On December 10, 1927, the name "Grand Ole Opry" was used for the first time on broadcast radio. Founded on November 28, 1925 by George D. Hay as a weekly one-hour radio "barn dance" on station WSM, the Opry is among the longest-running broadcasts in history. The weekly program is dedicated to honoring country music and its history, showcasing a mix of legends and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and comedic performances and skits.
On October 18, 1925, Nashville, Tennessee radio station WSM began a program featuring "Dr. Humphrey Bate and his string quartet of old-time musicians." On November 2, the management hired long-time announcer and program director George D. "Judge" Hay, an enterprising pioneer from the National Barn Dance program at WLS in Chicago, who was also named the most popular radio announcer in America as a result of his radio work with stations WLS and WMC in Memphis, Tennessee. And so on November 28, 1925, from the new fifth-floor radio studio of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in downtown Nashville, Hay launched the WSM Barn Dance and featured 77-year-old fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson. The date of this broadcast is considered the birthday of the Grand Ole Opry. But the name had to wait a couple of years.
On the evening of December 10, 1927, Barn Dance followed the NBC Red Network's Music Appreciation Hour, which consisted of classical music and selections from the Grand Opera genre with Walter Damrosch as Master of Ceremonies. That night, Damrosch remarked that “there is no place in the classics for realism.”
In response, Judge Hay told his local radio audience, "Friends, the program which just came to a close was devoted to the classics. Doctor Damrosch told us that there is no place in the classics for realism. However, from here on out for the next three hours, we will present nothing but realism. It will be down to earth for the 'earthy'." Hay then introduced DeFord Bailey, the man he had dubbed the "Harmonica Wizard", saying "For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera. From now on, we will present the 'Grand Ole Opry'." Bailey then played "The Pan American Blues", his song inspired by the Pan American, a L&N Railroad express/passenger train. And the rest is country music history.
On October 18, 1925, Nashville, Tennessee radio station WSM began a program featuring "Dr. Humphrey Bate and his string quartet of old-time musicians." On November 2, the management hired long-time announcer and program director George D. "Judge" Hay, an enterprising pioneer from the National Barn Dance program at WLS in Chicago, who was also named the most popular radio announcer in America as a result of his radio work with stations WLS and WMC in Memphis, Tennessee. And so on November 28, 1925, from the new fifth-floor radio studio of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in downtown Nashville, Hay launched the WSM Barn Dance and featured 77-year-old fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson. The date of this broadcast is considered the birthday of the Grand Ole Opry. But the name had to wait a couple of years.
On the evening of December 10, 1927, Barn Dance followed the NBC Red Network's Music Appreciation Hour, which consisted of classical music and selections from the Grand Opera genre with Walter Damrosch as Master of Ceremonies. That night, Damrosch remarked that “there is no place in the classics for realism.”
In response, Judge Hay told his local radio audience, "Friends, the program which just came to a close was devoted to the classics. Doctor Damrosch told us that there is no place in the classics for realism. However, from here on out for the next three hours, we will present nothing but realism. It will be down to earth for the 'earthy'." Hay then introduced DeFord Bailey, the man he had dubbed the "Harmonica Wizard", saying "For the past hour, we have been listening to music taken largely from Grand Opera. From now on, we will present the 'Grand Ole Opry'." Bailey then played "The Pan American Blues", his song inspired by the Pan American, a L&N Railroad express/passenger train. And the rest is country music history.
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