Nashville's Grand Ole Opry by Jack Hurst is a 404-page hardcover published in 1975 by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. The sturdy dust jacket is clean, with light creasing to the laminate and light surface rubbing. Inside, there is some shelf wear and small nicks to the half-cloth cover. Else, the pages are crisp and clean and the binding is sound.
Country music is America's music, and the Grand Ole Opry is country music's home. For half a century, on radio and now on television, the Grand Ole Opry program has come from Nashville, Tennessee, to quicken the pulse of its millions of fans with colorful, tuneful, down-to-earth entertainment. Now its story has been put into a king-size book that captures in its pages all the excitement and nostalgia of the program. This is a book to bring joy to anyone who ever heard Minnie Pearl say HOWDEEE!
The story of the opry is a vital and vigorous saga of American entertainment. It begins even before Judge Hay gave the program its name, and brings us though fifty exciting years. It tells about the stars and the people behind the scenes, all who played a part in bringing the Nashville Sound into every town and hamlet in our land. It tells about the triumphs and tragedies, the feuds and romances, the legendary singers and musicians, the unforgettable comedians. We see Uncle Dave Macon and Judge Hay, Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, and Bill Monroe, and all the young giants of today too--stars like Marty Robbins, Porter Wagoner, Loretta Lynn, Jeannie Seely, Dolly Parton, Del Reeves, Tammy Wynette, and many more. There are chapters devoted to Hank Williams, the rise of bluegrass, the women stars. A special photo essay in full color explores the lavish new entertainment park, Opryland, U.S.A., and its live musical shows--such as Country, Dixieland, Western, Contemporary, and "I Hear American Singing," a musical pageant of fifty years of American history--its rides and amusements, and its centerpiece, the new Opry House.
Jack Hurst, the author, was a staff member of the Nashville Tennessean for ten years before joining the Philadelphia Inquirer. His weekly column on country music is widely syndicated. Grand Ole Opry is based on interviews ranging back over the years, plus extensive new research. The author has also provided a discography, and there is a selection of traditional country songs especially arranged for this book.
ISBN: 0-8109-0268-0
