Some Roy Acuff

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Royal
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Some Roy Acuff

Post by Royal » Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:33 pm

Nicknamed the King of Country Music, Roy Acuff was the personification of country music for nearly 40 years. He was also the face of the Grand Ole Opry until his death in 1992. He was instrumental in bridging the chasm between country music’s early backwoods persona to the more mainstream genre it became. Acuff was the first living person inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Pigeon
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Re: Some Roy Acuff

Post by Pigeon » Fri Nov 08, 2013 10:30 pm

Out here we have both kinds of music, country and western. :)

Actually a lot of the local listens to polka music due to their German / Chech heritage.

I always liked motown, certain folk and synth based (using Moog, etc) music. Most regular country music I find irritating for some reason.

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Pigeon
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Re: Some Roy Acuff

Post by Pigeon » Fri Nov 08, 2013 10:34 pm

I remember when I was a little kid we would go to my grand parents house on Sunday and this guy would always be on the TV. :)

Image

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Pigeon
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Re: Some Roy Acuff

Post by Pigeon » Sat Nov 23, 2013 3:38 pm

You couldn't make this stuff up...

In 1972, Acuff's career received a brief resurgence in the folk revival movement after he appeared on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album, Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The appearance paved the way for one of the defining moments of Acuff's career, which came on the night of March 16, 1974, when the Opry officially moved from the Ryman Auditorium to the Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland. The first show at the new venue opened with a huge projection of a late-1930s image of Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys onto a large screen above the stage. A recording from one of the band's 1939 appearances was played over the sound system, with the iconic voice of George Hay introducing the band, followed by the band's performance of "Wabash Cannonball".

That same night, Acuff showed President Richard Nixon, an honored guest at the event, how to yo-yo, and convinced the president to play several songs on the piano.


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Pigeon
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Re: Some Roy Acuff

Post by Pigeon » Sat Nov 23, 2013 3:55 pm

Roy Acuff and the Crazy Tennesseans, formerly the Tennessee Crackerjacks.


In 1943, Acuff was initiated into the East Nashville Freemasonic Lodge in Tennessee, to which he would remain a lifelong member.

Later that same year, Acuff invited Tennessee Governor Prentice Cooper to be the guest of honor at a gala held to mark the nationwide premier of the Opry's Prince Albert show. Cooper rejected the offer, however, and lambasted Acuff and his "disgraceful" music for making Tennessee the "hillbilly capital of the United States."

A Nashville journalist reported the governor's comments to Acuff, and suggested Acuff run for governor himself. While Acuff initially did not take the suggestion seriously, he did accept the Republican Party nomination for governor in 1948.


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