The Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville TN, is the capitol of country and western music.
The Grand Ole Opry House, in Nashville
In 1923, the National Life and Accident Insurance Company purchased a license for a commercial radio station, which was named WSM (for the insurance company's motto "We Shield Millions"). The station went on the air in October 1925, running insurance ads in between country/western and "hillbilly" music. It became known as the WSM Barn-Dance. In 1927, on-air radio personality George Hay referred to it as "The Grand Ole Opry", and the name stuck.
As the popularity of the radio show grew, larger and larger audiences began to show up at the live performances as they were broadcast, and WSM moved the "Grand Ole Opry" from its fifth floor studio to several different locations before settling on the 3,000-seat Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, making its first broadcast from Ryman in 1943. In 1963, the National Life Insurance company bought the Ryman Auditorium outright and changed its name to "The Grand Ole Opry House".
Over the next few decades, the popularity of country/western music grew, and the Opry stage hosted a series of established musicians as well as new up-and-coming stars. It became one of the most famous live music venues in the world, featuring country artists such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, The Dixie Chicks, Minnie Pearl, Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, and Johnny Cash. When the rock 'n' roll era began, the Opry maintained its straightlaced country format. But in 1954, a then-unknown Elvis Presley played a set at the Opry. According to legend, he was politely told by the manager that he should stick to truck-driving. When the folk-rock hippie band The Byrds played in 1968, they were heckled and boo'd. In January 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis played a show--he was promptly banned from re-appearing after swearing on stage.
In 1969, National Life tried to capitalize on the Opry House's fame by announcing plans for a country music theme park, along with a hotel and a new auditorium for the Grand Ole Opry. In 1974, the show moved out of the Ryman Auditorium and into the new Grand Ole Opry House.
But things didn't work out. The theme park never did very well (and would finally close down in 1997), and National Life found itself struggling. In 1982, the insurance company was bought by American General Insurance, which sold off the park, the hotel, the radio station, and the Opry House property. Most of it was purchased by Oklahoma businessman Ed Gaylord, a friend of country music legend Minnie Pearl. On opening night for the Opry's new location, in March 1974, President Richard Nixon went on stage to play a couple songs on a piano. In 2010 the Opry House was damaged in the Nashville Flood, and was temporarily relocated back to the Ryman Auditorium while the building was being repaired.
Today, the Grand Ole Opry still hosts weekly live shows by country/western stars, as well as a live radio broadcast on WSM.