Jimmmy Dickens on tonight's Opry

[TheBigA]

I didn’t know financial angle, but when TNN and CMT were sold to CBS / Viacom it had to hurt The Opry.

That's a big subject. The more fundamental change really happened when Gaylord went from being a media company with a hotel to being a hotel company. To look at all the media (newspapers, radio, TV, and cable) they once owned is amazing, all from the Daily Oklahoman. And THEN buying the Nashville empire from National Life Insurance.

The loss of TNN hurt the amazing synergy that had been created among the Opry, WSM, Opryland Theme Park, Opryland Hotel, and TNN. I once had a chance to hear Bud Wendell tell the story, and how the vision for Opryland was simply to build a motel (pronounced MO-tel) for the Opry fans to spend the night. That's all it was supposed to be. Then they built the theme park to entertain them during the week when the Opry was closed. They were able to attract tourism to the whole place through TNN and WSM. I felt like once they began taking that amazing empire apart, it was going to be difficult for the Opry to survive as it once was. There are a lot of people who don't like media concentration, and encourage the government to enact laws to prevent it. But in the hands of the right people, media concentration can be a good thing, as evidenced by what was once done in Nashville with WSM.

 

[olebud]

If memory serves me right, and I heard Bud's story too, the park was the first idea and they thought, 'why not build a motel where they can stay?' Then, one of the other folks thought, if they're gonna stay, why not give them places to shop and spend more money while here. Butch Smith or David Hall can relate how the networks came about. It was strange, but when it was all owned by National Life, we were all cousins. We could get no more information from the hotel or park than anyone else in town. Who knows, if the insurance company had not been taken -- WSM TV sold to Gillette and WSM AM/FM left in limbo until Gaylord picked them up with the hotel and park, the radio and tv stations might still be together on the hill with the best news operation in town. The big worry in the BIG offices was whether Mr. Gaylord would complete the building of the General Jackson. But I guess I'm only dreaming about what might have been

 

[TheBigA]

You're right...the theme park came first.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

OMG...is the Opry still on the air? Who listens? Anybody?

Tonight is the first night I listened in perhaps 15 or 20 years.

I really hate to say this -- but it was painful. I remember back in the 60's and even into the 70's when it was vibrant and still energetic. I have no idea of how old he was then but Bill Carlisle really did sound like his was ``Jumpin''. And Marty Robbins' segment before handling it off to the ``Midnight Jamboree'' was lively and entertaining.

It may just be nostalgia on my part, but the broadcasts that I recall from back then had a very enthused sounding audience. The applause and the occasional screams were loud and added to the excitement of the live radio experience.

On tonight's broadcast, it sounded like a nearly empty hall. The applause was polite but very brief. Since I no longer live in Nashville, I'll ask those still in middle Tennessee:

Do they even draw much of a crowd nowadays?

When I lived there, it was pretty much a tough ticket and the few times I went (both at the Ryman and later after the move to Opryland), the place was packed and noisy.

 

[Tibbs4]

All in all, the Gaylord FIASCO has cost Nashville and Gaylord hundreds of millions in potential revenues.
Maybe I am just old fashion and don't understand new age marketing and mindsets, but how in the world
anyone let the radio stations and cable, potential of Opryland Hotel and mostly Opryland itself go, is
scandalous. To have those resources at your fingertips and not see the mega marketing potential is
insane. Opryland may have never been the most profitable part of the scenerio, but it was the glue
that held the ship together. Now, you get a hour and a half walk through a stupid outdated mall that
most cities have better examples of. I, for one, am glad Nashville leaders finally stopped letting Gaylord
ruin the convention business and are building the new convention center downtown. (I am not thrilled
with the price tag, etc.) How in the world can Dollywood survive and prosper and Opryland was trashed
because new rides were to expensive, etc. You guys are right about the Opry. It's media hype was also
killed by Gaylord and bad business decisions. WSM-AM is next, I guess. What a shame. Imagine a nice
mall, complete with great nightlife, next to a terrific theme park, with a rockin hotel all marketed to death Disney style in Nashville 24/7 with weekly superstar concerts and events. Not a fraction of this is possible
now.
on cable and enhanced by local radio.

 

[TheBigA]

I have a slightly different view. I went to Opryland once and thought it was nice, but a little dowdy compared to most theme parks. I mean it was nicely built, but it had become run down. It needed an infusion of money, and once National Life sold the whole thing to Gaylord, the bank disappeared. Then when old man Gaylord died, and the family wanted to cash out, that was the end of the line. Someone has to share in the vision that built it, and once the key players were gone, it was over. And then country music became a big business...too big for the hometown venue. A lot of things changed. Some elements remain, but it's all very different.

 

[briancraig]

I last went to the Opry in June of 2007 and it was still a very enjoyable and special experience. However, the show has declined significantly in just the last 3 years.

The Opry until the last few years always had 2 shows on Saturday night that were each 2.5 hours long. Today, many Saturdays just have one two hour show and some weeks they've been experimenting with an intermission in the middle of the two hour show.

A typical Opry weekend these days has about 14 artists on the various shows. A typical Saturday Opry as recently as the 1990s had 30 different artists on the two shows.

A prime Opry ticket in 1993 was $16.24, today that same ticket is $54.00.

Gaylord's management of both the Opry and their other Nashville properties is perplexing.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

I last went to the Opry in June of 2007 and it was still a very enjoyable and special experience. However, the show has declined significantly in just the last 3 years.

The Opry until the last few years always had 2 shows on Saturday night that were each 2.5 hours long. Today, many Saturdays just have one two hour show and some weeks they've been experimenting with an intermission in the middle of the two hour show.

A couple of followup questions:

1). Does the Opry still sell out?

2). Does the Friday Night Opry still exist?

 

[TheBigA]

1). Does the Opry still sell out?

2). Does the Friday Night Opry still exist?

They do Opry on Friday and Saturday. Some times there are 2 shows on Saturday, sometimes just one. They also have seasonal shows on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Regarding "sell outs," that depends what you mean. Quite often, it's a function of the artists. If Carrie Underwood or Garth Brooks is there, it's sold out in minutes. If it's the same group of over-70 has beens who are there every week, probably not.

But Gaylord uses the Opry the way Vegas hotels use their show room: As a spiff for their big spenders. So they book a big convention, and it includes a bunch of Opry tickets, or a trip on the General Jackson. That way, the seats are usually filled. Although the audience doesn't necessarily know who they're watching.

 

[Tibbs4]

BigA, I thought you were the king of nostalgia...

Like Opryland, why doesn't Gaylord just kill the Opry if they can't bring in the hip and cool people under 40 only...I mean old style country music is tired and boring, right? Soon, radio will be like those 70 year old has beens....forgotten.

How dare anything be UNIQUE.

 

[TheBigA]

BigA, I thought you were the king of nostalgia...

I can be.

Like Opryland, why doesn't Gaylord just kill the Opry if they can't bring in the hip and cool people under 40 only.

That's a good question. I heard that they were seriously considering SELLING the Opry to a consortium of Opry members at one point. And that might still happen. In the meantime, it makes a UNIQUE spiff for their high roller guests. And adding Carrie Underwood was a stroke of genius that for four wknds a year packs the place with hip & cool people under 40.

 

[romer979fm]

I have a slightly different view. I went to Opryland once and thought it was nice, but a little dowdy compared to most theme parks. I mean it was nicely built, but it had become run down. It needed an infusion of money, and once National Life sold the whole thing to Gaylord, the bank disappeared.

I worked there during seasons 2-3-4 (73-74-75)...and NLT kept the park in top form...adding attractions...expanding large areas of the park.
You're right...in the final years, the park was seriously neglected. I could (and should) write a book about working there: if you can imagine it...
I probably saw it during those summers. FWIW...I spent my last summer there as an engineer on the train...actually learned to fire and operate a
a steam engine.

 

[olebud]

If you'll remember, they had just added 2 new 'rides' the year before it closed. One was a swing-type deal we could see from the news room..can't recall what the other was. I wondered what had happened to the train. By the time we moved over there in 83...that train only went backwards. Now we know. One of the stories I heard from an insider was that it would cost more than a million dollars just to get the park up to where it needed to be (repairs, etc) and somebody's crystal ball said theme parks were going into the tanker...so their solution....tear it down. they may have been right but off several years. Hasn't 6 Flags gone into bankruptcy?

 

[TheBigA]

Hasn't 6 Flags gone into bankruptcy?

Both 6 Flags and the company that owns Knotts Berry Farm (it also owns theme parks in Cincinnati and other places) are in trouble. The rise in gas prices, followed by the bad economy, has hurt vacation sites.