Little Jimmy Dickens will escort Lipscomb University into the history books at 7 p.m. Saturday when he takes the stage and officially makes Allen Arena one of the homes of the Grand Ole Opry.
The short-in-stature, rhinestone-and-smiles showman, who had a country song on the charts in every decade from the 1940s through the 1970s, is host of the Dollar General segment, the first half-hour of the legendary country variety and radio show.
Allen Arena is stepping in to serve as host of the Opry both this Saturday and on June 15, as the world’s longest continuously running radio show lives out something of a gypsy existence in the wake of the May 1-May 2 floods. Those floods, which ravaged much of Nashville, severely damaged the Grand Ole Opry House as well as adjacent Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills mall.
The Opry House will be repaired and is scheduled to reopen in the autumn, and the show can return to its home. But for now the Opry wanders around Nashville and demonstrates that the music – not the structure — is the heart of the iconic broadcast.
While waiting for the repairs to be completed at the Grand Ole Opry House, the broadcast is setting up shop in such sites as Two Rivers Baptist Church, War Memorial Auditorium, the Ryman Auditorium (which regularly houses the show during the winter months), TPAC’s Jackson Hall and the Allen Arena.
“The Grand Ole Opry is looking forward to presenting ‘The Show That Made Country Music Famous’ at Allen Arena,” said Pete Fisher, Grand Ole Opry vice president and general manager. ”We are grateful for the hospitality that Lipscomb University has extended to us. In its 85-year history, the Opry has only a handful of homes, and we are excited to add Allen Arena to that list.”
For a taste of the musical history that’s being made, consider that Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff, Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams are just a few of the legends who have called the Opry home. And Elvis Presley once made an ill-fated appearance on the venerable stage. Of course Dickens has known them all, and he continues to thrive as a cast member and entertainer.
Jimmy Dickens hosts the opening segment of the Grand Ole Opry at Allen Arena on Saturday.
In addition to Dickens – nicknamed “Tater” by his friend Hank Williams for the diminutive singer’s breakthrough hit “Take an Old Cold Tater (and Wait),” released in 1949 – the first half-hour also includes Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys and Sunny Sweeney.
The 7:30 p.m. segment includes host Jeannie Seely, the always affable George Hamilton IV and Charlie Nagatani.
After a 15-minute intermission at 8, Mike Snider hosts the 8:15 half hour, with Jim Ed Brown and the Opry Square Dancers.
The last segment is handled by legendary singer-songwriter “Whispering’” Bill Anderson, who will host The Whites.
The show returns to Lipscomb June 15, with Lady Antebellum, the Del McCoury Band, Justin Moore and Terri Clark so far confirmed.
Tickets are $39-$54, with tickets for ages 4-11 priced at $29-$32.
For information, call the arena at 966-1000 or the Opry at 871-6779. For more details, visit www.opry.com.
And if you’re lucky, Little Jimmy will sing “May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.” In fact, you can bet on it.
(Veteran journalist Tim Ghianni is an adviser for LUmination.)