The Grand Ole Opry: The Making of an American Icon [Hardcover]

Colin Escott (Author), Vince Gill (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

This official guide chronicles the story of the birthplace of country music as told by the people who were there. Escott presents the official inside history of the home of country music, offering fans an exclusive look into the heart and soul of country music. Full color, and packed with photos from the Opry Archives covering 80 years of history.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Escott's overview of the long-running -Saturday-night performance showcase takes the form of oral history. The preponderance of the text consists of statements by Grand Ole Opry producers, sponsors, and stars, with the older comments drawn from old books and newspaper stories and the newer from Escott's interviews. Chronology, from the 1925 first broadcast--an hour of fiddling by 77-year-old Uncle Jimmy Thompson--to last year's star-smothered eightieth anniversary show, is strictly observed, and the program's development from being open to any musicians who showed up to being a series of discretely sponsored segments to being a flagship surrounded by satellite shows on Friday and the wee hours of Sunday to its present telecast presentation is clearly traced. That it was the brainchild of an insurance executive, and that some of country's biggest names haven't been and aren't members of the permanent ensemble (why they're not is never addressed), may surprise many. With decade-by-decade lists of the Opry's members and scads of performance photos, it's a honey of a book for every American library. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Colin Escott lives near Nashville, Tennessee.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Center Street (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931722862
• ISBN-13: 978-1931722865
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #994,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Colin Escott (b. 1949), the foremost authority on Sun Records, first wrote the company's history in 1975 and has revised and expanded it several times since. He has published several other volumes on the early days of country music, including a biography of Hank Williams and The Grand Ole Opry: The Making of an American Icon. He won a Grammy for his work on Mercury Records' The Complete Hank Williams, and in 2010 received a Tony nomination for Million Dollar Quartet, a Broadway musical about the legendary one-night jam session of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, scheduled to open in London in February 2011. In 2010, he was nominated for a Grammy for producing Hank Williams: The Complete Mother's Best Recordings.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Country Music Fans will love it, December 29, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grand Ole Opry: The Making of an American Icon (Hardcover)

Subtitled: The Making of an American Icon

The story of how the Grand Ole Opry started and how it remains a vital part of country music today is told by music legends, both current and past. Interviews, notes and letters from legends of today, as well as those who live on only in the hearts of country music fans, are used to bring us little known facts and details about the Opry.

Minnie Pearl, Pee Wee Reese, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Elvis
Presley all stood on the same stage and felt the same sense of honor at being there.

Funny stories, stories of tragedy and loss and tales from entertainment history are told about, and by, entertainers.

WSM radio started in 1925 as the brainchild of the son of a top executive of National Life Insurance Company. To get backing, he used the call letters WSM that the insurance company had used for years to mean, "we shield millions." The first few years of the fledgling station were rocky. From the struggle to keep the station alive came the idea to air a show called Radio Barn Dance that evolved into the Grand Ole Opry.

The history is interesting, the stories entertaining and the pictures delightful.

Armchair Interviews says: The perfect coffee table book for country music fans.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't do it again, December 25, 2006

By 

Wes - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grand Ole Opry: The Making of an American Icon (Hardcover)

The history is watery and thin. There is no virtually history of artists and performers except for the few boilerplate "superstars" i.e. Uncle Dave Macon, Bill Anderson et.al. whose bios have been done over and over. You can get as much information about the artists and their history on the Opry webpage.

If you have no knowlege of the Opry, it's a fair general history, but if you're an "opryphile" and you're looking for new information that you've never heard or seen before, pass this one up.

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Nice Book, February 22, 2011

By 

So. Calif book reader "readalot" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grand Ole Opry: The Making of an American Icon (Hardcover)

I thought this was a real nice book and am considering buying a copy (read a library copy) as I think it is a good, basic history of the Grand Ole Opry. Another reviewer thought it was thin and watery but just how much information do you need about it? It gives a decade to decade history of members and snippits of their thoughts and remembrances. Many photos. The only thing I didn't like was that the comments part which is about half of the book, the print is so small I had to get the reading glasses out. Usually I can read a book without them, but if the print gets too small, out they come. I enjoyed the book very much. Brought back many good memories of Opry programs I've seen on TV and of my one visit there.