I think what has happened with the Opry is what's happening everywhere, Competition. With so many Cable stations out there and choices of what to watch, they are always changing to keep the advertising money coming in. Look at TNN they play 'Star Trek Next Generation' repeats Back-to-back-to-Back, and as a friend of mine who works TV said, 'If it doesn't get ratings, It's pulled'

I think the fact that the opry is still on is really good, Look at MTV, there is no real music on it anymore, just weird shows.

My 5 year old daughter has taken a real liking to The Dixie Chicks, and Allison Moorer especially the new albums and she doesn't know what kind of music it is she just likes it, knows all the words. I really don't like categories either, the song is the most important thing. If Hank was still around what would he sound like? I doubt he would be the same as when he first started.

Variety is the spice of life

I found that I liked much of their material, and the bonus was that my teen-age grand-daughters attended several of our shows that season!

Former Grand Ole Opry house manager Jerry Stroebel remembers a time when megastar Johnny Cash took the stage at the old Ryman Auditorium. Excited that the chart topping country singer was about to appear at the Opry, Stroebel, a Cash megafan himself, wandered into the audience area for some pre-performance chatter with the visiting folks. Thinking that everyone would be Goo-Goo Clusters over the news that Cash — the star of his own ABC primetime television series at the time — was appearing on the coveted center stage, no one was more surprised than Stroebel to hear one audience member say, “Yeah, Johnny’s okay, but I came to see Herman Crook.”

For those of you who are country music historically challenged, Herman Crook and the Crook Brothers were Opry icons that actually started with the legendary old-time music program back in 1925.

Like Johnny Cash and Jerry Stroebel I myself walk the line over the debate — one that has lasted for more than 30 years — between the old-line and the new blood, the has been’s and the hot topics, the past and present of Country music. How we blend and balance the performances of industry trailblazers with today’s country music trendsetters may determine the future of this historical treasure.

Back in my old WSM-TV days, one of the best perks of working for the granddaddy of broadcasting — the National Life and Accident Company — was having the privilege of getting backstage passes to the Friday and Saturday night Grand Old Opry performances. Many a weekend night, I flashed my WSM-before-the-V identification card to the longtime backstage gatekeeper, known to Opry insiders as “Mr. Bell,” and got the nod to wander the offstage halls peeking in doors for glimpses of star power like Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl and Loretta Lynn. My pleasure was doubled whenever there were surprise appearances by Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell and John Conlee, and later with debuts of superstars like Randy Travis and Reba McEntire. Those were the days my friends, yes those were the days.

Still, even in those good old Grand Ole Opry days, know-it-all young whippersnapper that I was, I remember thinking that some who appeared on the Opry roster were definitely past their heyday. Yawn. I didn’t know their music, rarely heard it played on the radio, and certainly wasn’t interested in adding their passé twangy albums to my cutting edge music collection. I have to admit that I thought some of the country music traditionalists — who just didn’t sound “relevant” to my generation — needed to be put out to pasture. Oh, the folly and arrogance of youth.

Apparently the power struggle between tradition and trends continues today at the Opry. Word on the street is that bad blood is boiling between Opry legends and Gaylord management. The old reliables think they’re getting a raw deal from the top brass who are limiting the number of the old-timers Opry appearances and filling their hard-earned performance slots with a new generation of singing heart throbs. Feelings are hurt. People are angry. Fans are caught in the middle of a power struggle.

Yes, given the choice between seeing a Nickel Creek or a Crook Brothers on the Opry, I’d applaud louder for the more contemporary of the entertainers. But surely the Opry stage is big enough to hold everyone. I certainly believe that Opry veterans have earned some job security and deserve a standing ovation — even if it’s primarily in recognition of the legacy they represent — but I also believe that the torch has to be passed with dignity for the legacy to live on.

What I don’t like to hear is that so many of the lifetime Opry members are being treated irreverently by management smarty pants. The current tug of war between generations triggers feelings in me about the way we dishonor our older generation in general — not just the fading stars, but the downsized executives, mentally diminished family members and veterans of wars. In the words of Aretha Franklin, we all need to show a little more “r-e-s-p-e-c-t.”

But, I just figure that what goes around comes around. One day these corporate superstars will also start to fade. One day, they’ll be past their executive prime, perhaps irrelevant to the dynasties they’ve helped to build, and perhaps easily replaceable by younger, smarter, more aggressive up and comers. That’s when The Golden Rule comes into play. Remember this all you Mr. Big Britches — one day it will be your turn to pass the torch.

Surely, there are creative minds pulling the curtain strings at Gaylord who can come up with a way of injecting new life into the Opry without taking away its heart and soul. And perhaps, those who are the heart and soul of the Opry can tune out some of their ego and share the spotlight with the has-beens of tomorrow.

quote:

---

Fisher has sent a letter to Opry membership saying profits are the best in years. How can this be...?

---

Welllllll...let's see...4,000 seats at about $30 a pop...3 shows a week...that's $360,000 a week...plus the advertising revenues (which are probably a lot more than that), plus all the typical "souvenir sales"...

Million a week, maybe?