I grew up knowing many of the Opry Stars, and others that were not members of the Opry. Lived down the road from George and Tammy. Knew Roy Orbison and his wife before she got killed. Knew Johnny Cash and June Carter. Red Foley had a crush on the local Pharmacist, so when I dropped in there to have a soda Red was always there sitting at the soda fountain trying to woo her. I met many Country Artist when I worked at Monument records as a studio muscian, and when I worked at the Carrosell club in Nashville, not far from the old Rhyman. I played Base Fiddle on the Bobby Lord show every afternoon weekdays as a muscian while in high school. Bobby had differant artist every day. Some of my favorites were Ferlan Huskey(and his charector Simon Crumb), George Morgan, Marty Robbins, Dale Reeves, Hank Snow, Porter Waggoner, Roy Accuff, Jeanie C Riley, Jeanie Shepard, Skeeter Davis, and Roy Clark. Of course Johnny Cash, June Carter and Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family, GrandPa Jones and Remonia, Waylan, Conway Twitty, and Loretta Lynn, String Bean, Lester and Oscar, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Bobby Lord, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jimmy Dean, and Chet Atkins. A guy called Brother Lonzo played a pretty mean Dobro. Always wanted to meet Tex Ritter, but never got the chance.
My folks used to drag me to the Opry, two or three times a month. My Dad played Mandolin and Guitar, with one of the Blue Grass groups for a number of years. I grew up hating those hard wooden seats in the Rhyman.
