Project manager Brenda Colladay and author Craig Shelburne discuss their book 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry: A Celebration of the Artists, the Fans, and the Home of Country Music. This program, moderated by the Museum’s Paul Kingsbury and presented in support of the exhibition Country’s Grandest Stage: The Opry at 100, was recorded on February 7, 2026, in the Museum’s Ford Theater.

During the program, Colladay and Shelburne share behind-the-scenes stories about their interviews with Opry members, reflect on the many lessons learned while putting the book together, and discuss what it took to bring 100 Years of the Grand Ole Opry to life. They also explain what first sparked their interest in creating this book and what sets it apart from other Opry publications. Additionally, Colladay and Shelburne shine a light on past Opry cast members they deeply admire and wish they had the opportunity to interview, sharing stories and reflections on their lasting legacies.

To mark the Grand Ole Opry’s 100th anniversary, the venerable country music program issued a lavish pictorial history book, 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry: A Celebration of the Artists, the Fans, and the Home of Country Music, in 2025. The book is filled with dozens of interviews and hundreds of archival and recent photographs documenting the history of the world’s longest-running radio program, which began on November 28, 1925, when Nashville radio station WSM aired a performance by fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson. Inspired by the public’s enthusiastic response, the station’s program director, George D. Hay, created a weekly variety show featuring local performers, which tapped into America’s deep vein of folk music and set the stage for what would become country music’s most beloved and enduring institution.

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