The Grand Ole Opry's 100th Anniversary Special ~ My Review

I know I'm late; very late. The Grand Ole Opry's 100th Anniversary Special aired on March 19, but what can I say? I don't watch much TV, much less network TV. In fact, I never would have known the special existed had it not been for reading about it on Saving Country Music. And after reading the article, I felt disappointed I'd missed the show until I learned it was streaming on Peacock.

I am now here to report that one shouldn't believe everything they read. SCM's article was very complimentary; almost fawning, so I settled in to watch the show, expecting to be transported back to the days when country music was great.

The special was not good. When you find yourself fast forwarding to get to the "good parts" and fail to find them, that's an ominous sign. 

First of all, the show's presentation was distracting. The camera kept cutting to unknown Gen Z blondes (and others) in the audience, and I had no idea if these were people I was supposed to know, or if they were just a gaggle of social media influencers. It was bad enough that I had to look at them, but they were all singing along to every song! STFU, influencers! If you were actually somebody, you'd be up on the stage.

I was cool with leading off the show with a Loretta Lynn song ~ entirely appropriate, but then seguing into "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia"? I hated that song when it was inexplicably popular.  I like Trisha Yearwood, and Reba is okay, but what a crappy song to start off the show. And barely country, I should add.

Then three irrelevant singers did a tribute to Charlie Daniels. I didn't hate it ~ the fiddler was good; followed by the great Marty Stuart accompanying Lainey Wilson. I know that Wilson is hot, but I'd never listened to her music. I think she was on Yellowstone for a bit? but I stopped watching the series when it turned to crap, so if she sang on it, I wouldn't know.

My take on her? I fail to see what the big deal is. I mean, sure, she can carry a tune, but that's a pretty low bar. 

Following that was some gospel stuff (sorry; I don't follow gospel music). It was "good".

Carrie Underwood came out to pay tribute to Randy Travis. Let's just say from the outset that I really, really miss Randy's voice. How much better this show would have been if Randy could still sing! As one who stopped following country music a long time ago, I don't know what happened to Carrie Underwood. When she won American Idol, I thought she was phenomenal, but maybe I was just grading on a curve. No, she was a really good singer. But now? Maybe we can chalk it up to a bad sound system, but her voice was thin and lacked personality. When she walked down to hug Randy, though, a tear came to my eye. The greats are the greats, and sadly, they won't be replaced.

I'll go a bit out of order here, but the next performers really need to be lumped together for their sheer weirdness. They had some unintentionally amusing moments, most of all when a girl named Kelsea Ballerini "performed" one of Barbara Mandrell's songs, with Mandrell sitting on stage, just out of the spotlight. This gal was hilarious! So awkward! Her performance was akin to the Elaine Benes dance; not that Ballerini tried to dance (I don't think), but it was as if she didn't know where to position her arms and legs; like a toddler just learning to walk. That could have been forgiven had she had anything special to offer, voice-wise. Nope! I may have to go back and watch it again, just for the chuckle.

And we can't overlook the Tattoo Duo, which was apparently a guy named Post Malone, who has a thin, reedy voice, but quite the graffitied face. I watched him in awe, but not in a good way. Say what you will about Johnny Cash, but he had a booming baritone. Thus, the producers picked the exact wrong guy to sing one of Cash's songs. His partner, Ashley McBryde, was the first of the newer female singers who could actually sing. Too bad she hates herself so much that she had to deface her body. 

And just a note ~ are these newer people all GenX? Because they're almost apathetic in their performances. We probably all know GenX'ers ~ they never have any reaction to anything, which is okay, I suppose, but not if you're a performer. If the performer is bored on stage, why wouldn't the audience be?

More comic relief was supplied by Garth Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood, not that it was her fault. Can you imagine having to live with this guy? Paying tribute to George Jones wasn't sufficient for Garth; he had to try to imitate him. Don't do that! It's creepy and uncomfortable. 

Another from the latest class of country artists is Carly Pearce. Now, I hear she's good, and her performance of "Jolene" (ugh!) was "fine". What lumped her in with the comedy cluster was her dress. I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Luckily, the two big potholes were high up near her shoulders. Maybe I'm the sole dissenter, because I couldn't find any articles about the dress, except for one that called it "stunning". Definitely stunning, I agree, but not in a good way. Her outfit was akin to the aforementioned tattoos, in that one couldn't take their eyes off either.

Keith Urban was also there.

As for nineties icons, which is who I tuned in to see, I came away a bit downhearted. Alan Jackson seemingly struggled to remember the lyrics to "Chattahoochie", and he came in a bit late on the vocals; and Clint Black couldn't hit the high notes (his own fault; choose something more suited to an older voice). Brad Paisley, who I wouldn't call an icon, teamed up with Alison Krauss for a snoozy rendition of "Whiskey Lullaby" ~ done acoustically. Zzzzzzzzz... Great song, though. Thanks, I guess, for letting one of the song's writers and long-time Opry veteran, Bill Anderson, sit off to the side...in the dark.

Travis Tritt, too, performed, but it was unnecessary to pair him with ?? (some guy). Tritt's voice is no longer fat like it was when he recorded "T-R-O-U-B-L-E", but his performance was fine for what it was.

One icon, though, does still have his voice ~ Vince Gill. I think he keeps that muscle exercised by touring with The Eagles. Use it or lose it, people. His performance of "Go Rest High on That Mountain" was great, and he even brought along Ricky Skaggs. I wish Patty Loveless had sung the harmony part, but alas. 

Blake Shelton also performed. (Isn't he, like, some kind of game show host?) He did "Pickup Man" in tribute to Joe Diffie. Sure wish Diffie was still alive to do the song himself.

Some other guy paid tribute to Charley Pride.

One of the last performers was Luke Combs. Of the newer crop, Combs is head and shoulders above any of the others. The man can actually sing, and his voice is distinctive. 

In the audience, I spotted Crystal Gayle and Ronnie Milsap (sadly, in a wheelchair). I might have caught Sara Evans, but the camera was so busy focusing on the influencers that it didn't linger long on actual Opry people.

It was just like NBC to not really have a clue who should perform. Sure, they knew who Garth Brooks was, and somebody told them they needed to include Alan Jackson, but the show was littered with nobodies and semi-nobodies, which really detracted from the occasion. 

Overall, the special struck me as a "have to" on the network's part. It was a half-hearted effort that network brass apparently assumed wouldn't attract attention without stacking the audience with unknown seat fillers. The networks don't like country music; never did, but worse, they don't trust their audience. Many, many artists could have (and should have) been substituted for the bland ones, and country fans would have eaten it up. I would have, despite the bad production.

I know; we country people should be grateful for any morsel. Too bad this wasn't a tasty one.