Performers include Carrie Underwood, CeCe Winans, Suzy Bogguss, Linda Davis & others
Grand Ole Opry will celebrate Country Music Hall of Fame member Barbara Mandrell on her 50th Anniversary as a member of the Opry family with two shows Saturday, July 30th. Opry member Carrie Underwood, who has lauded Mandrell as one of her musical and professional inspirations, is set to appear as well as CeCe Winans, Suzy Bogguss, Linda Davis to help honor the music legend who will be in attendance at both shows. The three-time ACM/CMA Entertainer and four-time ACM/CMA Female Vocalist of the Year was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on July 29, 1972.
Fans not able to attend in person can tune in for a one-hour portion of the night’s first show that will air live at 9 pm ET and will re-air at midnight ET, as Opry Live hosted by Bill Cody on Circle Television. The show will livestream via Circle’s social channels and be heard on SiriusXM’s Willie’s Roadhouse channel 59. Both shows will air in their entirety on WSM Radio and opry.com/wsmonline.com.
SiriusXM also welcomes Mandrell as “Opry House Guest DJ” at Willie’s Roadhouse (Ch. 59), hosting two-hours of hand-picked selections and stories from throughout her career, premiering tonight (Wed, July 27th) at 9 pm ET and rebroadcast on Friday, July 29th at 6 pm ET; Saturday, July 30th at 9 am ET; and Sunday, July 31st at 7 pm ET. Mandrell will also join T.G. Sheppard for his show on Prime Country (Ch. 58) which will premiere August 5th at 3 pm ET.
In honor of Mandrell’s golden Opry anniversary, a special commissioned Hatch show print will be available in the Opry Shop and online at store.opry.com. Additionally, the exclusive merchandise line that Mandrell, in partnership with the Opry, launched last year in celebration of the 40th anniversary of her signature hit — and one of country music’s most iconic classics — “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” will again be available exclusively online and in the Opry gift shop in Nashville. The collection includes “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” branded t-shirts, Hatch poster, coffee mug and more.
Mandrell, a 9x People’s Choice Award winner, released “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” in April 1981 as the lead single from her album Barbara Mandrell Live. The song hit the No. 1 spot on July 4, 1981 and helped propel her live album to be certified Gold by the RIAA and helped her win the 1981 CMA Entertainer of the Year.
