The Grand Ole Opry Goes Live on the Radio

It's early 1919 in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas.

24-year-old journalist George G.

Hay walks down a muddy road toward a log cabin.

He watches the sun's last rays dip below the horizon and sees coal oil lamps start to flicker in the distance.

George isn't used to being out in nature, but he's enjoying the fresh air and sounds of the countryside.

George came to the Ozark on assignment from his Memphis, Tennessee newspaper.

He covered the story of a local World War I hero who died in battle.

While working on the article, George got to know some of the people in Mammoth Spring.

And tonight, they've invited him to a hoedown.

George doesn't know what to expect at a hoedown, but hears the sounds of a party getting louder as he slogs his way through the mud.

Finally, he reaches the log cabin.

A man on the porch welcomes him as if they've known each other for years and leaves George in sight.

From the moment George steps into the cabin, he's swept up by the obvious atmosphere of joy around him.

20 people have gathered inside to dance the night away and they're eager for the music to begin.

Soon, an old fiddle player and an older guitarist make a grand entrance into the room and the party goers show their excitement.

George can't help but smile.

He can't remember the last time he saw people this excited about anything, much less music, and he has to admit the feeling is contagious.

So from a dark corner of the room, George watches with delight as the fiddle player brings his bow up to the strings.

The room falls silent with anticipation.

George leans forward, fully caught up in the moment.

Then the old fiddler begins tapping his foot to indicate the tempo.

The crowd gets to its feet.

George can't help himself.

He steps out of the corner and joins the group, ready to shout, clap, and dance the night away.

From the moment this log cabin show starts, George is captivated.

The musicians work their way through a litany of old American folk songs.

It's a type of music that George rarely hears and that much of the country has forgotten.

But George will not forget.

In the years to come, he will go from being a newspaper journalist to a radio personality and on his shows, he will try to recreate the music and feeling of that night in the Ozarks.

Eventually, he will go to work for a fellow music lover in Nashville, Tennessee.

And together, they will hatch an idea that will transform Nashville into the world's country music capital and help reshape the American music industry when they air the first radio broadcast of The Grand Ole Opry on November 28, 1925.

From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day.

On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is November 28th, 1925.

The Grand Ole Opry goes live on the radio.

It's May 1924 at the WLSAM radio offices in Chicago, Illinois.

George D.

Hay sits at his desk, scribbling some thoughts about one of his upcoming broadcasts.

A year earlier in Memphis, George segwayed from newspapers to radio.

On the air, George reported the news of the day and covered a range of other topics for his listeners.

His enthusiasm, his way with words, and his ability to improvise made George a community favorite.

But his popularity grew so quickly that he caught the eyes of WLS's director, Edgar Bill.

WLS offered George $75 a week to come work for them in Chicago.

George knew he could never make that kind of money in Memphis, so he packed his bags.

And so far, George enjoys working for WLS, and he's already built up a following in Chicago.

He hosts shows that center on human interest stories, and George has created a popular on-air persona for himself.

He signs off on all his broadcasts with the same phrase, this is your solemn old judge, George D.

Hay.

George's mom noted that he was often overly serious as a boy and called him as solemn as a judge.

He always liked the sound of that.

The name, coupled with George's booming voice, has given Chicago listeners the impression that he is far older than his actual age of 28.

But George doesn't mind.

He figures if people believe he's older, they might trust him more when he's on the air.

So while George is happy that his human interest shows are gaining popularity, there's one WLS broadcast that he enjoys more than any other.

The National Barn Dance is a live music show that WLS director Edgar Bill created months earlier.

Edgar grew up on a farm, and he loved the folk music he heard at barn dances in his youth.

Now he's determined to re-create the sound and atmosphere of those dances for a wider audience.

And as a rising star at the station, George has been made the host of the National Barn Dance.

The show is a perfect fit for him because it reminds him of the hoedown he experienced in Arkansas and the music he's heard and loved in the Tennessee Hill Country.

George takes this job seriously, and Edgar shares his commitment to the program.

Both men hold a firm belief that folk music can be more than just entertainment.

They think it creates a sense of community.

And George is convinced that community can grow across the country.

He often says that the majority of the population want to listen to music that is fun and friendly.

That's what American folk music has to offer.

So throughout the summer and early fall of 1924, George works with Edgar to find new acts for the show.

They don't worry if their musical guests are well known.

They're more interested in authenticity and groups that have a good time performing live.

The recipe proves to be a success.

WLS reaches listeners across much of the Midwest and even into Canada.

So soon George is inundated with mail from listeners saying how much they love the national barn dance.

Many of these letters come from farmers and ranchers in the region.

One future journalist will go on to write, the national barn dance made rural folks feel like they were heard.

But the popularity of the show isn't limited to rural areas.

George meets people across Chicago who tune in every week.

And George's role as host is making the solemn old judge a household name in the city.

George of course enjoys his budding fame and doesn't pretend otherwise.

But he's also excited that the national barn dance seems to be creating the sense of community that he and Edgar hope for.

As that community expands and the show grows more popular, George will become famous throughout the nascent radio industry.

In the fall of 1924, only about six months after joining WLS, George will get word that a radio digest poll has named him the most popular announcer in the country.

Soon George will start fielding job offers from other stations and he'll turn many down.

But eventually he'll get one offer he can't refuse.

It's the summer of 1925 at the National Life and Accident Insurance Company's headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.

Edwin Craig stands inside a hallway, staring at the office at the end of the corridor.

He barely notices employees dart back and forth as they go about the business of the day.

Edwin is focused and nervous, but he is trying his best to hide it.

Edwin was born into the insurance business.

His father is one of the founders of National Life and still runs the company.

Insurance has made the Craig family a fortune and it's widely accepted that Edwin will one day take over National Life and lead it into the future.

But Edwin wants out of the insurance game so he can pursue his real passion, radio.

Edwin loves the medium and he believes it represents the future of wholesome entertainment.

He's convinced that quality radio programming can bring families and communities together while they listen.

And today Edwin has finally decided that he's gonna march into his father's office and tell him he's leaving the family business to start his own radio station.

Edwin takes a deep breath and steals himself for the argument he knows is coming.

Then he walks down the hall and into his father's office.

Before his father can even react, Edwin proclaims that he's quitting national life and going into radio.

The room is silent as Edwin's father looks at his son.

Without raising his voice in the slightest, he tells Edwin in no uncertain terms that he will not be leaving the company.

Edwin deflates.

All the arguments he had prepared seemed to disappear from his mind.

He simply can't stand up to his father.

Edwin is ready to hang his head and slink away, but his father stops him, saying that he has a solution that he thinks will make both of them happy.

He tells Edwin that if he wants to start a radio station, he should start one at the insurance company.

He says having their own station will give the company the ability to advertise to a wide audience on a regular basis.

Still in shock, Edwin thanks his father and heads out the office, scratching his head.

Over the next several weeks, Edwin gets to work, converting part of the National Life offices into a radio studio.

He hires engineers to make sure everything is up to the latest standards.

He tells them he wants a signal strong enough to broadcast across 150 mile radius.

That would allow National Life to reach many of their customers who live outside Nashville.

When the studio is finished, Edwin secures a license for WSM radio.

The call letters stand for the National Life insurance slogan, We Shield Millions.

And with the company and family money behind the venture, Edwin is quickly able to bring WSM to life.

At 7 p.m.

on October 5th, 1925, WSM goes on the air for the first time.

Edwin designed the first broadcast to feel like a community gathering.

He introduces the new station and welcomes a Nashville pastor to lead listeners in prayer.

Then Edwin welcomes members of a marching band and a few other musicians who play well into the night.

Edwin is thrilled with WSM's first broadcast.

And in the following days, he hears from people across the city who listened and say they can't wait to hear more.

Edgar is eager to make the station a success, and his father is happy with the new advertising outlet.

But Edwin worries he hasn't planned well enough into the future.

He was so eager to get into radio and get WSM up and running that he hasn't yet figured out how to sustain the business long term.

Edwin knows he needs someone with real radio experience to manage programming and to serve as on-air talent.

And Edwin decides if he's going to bring someone in, he might as well go big and get Radio Digest's most popular announcer in the country.

In early November of 1925, Edwin Craig will reach out to George D.

Hay and ask him to manage WSM radio in Nashville.

George will jump at the chance to go back to Tennessee and take on more responsibility.

Soon George will discover Edwin shares his belief that music can bring a community together.

And in their attempts to get folks in Nashville to gather around the radio in their living rooms, George and Edwin will launch what will one day become the longest running radio program in America.

Thank.

It's almost 8 p.m.

on November 28th, 1925, at the WSM Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

George D.

Hay leads 77-year-old fiddle player Uncle Jimmy Thompson to a chair in the center of the room.

Uncle Jimmy sits, and George adjusts a carbon microphone to the right height.

Uncle Jimmy has never been on the radio, but he isn't nervous.

He says he's been playing the fiddle since before the Civil War, and he's treating tonight like any other night of music making.

George can't wait to hear Jimmy play.

Since becoming WSM's manager, George has begun recreating elements of the national barn dance show he worked on in Chicago.

And when George was in search of a performer to kick off the first show, a piano accompanist at the station suggested her uncle Jimmy would be perfect for the job.

When George heard Uncle Jimmy Thompson play his fiddle, known as Old Betsy, George felt like he'd struck gold.

Uncle Jimmy plays the kind of music that George thinks people will fall in love with.

So in the studio, after George's producer tells him they're ready, George steps to the microphone and goes live with the first broadcast of what he's tentatively calling the WSM barn dance.

George and Uncle Jimmy have an easy rapport on air, and their exchanges between songs become a hallmark of the show over time.

Well, I'm gonna play one of our old timey pieces that I learned the new before the Civil War.

What's this?

It's a flying cloud.

Oh, that's that livelihood, isn't it?

Oh, it's a good one.

It just gets down in people's heels, and they can't keep from dancing.

They have to dance on it.

Well, let's play some of it.

All right.

During this first broadcast, listeners call and send telegrams to the station, requesting specific songs.

Uncle Jimmy accommodates.

After Jimmy plays for an hour, George asks if he thinks he's played long enough, and Uncle Jimmy replies, Why shucks, man don't get warmed up in an hour.

And then he picks up old Betsy again and keeps on playing.

The broadcast is a hit.

Over the next several months, Uncle Jimmy Thompson and George D.

Hay, who still calls himself Judge on the radio, become Nashville celebrities.

In that year, 1927, The Barn Dance airs after a classical music program, and on air, George jokes that everyone has just been listening to Grand Opera, but now the station is gonna shift to The Grand Ole Opry.

The phrase hits home with listeners, and the name sticks.

In the late 1930s, NBC picks up The Grand Ole Opry for national radio broadcast.

The show introduces many people to classic American folk music for the first time.

And then in the 1940s, Billboard changes the music genre's name from American folk to country and western.

And soon, The Grand Ole Opry becomes a launch pad for future country icons like Minnie Pearl, Ernest Tubb, and Hank Williams.

In the 1960s, as The Opry continues to grow, the show gives much of America their first chance to hear the music of Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton.

With present and future stars regularly walking through the studio doors, The Opry helped solidify Nashville as the center of the country music world.

The Grand Ole Opry remains on air to this day, making it the longest running radio broadcast in United States history.

And while it didn't have its famous name quite yet, many music historians say that The Grand Ole Opry was born with that first live broadcast by George D.

Hay and Uncle Jimmy Thompson on November 28, 1925.

Come on.

Next, on History Daily, November 29th, 1781, the crew of a British slave ship murders 54 Africans by dumping them into the sea, beginning the Zong Massacre.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily.

Hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Molly Bach.

Sound design by Derek Barrett.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Michael Federico.

Produced by Alexandra Curry-Buckner.

Executive producers are Stephen Walters for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.