure the biggest stars do more than a cameo each
year?
"I think that unfortunately the tendency out there is for
everybody to embrace it when they need it," said Vince Gill, one of
the few big stars who performs often on the show. "As soon as
everybody's records stop flying up the charts, and nobody wants to
give them a zillion dollars to {perform}, then they'll go do the
Opry."
It wasn't always that way. For many years, the Opry was the place
for a country artist to be. Before videos and country-pop crossover
artists came along, the Opry could single-handedly fuel record sales
and up the earning power of its stars.
That is now a thing of the past. The Opry needs big stars like
Gill more than he needs it. And "Grand Ole Opry" cast members like
Clint Black and Garth Brooks rarely perform there, sometimes not even
meeting their obligation to show up four times a year.
Since its inception in November 1925, the show has been broadcast
every weekend on Nashville's 50,000-watt WSM-AM.
The Opry is where Porter Wagoner still struts in rhinestones,
where the great Connie Smith belts out tunes, and where the Melvin
Sloan Dancers square dance.
It's deliberately unsophisticated, using a barn as a stage
backdrop. One of the sponsors is a drink called "Jogging in a Jug."
It's a fun tradition that connects us to our parents and
grandparents.
It's worth preserving.
But change is needed.
"Grand Ole Opry" stalwarts like Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff have
died. Cast members who appear regularly, like Wagoner and Little
Jimmy Dickens, are aging.
To thrive rather than just survive, the Opry should take some
chances. Here are four suggestions:
Move back to downtown Nashville to the Ryman Auditorium, at least
part-time.
The 4,400-seat Grand Ole Opry House, home of the Opry since 1974,
is set in suburban north Nashville. That made sense as long as
downtown, and the Ryman, were in decay. But downtown Nashville has
been revitalized and the intimate 2,100-seat Ryman reopened in 1994
after renovation.
The Opry's well-received return visit to the Ryman on Jan. 15-16,
its first show there in 25 years, underscored the point: The Opry
would benefit from being back in the hustle-bustle of the city.
Despite such drawbacks as a shortage of dressing rooms and parking
spaces, the idea should be considered, said singer Lorrie Morgan,
whose late father, George Morgan, was an Opry star.
"I'd be all for it," Morgan said. "But I just know that my dad
and some of the other members ... were so happy about the new Opry
House. They were so proud that finally we were recognized as an
industry and we got a great building.
"I say switch back and forth, six months do it here, next six
months do it there, and see what happens."
Televise one of the two Saturday night shows in its entirety on
TNN.
TNN airs only an hour from the Saturday night show. Carrying the
whole show would give artists more exposure, increasing the Opry's
booking clout.
Yes, "The Grand Ole Opry" and TNN no longer are owned by the same
company (the Opry is owned by Gaylord Entertainment, which sold TNN
to CBS). But TNN is supposed to be the cable channel of record for
* country music fans, and the Opry should be its can't-miss show.
Mix it up musically.
Wouldn't it be great if "The Grand Ole Opry" became a musical
leader again?
It could happen by tapping the talent that's always bubbling under
* the country music mainstream. Buddy and Julie Miller, Iris DeMent,
R.B. Morris, Gillian Welch and Don Walser are all talents worthy of
the Opry.
Also, why not seek out noncountry artists who come through town?
A Bob Dylan or Yo-Yo Ma may very well appreciate the history of the
show enough to want to do it.
Require country stars to do their bit.
In the old days, the Opry had the muscle to insist its cast
members appear 26 weekends a year. Now it's down to four and some
don't do even that. So why not part ways with singers who rarely
perform, so spots open for those who want in?
"Our audience attendance is way down," said Morgan, a cast member
since 1984. "I don't know how to get it back but I do know it's
going to take an effort on a lot of people's parts and it's hard to
do that.
"It's hard when you're out promoting a record to say `No, I can't
go make $40,000 this week, I need to ... do the Opry.'
"But you got to do it."
