The Haunted History Behind The Ryman Auditorium

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Mar 282019
 

If you are a fan of country music you know the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee as “The Mother Church of Country Music”. It has been the home to the Grand Ole Opry off and on for the last seventy years and is one of the most revered music venues for artists all over the world. However, did you know there is a dark side to the historic auditorium? A new book written by Allen and Chelsie Sircy called, Southern Ghost Stories: Historical Hauntings takes a deep dive into the history of the Ryman going all the way back to it’s days as an actual church and entertainment venue in the 19th century all the way up to present day.

The book starts off with the rise of Thomas Ryman, a salty Riverboat Captain on the Cumberland River who rose to prominence after the Civil War. After changing his ways and becoming a born again Christian, Ryman would become instrumental in building the Union Gospel Tabernacle, which eventually became the Ryman Auditorium after his death in 1904.

In addition to some alleged ghost sightings in the Ryman, we also learn about “The Opry Curse”. The curse has supposedly affected several members and performers of the Grand Ole Opry over the years and taken some legends from us prematurely. One of my favorite stories in the book is about Jim Denny, the booking agent for the Opry. In addition to firing the legendary Hank Williams, Jim also told Elvis Presley he should move back to Memphis and drive a truck for a living after the “King of Rock N Roll” failed to impress the audience with his rockabilly version of ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ in 1954.

Not only does Southern Ghost Stores: Historical Hauntings fill you in on the Ryman, you will also learn the history behind following locations:
The Brown Hotel Louisville, Kentucky
The Jailers Inn Bardstown, Kentucky
Cragfont Castilian Springs, Tennessee
The Lotz House Franklin, Tennessee
The Pirates’ House Savannah, Georgia
The Sorrel-Weed House Savannah, Georgia
Le Pavillon New Orleans, Louisiana

Southern Ghost Stories: Historical Hauntings is only $2.99 in Kindle and $8.95 in paperback. You can order the book at SouthernGhostStories.com or find it at Amazon.com.

Bluegrass Nights At The Ryman.

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Feb 222017
 

THIS IS the link you need to click on to buy tickets to this wonderful event that I touch on every year. Here lately I have been on a BIG Bluegrass kick one of the reasons being that there are many Bluegrass festivals I cover early on in the year. Three just faded out time wise and I have six more coming in the next two months.

From June to July you can catch some truly fine Bluegrass acts at the Ryman from the Opry, as the Ryman is extremely rich with history of this fine genre. It has so much splendor and beauty that you cannot dispute the authority it has over Bluegrass.

It was here in the 1970’s that Bluegrass Legends Bobby and Sonny Osbourne became the first Bluegrass band to play with plugged in instruments until 1974 when they moved the Opry to the house it’s in now. Apparently there was a noise ordinance and they had to unplug their instruments and play their hit Rocky Top, which became the official state song in the 80’s.

in the 1940’s Earl Scruggs joined the Legendary Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys to begin a historic tenure with an iconic band. In 2006 the state of Tennessee honored the Ryman as the official birthplace of Bluegrass Music, however I personally dispute that statement I do NOT dispute it’s contributions to it. I don’t dispute this is where Flatt And Scruggs formed the Foggy Mountain Boys after leaving Bill Monroe and formed the structure for the three part harmonies many Bluegrass Bands now have.

This series brings together the new era of Bluegrass like the Infamous Stringdusters and blends it with the likes of Ricky Skaggs and more! For the ticket price I tell you that there is NO reason for you to miss this event, go catch at least one night of fine Bluegrass music here.

June 22 Artist TBA

June 29 Earls of Leicester

July 6 Artist TBA
July 13 Dailey & Vincent

July 20 Infamous String Dusters

July 27 Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder