Grand Ole Opry

Grand Ole Opry, American radio and stage show that broadcast and influenced country music, especially in the 1940s and 1950s. The Grand Ole Opry went on the air in 1925, launched by the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, a Nashville, Tennessee, firm that owned radio station WSM. The Opry, originally called “WSM Barn Dance,” featured amateur rural musicians. However, “WSM Barn Dance” proved so popular that program managers invited audiences into the studio. In 1927, the show assumed its current name, from an announcer's introduction: “For the past hour we have been listening to music taken largely from grand opera, but from now on we will present the Grand Ole Opry.”

The Opry began hiring professional musicians in 1930, and in 1938 signed Roy Acuff, a singer and fiddle player whose sentimental songs made him the first genuine country-music star. Acuff's presence on the show attracted the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), which began broadcasting the Opry nationally in 1939. This wide exposure made it the leading country radio show and, for performers, an important start to a country music career.

Through its early years, the Opry expanded from WSM's studios into a succession of theaters. In 1941 it moved to the Ryman Auditorium. While Acuff hosted every performance, other stars identified with the Opry's golden age include Uncle Dave Macon, a banjo virtuoso and vaudeville entertainer; bluegrass singer Bill Monroe; and Minnie Pearl, a comedian.

By 1959, polls ranked the Opry as America's favorite radio show. However, its influence declined in later years, in part due to the rise of new styles of country music. In addition, the rise of the Nashville music industry gave aspiring country performers other ways to develop their careers.

In 1974 the Grand Ole Opry moved to Opryland, an entertainment complex outside Nashville. The Opry is still broadcast and televised every Saturday night.