We have talked before about Carrie Underwood and her commitment to the Grand Ole Opry. That commitment will be on display again this weekend as Carrie returns for all three shows this weekend: the Friday Night Opry and two shows on Saturday's Grand Ole Opry. For Carrie, these three appearances, coming off a couple of appearances just a few weeks ago, will be her 6th, 7th and 8th appearances of the year. When adding up the numbers and looking at the entire list of 70 Opry members, only 14 members will have appeared on the Opry more often than Carrie thus far this year.
Carrie is one of the biggest stars in country music. She has released a new album and has a big tour coming up in the fall. Yet, as we have mentioned before, she finds time for the Opry. Not only does she appear, she also has expressed her love for the Opry and what Opry membership means to her and her career. She has set the example for her contemporaries, most of whom seem not to be able to find the time to appear on the Opry. We should all be fortunate that Carrie takes being an Opry member seriously and we can only hope that the other missing Opry members will wake up and realize how important the Opry has been to country music and make an effort to get over to 2804 Opryland Drive and make an appearance or two on the show.
One of those who has not appeared on the show thus far in 2022 will be appearing this weekend as Trace Adkins is scheduled for both shows on Saturday night. Another of those who has been missing in 2022 is Darius Rucker. He was listed on the Opry website as "scheduled to appear," however he is now off the schedule due to a scheduling conflict.
Besides Carrie Underwood and Trace Adkins this weekend, Grand Ole Opry members Jeannie Seely, Mike Snider, Connie Smith and Ricky Skaggs are on the schedule for Friday night, while Riders In The Sky will join Carrie and Trace on the early show Saturday night, with Mandy Barnett set for the late show.
Comedian Aaron Weber is scheduled for all three shows. Guesting with Aaron on Friday night will be Nicolle Galyon and veteran country artist Jo Dee Messina. Saturday night will have Caitlyn Smith, Matthew West and Restless Road appearing in addition to Aaron.
Friday August 19
7:00: Jeannie Seely, Nicolle Galyon, Mike Snider, Jo Dee Messina
Intermission
8:15: Connie Smith, Aaron Weber, Ricky Skaggs, Carrie Underwood
Saturday August 20
1st show
7:00: Opry Square Dancers, Riders In The Sky, Caitlyn Smith, Restless Road, Aaron Weber
8:00: Trace Adkins, Carrie Underwood
2nd show
9:30: Opry Square Dancers, Mandy Barnett, Restless Road, Carrie Underwood
10:00: Caitlyn Smith, Aaron Weber, Trace Adkins
Even with Carrie and Trace on the Opry this Saturday, there is no live Circle TV
Now from 50 years ago, Saturday August 19, 1972:
1st show
6:30: Roy Drusky (host); Joe and Rose Lee Maphis
6:45: Stu Phillips (host); Diane Jordan
7:00: Earl Scruggs Revue (host); Connie Smith; Charlie Walker; Johnny Paycheck
7:30: Roy Acuff (host); Willis Brothers; Karen Wheeler; Crook Brothers
8:00: Porter Wagoner (host); Dolly Parton; Stringbean
8:30: Hank Snow (host); The 4 Guys; Marion Worth; Fruit Jar Drinkers
2nd show
9:30: Roy Drusky (host); The Willis Brothers; Jimmy C Newman; Joe and Rose Lee Maphis
10:00: Roy Acuff (host); Earl Scruggs Revue; Charlie Walker
10:15: Porter Wagoner (host); Dolly Parton
10:30: Bill Anderson (host); Stu Phillips
10:45: Bill Anderson (host); Stringbean; Crook Brothers
11:00: Hank Snow (host); Louie Roberts; Marion Worth; Fruit Jar Drinkers; Sam McGee
11:30: Marty Robbins (host); The 4 Guys; Don Winters
(On the first show, Charlie Walker was scheduled to host the 7:00 segment, however Earl Scruggs ended up the host. Ernie Ashworth and Del Wood were scheduled for the first show but canceled. Connie Smith was scheduled for just the first show, while Jimmy C Newman and Bill Anderson, who hosted a double segment, were only scheduled for the second).
On August 19, 1967, Charlie Walker was introduced as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Charlie Walker is best remembered for the 1958 honkytonk classic "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down," a song also responsible for launching the career of its composer, then-unknown Harlan Howard. Born in Copeville, TX, on November 2, 1926, Walker began performing in his teens. In 1943, he signed on as a singer and guitarist with Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers, but enlisted in the U.S. Army the following year, serving in Tokyo as a disc jockey for the American Forces Radio Network. Following World War II Walker settled in San Antonio, where he was hired as an on-air personality with local radio outlet KMAC. He remained with the station for a decade and grew so popular and influential that in 1981 he was inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame.
Even with his success as a DJ, Charlie continued performing, and in 1952 he signed to Imperial Records, cutting a series of little-noticed singles including "I'm Looking for Another You,""Out of My Arms," and "Stay Away from My Head." The label cut him loose in mid-1953, and a year later he resurfaced on Decca, scoring a regional hit that summer with "Tell Her Lies and Feed Her Candy." In late 1955 he reached the national country charts with "Only You, Only You," but the remainder of his Decca output failed to enjoy comparable success, and he parted ways with the label in 1957, landing at Mercury long enough to release two additional singles, "Dancing Mexican Girl" and "I'll Never Let It Show."
Upon signing with Columbia in mid-1958, Walker was assigned "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down," penned by aspiring songwriter Howard, at that time a forklift driver at a California printing factory. With its insistent shuffle rhythm and memorable turn-of-phrase title, the single became an immediate hit, entering the country Top Five and establishing the careers of both men. But while Howard emerged as one of the most prolific and successful composers in Nashville history, Walker never again achieved the same commercial heights -- follow-up singles like "I'll Catch You When You Fall,""When My Conscience Hurts the Most," and "Who Will Buy the Wine" still charted but following 1963's "There's Where Katie Waits," Columbia cut its losses. It took more than a year for Walker to resurface on record via the Epic-label effort "Close All the Honky Tonks."
In mid-1965, he scored a minor hit with "Wild as a Wildcat," and two years later earned some notoriety for the novelty effort "Don't Squeeze My Sharmon," inspired by toilet paper brand Charmin's commercial catch phrase. After spending several years headlining, the Las Vegas casino, the Golden Nugget, Walker was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry in 1967, and his rowdy, witty songs made him a perennial fan favorite throughout his four-decade stint with the Opry. He also continued recording throughout the 1970s, charting for the last time with 1974's Capitol release "Odds and Ends." A few months after colon cancer forced him to end his performing career, Charlie Walker died on September 12, 2008.
From a personal standpoint, Charlie was one of the nicest Opry members that I have met. We had a mutual friend that was a radio DJ in Ohio, and each time I saw Charlie he never failed to ask how his friend was doing.
While Charlie's induction date is listed as August 17, it was a few nights later, Saturday August 19, 1967, that Charlie was introduced as the Opry's newest member. Here is the running order from that night:
1st show
6:30: (?)
6:45: (?)
7:00: Luzianne
Hank Locklin (host): Please Help Me I'm Falling
The 4 Guys: Walking in the Sunshine
June Stearns: Habit; Not Desire
Pete Drake: I Just A Guitar (Everybody Picks on Me)
Hank Locklin: Hasta Luego
Bobby Barnette: Down Came the World
The 4 Guys: Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town
Jerry Whitehurst: (?)
Hank Locklin: Jambalaya
7:30: Cordite
Billy Walker (host): Let's Think About Living
Del Wood: 12th Street Rag
Mel Tillis: Goodbye Wheeling
Margie Singleton: Ode to Billy Joe
Billy Walker: Bear with Me a Little Longer
Leon Ashley: Laura
Del Wood: Are You From Dixie
Mel Tillis: Life Turned Her That Way
Billy Walker: Del Rio
8:00: Martha White
Roy Acuff (host): Night Train to Memphis
Jim and Jesse: The Ballad of Thunder Road
Charlie Walker: Don't Squeeze My Sharmon
Crook Brothers: Layfayette
Loretta Lynn: If You're Not Gone Too Long
Larry McNeely: (?)
Roy Acuff: Cabin in Gloryland
8:30: Stephens
Ray Pillow (host): Thank You Ma'am
Marion Worth: If I Kiss You, Will You Go Away
Jerry Greene: Sally Was a Good Old Girl
Bobby Jenkins: Lovesick Blues
Ray Pillow: I Just Want to Be Alone
Curtis McPeak: The World is Waiting for the Sunrise
Johnny Carver: It's Such a Pretty World Today
Marion Worth: You're Good Girls Gonna Go Bad
Ray Pillow: Take Your Hands Off My Heart
2nd show
9:30: Kellogg's
Billy Walker (host): Cross the Brazos at Waco
Willis Brothers: Somebody Knows My Dog
Pete Sayers: Wash My Face in the Morning Dew
Del Wood: Ballin' the Jack
Billy Walker: Funny How Time Slips Away
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Katy Hill
Willis Brothers: I Still Do
Billy Walker: Cattle Call
10:00: Schick
Ray Pillow (host): If' Is a Mighty Big World
Margie Singleton: Ode to Billy Joe
Leon Ashley: Laura
Ray Pillow: Six Days on the Road
10:15: Pure
George Morgan (host): I Couldn't See
Mel Tillis: The Fugitive
Loretta Lynn: Don't Come Home a Drinkin'
George Morgan: You're the Only Good Thing
10:30: Buckley's
Roy Acuff (host): Wabash Cannonball
Harold Weakley: Almost Persuaded
Roy Acuff: Put My Little Shoes Away
10:45: Kent
Hank Locklin (host): Send Me the Pillow You Dream On
Charlie Walker: Don't Squeeze My Sharmon
Crook Brothers: Ida Red
Hank Locklin: Release Me
11:00: Coca Cola
Bill Anderson (host): I Got the Fever/Get While's the Getting's Good
The 4 Guys: Roll, Muddy River
Jimmy Gately: Crying Don't Pay
Fruit Jar Drinkers: Fire on the Mountain
Bill Anderson: Papa
Sam McGee: Spanish Two Step
The 4 Guys: Shenandoah
Bill Anderson: No One's Gonna Hurt You Anymore
11:30: Lava
Marty Robbins (host): Singing the Blues
Marion Worth: Sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed
Jerry Greene: Danny Boy
Jim and Jessie: Diesel on My Tail
Bobby Sykes: Living a Lie
Don Winters: Chime Bells
Marion Worth: A Legend in My Time
Marty Robbins: Tonight Carmen/Begging to You/Ribbon of Darkness/Don't Worry/The Shoe Goes on the Other Foot Tonight
There you have it for this week. As always, thanks for reading and commenting and I hope everyone enjoys the Grand Ole Opry this weekend.