Grand Ole Opry celebrates 75th birthday

Alison Krauss, left, performs with Dolly Parton atthe Grand Ole Opry on Saturday

By JIM PATTERSON

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- The Grand Ole Opry turned 75 on Saturday with country music's royalty -- Garth Brooks, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton among them -- leading the party.

"The Grand Ole Opry is the greatest show in country music," said Lynn, whose songs include "Coal Miner's Daughter," about her own life, and "I'm a Honky-Tonk Girl."

"If you've never been on the Grand Ole Opry, you haven't quite made it yet." she said Saturday.

The Opry is the longest continuously running radio show in the nation and the last survivor of the big country music shows of radio's golden age.

It has been broadcast live on WSM-AM every Saturday night since 1925 and has outlasted competitors, such as the Chicago Barn Dance and the Louisiana Hayride, by evolving with the times. Today, the Opry is broadcast on cable television and the Internet with a new generation of singers, including Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, in its cast.

For the three birthday shows Saturday, the Grand Ole Opry House was decked out with red ribbons and balloons. An 8-foot cake with six tiers was wheeled center stage as the stars sang "Happy Birthday."

Performers included Ronnie Milsap, Vince Gill, Lorrie Morgan, Porter Wagoner and Ralph Stanley. Free concerts were held on the plaza in front of the Opry House, with an afternoon bluegrass show inside.

Country music stars Garth Brooks, top, and Steve Wariner perform during the 75th birthday celebration of the Grand Ole Opry

The birthday shows were vintage Opry, with plenty of nods to family and Opry legends who have died.

Fans screamed as Brooks sang his hits "Two of a Kind (Working on a Full House), "Friends in Low Places" and "The Dance."

Morgan and Yearwood performed songs by late greats Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette. "We love you, we miss you, and you're here tonight with us, Tammy," Yearwood said.

Little Jimmy Dickens told the kind of corny jokes that have always been part of the Opry. "I'm so glad to be here," he said. "At my age it's great to be anywhere."

Backstage, Brooks signed autographs and Travis Tritt strolled around in a black outfit. Gov. Don Sundquist attended, as did Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell and Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee.

Yearwood, who brought down the house during the matinee with her signature song "She's In Love With the Boy" and the ballad "How Do I Live," said she was still awed by the venue.

"The nine years I've toured, I still get nervous playing the Grand Ole Opry," Yearwood told one of three sellout crowds of 4,400. "I'm a little nervous tonight."

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Grand Ole Opry

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.