Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium, 1974

By Jim McGuire, Garrison Keillor and Marty Stuart

Called "The Mother Church of Country Music," the Ryman Auditorium saw a historic chapter come to a close in 1974 when it closed its doors on 5th Avenue to move into new quarters at Opryland USA.

Nashville photographer Jim McGuire had full access to the Ryman and shares over 100 stunning black and white photographs with chapter introductions and captions from the last year of this landmark and the most famous show in country music. Most of the photographs have never been published so come share the memories of this institution and your favorite legendary country music stars.

With the foreword written by Garrison Keillor, and an introduction by Opry legend Marty Stuart, this book is a must-have for any country music lover.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Nov 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781618586902

Jim McGuire

Born in 1941 and raised in rural New Jersey, Jim McGuire nurtured a love of hillbilly music at an early age. His first photographs were made as an Air Force photographer in Vietnam in 1964. Before moving to Nashville in 1972, he had a studio in New York City for seven years. Since then he has photographed more than 400 album covers and hundreds of black-and-white portraits of Nashville musicians spanning thirty-five years. (A traveling exhibition of the “Nashville Portraits” is currently making the rounds.) He has a passion for vintage woodie station wagons that he restores and drives and for horse racing, not necessarily in that order. When not at the track, McGuire shares a downtown loft in Nashville with his dog Django. 

Book preview

HISTORIC PHOTOS OF

THE OPRY®

RYMAN AUDITORIUM® 1974

PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY JIM MCGUIRE

FOREWORD BY GARRISON KEILLOR

OPENING REMARKS BY MARTY STUART

This view of a packed Saturday night performance is something that few who attended the Opry ever saw. It was shot from the last row in the balcony. These seats were not considered choice, but they provided the unsuspecting viewer a unique vantage point. Only from this angle could you see what was happening onstage, and backstage as well. Many times, what was going on backstage was far more interesting. The ropes were used to raise and lower the huge canvas backdrops, which were changed during different segments of the show to reflect who was sponsoring that portion of the broadcast.

HISTORIC PHOTOS OF

THE OPRY®

RYMAN AUDITORIUM® 1974

Turner Publishing Company

www.turnerpublishing.com

Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium 1974

Copyright © 2007 Turner Publishing Company

All rights reserved.

This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007929600

ISBN-13: 978-1-59652-373-9

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-1-68336-960-8 (hc)

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FOREWORD BY GARRISON KEILLOR

OF TIME AND LIGHTNING BY MARTY STUART

INTRODUCTION

NOTES ON THE PHOTOGRAPHS

Seats on the main level of the Ryman were reserved. Pews were numbered by row, and each seat had a number, inscribed on the bench. Each pew could hold 10 people and was divided in half with an armrest in the center. In this image, the carved rosettes that once adorned the armrest scrolls are missing. Fans would pry them off and take them home as souvenirs.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This collection of images is a very nice little slice of an important part of Nashville’s long musical history. I would like to thank some folks who share that common belief and who all put their personal stamp on this book. This could not have happened without you.

First, to the folks at the Opry: To Hal Durham, who was kind enough to give me his blessings, allowing me to hang out backstage and record those remarkable final Ryman performances. Also to Steve Buchanan, Melissa Fraley Agguini, and Brenda Colladay, who embraced these images from day one. A special thanks to Brenda, Les Leverett, and Charlie Collins for helping me tell the truth. I wish I had kept better notes.

Also thanks to Todd Bottorff, Gene Bedell, and Megan Latta at Turner Publishing for caring enough about Nashville and its rich history to publish this work. A special thanks to Megan for all the extra time and care she put into this project. And to Todd for going the extra mile to make it look great.

A big thanks to Garrison Keillor for being at the Opry that last night and for writing so beautifully about it. And for finding the time to give us some new thoughts on that experience, some thirty years later.

Also very gratifying is to have my

Reviews for Historic Photos of the Opry

[deldevries · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Excellent photographs , including the stunning lightning capture on the front cover. This was an interesting way to learn about an era of Nashville history.