A Good-Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO LOOK at the Grand Ole Opry as it emerged through its first fifteen years: as a radio show and as..." (more)
Key Phrases: hoedown bands, barn dance orchestra, homespun voice, Uncle Dave, Uncle Jimmy, Grand Ole Opry (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When Nashville's National Life and Accident Insurance Company created radio station WSM as an advertising vehicle--the call letters representing their corporate slogan, "We Shield Millions"--no one suspected its "old-time music" program would one day be country music's shining star. In A Good-Natured Riot, author Charles Wolfe offers a thorough, valuable examination of the Grand Ole Opry's formative years, answering the questions that the genre's recorded history cannot (simply because most of the Opry's earliest stalwarts were part-time musicians who were rarely recorded). Interestingly, WSM wasn't the first station to broadcast old-time music, and the citizens of Nashville, who considered theirs to be an erudite and cultured city, despised hillbilly music and any association with it. Nevertheless, the nearby Tennessee hills offered a wealth of authentic old-time music, and rural folks from all across the U.S. (the airwaves were quite clear at the time) adored the sounds of Uncle Jimmy Thompson and Dr. Humphrey Bate. Soon enough, the music's popularity led WSM station manager George Hay to create a weekly Barn Dance program in the fall of 1925.

The bulk of Wolfe's chronicle is told through discussions of the Opry's stars, their lives, and their music, adding station logs, repertoire listings, press releases, and news clippings to his own extensive interviews and research. He progresses from early staples like Bate, Thompson, DeFord Bailey, and Uncle Dave Macon (the only early member who was actually a well-known professional musician), to innovators like the McGee Brothers, Fiddlin' Arthur Smith, and the Delmore Brothers, to Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe, who brought country music into the modern age. By the time Acuff and Monroe held sway, circa 1940, the Opry had become a nationally syndicated NBC show and most of its stars were actively and successfully making records. Wolfe documents the first 15 years of the Opry in incredible detail, and in doing so illustrates the development of old-time music from homespun, informal diversion to finely honed commercial powerhouse. --Marc Greilsamer

From Publishers Weekly

Perhaps there is no commercially successfully genre of music as misunderstood as country: even its most ardent fans seem content to embrace its aw-shucks image. Wolfe makes no such mistake, affectionately chronicling the savvy business decisions that gave birth to the Opry and to its careful "rustication." Emerging from 25 years of research on the Opry's beginnings, Wolfe's book includes an unprecedented number of interviews with the performers and their families and associates. Although he sometimes favors depth of detail over narrative shape, his work will be invaluable to historians of country, and of American music more broadly. Wolfe depicts a number of eager, opportunistic (not to mention talented and pioneering) performers and businessmen who made big bucks by fashioning old-time music into a slick commodity with mass appeal. Knowing that early Opry stars Uncle Dave Macon and Uncle Jimmy Thompson were in it for as much glory and money as they could come by should not decrease our appreciation of their music; no one minds that Elvis and the Beatles built fortunes along with their legends. Wolfe's book should help both country music's proponents and opponents realize that country is an important and substantial chunk of the music business, and that it has always involved both smarts and flair.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Country Music Foundation Press; 1st edition (May 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082651331X
• ISBN-13: 978-0826513311
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #311,859 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting history of the Grand Ole Opry, July 26, 2000

By	Ann (TN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book excels all that I have read about a fascinating subject! Contrary to most history books, you'll read this one until you finish it, I promise.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Years of a Radio Classic, November 21, 2002

By	Kevin Fontenot (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Using biographies of early stars, Charles Wolfe deftly weaves the history of one of the longest running radio programs. The result is a highly readable, entertaining, and educational survey of the Opry's first two decades. This period was dominated by string bands, such as those led by Dr. Humphrey Bate, Theron Hale, and the Brinkley Brothers. But individuals soon came to dominate the program. Chief among them the irrepressable Uncle Dave Macon and the man who would become the living embodiment of the Opry, Roy Acuff. Wolfe is equally adept at discussing both entertainers' personalities and the business of radio and programing. This book belongs in every Country music and radio lover's collection.