Saturday, August 19, 2017

THE GRAND OLE OPRY

NASHVILLE SOUNDS
So, the question needs to be asked…. Why in all places in this great America is Nashville the country music capital? And, what the heck is a Grand Ole Opry?
Of course, after my recent trip to the Athens of the South  your intrepid chronicler did some research and just skimming the surface of the history of “country” music has my head spinning with its various forms and sub-genres trying to decide what to write here.

Hopefully I’ll get some of this correct. If I don’t, I guess my dog will run away, my truck will get a flat tire and my cold beer will get warm quickly….

Actually, country music is far more popular than I ever imagined. From what I have read the dulcet tones of warbling cowboys and toe tapping honky-tonk, et al, is enjoyed by over 40% of the population, that listeners are often affluent and homeowners, and there are more evening commuters tuning into country music stations than anything else.
That still doesn’t answer the question, ‘why Nashville?’

As for the Nashville sound, it was a move in the 50's to revive country sales devastated by the rise of rock and roll by using smooth strings and choruses and sophisticated background vocals. As for the Nashville Sounds, they are a AAA team of the Oakland Athletics. 

HILLBILLY MUSIC
Country has its roots in Appalachian folk music, mostly narrative ballads and traditional music brought from Europe mainly by English, Irish and Scottish settlers to the area, as well as African-American blues. Instruments typically played are banjos, fiddles, dulcimers and guitars. Parts of Appalachia are still isolated and poor and inhabitants often stereotyped as uneducated and unrefined, but there is a rich musical heritage from this region.
 
Ryman Auditorium
In the early 1900s there was a movement to collect and preserve these folk songs played by the people of Appalachia where previously the music was unwritten. For generations the music was passed on orally and musically to the next generation, sometimes just within families. When they began to collect this rich legacy the researchers first wrote the notes of the songs and lyrics down and later when the equipment was invented the music was electronically recorded. In the earliest recordings the artists had to travel to New York City or Atlanta, but in the 1920s a producer for the Victor Talking Machine Company set up a recording studio in a State Street building in Bristol, Tennessee. State Street is the border between Virginia and Tennessee in Bristol.  Artists were offered $50 for each side cut and 2 ½ cents for each single sold.  The popularity of the music, called “Hillbilly Music”, which wasn’t a pejorative term but instead used to differentiate the music from gospel and blues, quickly became popular beyond the hills of Appalachia.

Today Bristol Tennessee is considered the Birthplace of Country Music. The actual site of the Bristol recordings in Bristol, Tennessee is now a parking lot but there is a commemorative plaque there, while the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is located a few blocks away in Bristol Virginia.

RED HOT FIDDLE PLAYING
The Grand Ole Opry began as a radio program on WSM 650 in Nashville Tennessee in 1925. It was called Barn Dance then and the first performer introduced was 77 year old Uncle Jimmy Thompson. The show’s producer wanted each segment to end with some “red hot fiddle playing” and the Fruit Jar Drinkers were tasked with that endeavor. The name was changed to the Grand Ole Opry when the announcer quipped one night in 1927 that the classical music that preceded the program had been taken from Grand Opera and what will follow is Grand Ole Opry. He then introduced the Harmonica King, DeFord Bailey. 

The hour long program was a massive hit and the crowds that gathered at the radio station on Seventh and Union soon overwhelmed the studio space, requiring a move (and an admission charge) to several other venues over the years before the Grand Ole Opry settled in the Ryman Auditorium on 4th Street in 1943. The Opry was held there until 1974 when a new home was built 9 miles east of Nashville. From the main stage of the Ryman a circle was cut out and placed on the new building's stage in a nod to the rich history of the Opry. But, when the Opry moved out of town so did the tourists and the once vibrant area of Broadway fell into a crime infested area for decades until entrepreneurs saved the Ryman and bars like Tootsie's Orchid Lounge from the wrecking ball.

Here’s a great list of the history of all the venues of the Grand Ole Opry over the years.
crowd outside Ryman Auditorium
Although the Grand Ole Opry is no longer televised you can still listen to WSM 650 the radio station that started it all online at: WSM 650 ONLINE
Opry stage showing circle 

THE SHOW THAT MADE COUNTRY MUSIC FAMOUS
The Grand Ole Opry is perhaps the most visited attraction in America; at least that was what our tour guide at the place said after we paid our $30 per. There is now a sprawling shopping mall adjacent to the Opry called Opry Mills, but until 1997 that area had a musically themed amusement park called Opryland and between the two destinations 2.5 million would visit annually. No matter how many quips I could make about country music there is no doubt about the popularity.
post office at the Grand Ole Opry
Having been in a lot of venues over my career for me the Grand Ole Opry wasn't that special, but I can understand why enthusiasts would be interested in the back halls and dressing rooms and the machinations of the shows.  

The tour takes you around to the performer’s entrance, where our guides gleefully note there is no valet parking and the musicians need to drive themselves. We are then shown the check in desk where there is a mailbox for performers…yes you can write your favorite member and address it to the Grand Ole Opry and it’ll end up in their mailbox… Our guide on this part of the tour, a little blonde waif, rattled off the corresponding names of shouted out numbers. The check in desk attendant will then assign the performer to a particular dressing room; there are several differently themed dressing rooms. (I was particularly keen on seeing the Minnie Pearl themed room).
 
dressing room at the Grand Ole Opry
Interesting note: None of the dressing rooms have a bathroom, though there are communal ones down the hall. At least they are not outside……………….
There I go again with a quip.


The final stop on this tour was the chance to walk on stage and have your photo taken.  The $25 per pictures were available afterwards, but in keeping with your trusty cheapskates Janet photographed the photo and we now have a lasting memory of what is the most visited tourist destination in America.
on the stage

Membership in the Grand Ole Opry is the highest achievement in country music. Going into the requirements here would be counterproductive, but suffice it to say that two notables are NOT “members” of the Grand Ole Opry. Taylor Swift is “too pop” according to our guide and Hank Williams was “too drunk”. In fact this month is the anniversary of Hank Williams being “fired” by the Grand Ole Opry because he missed too many shows.
Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish fame is a member.

Had we not been flying out early the next morning we might have considered staying for that night's performance of the Grand Ole Opry.. Surprisingly tickets were still available. 
Taylor Swift at the Grand Ole Opry

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

BEERS OF THE WORLD

WHEN IN ROME
Imagine my delight in finding out that there is a thriving craft beer market in Nashville. On our first night here, when we had dinner in Germantown’s Butchertown Hall, I drank two local beers that seemed unworthy of Tennessee, what with all the whiskey and music. I had a Czann Dunkel Weizen and a Black Abbey Special, a Belgian-style ale that was pretty darn close to the real thing. I am drinking, er, speaking from experience you know. Team VFH traveled to Belgium JUST to drink beer a number of years ago.

When we put in supplies for the week at the Kroegers market on Rosa Park Avenue I purchased a six pack of various local beers like Yazoo and Mill Creek, etc. and all were drinkable. Though we only visited one brewery in our short time in Nashville it was a good one. Black Abbey was a few miles outside of the downtown area of Nashville and in an industrial park. We purchased a reasonably priced flight of 6 beers at their tasting room, with the bartender throwing in an extra because we couldn’t decide on the allotted number.

Personally I think it’s important to sample local things. I would never, for instance, travel to Sydney to drink a Budweiser, or to Edinburgh with all those lovely lovely single malts to drink Jack Daniels and a Corona. I’ve known people who have…



   

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

IT’S A BIG WORLD OUT THERE

Today is my birthday. How fortunate that I’ve lived as long and experienced so much. Still, there are always mountains to clamber over and vistas to make my heart swoon. I like to say God has graced me with a long life to give me an opportunity to finally get it right. I just hope he (or she) doesn't decide to cut bait and run anytime soon.


There is so much out there… and there… and there….It’s a big world someone’s gotta tell you all about it.


Love, laugh and enjoy our time in this Garden of Eden