Opry Memories: Bill Anderson, Jeannie Seely, Bud Wendell, and Mark Wills • 2023
Featured
•
1h 34m
To celebrate his achievement as the longest tenured member in Grand Ole Opry history (sixty-two years as of 2023), Bill Anderson is joined by fellow members Jeannie Seely and Mark Wills, and E.W. “Bud” Wendell, former Grand Ole Opry manager and CEO of radio station WSM and Gaylord Entertainment, to reminisce on fond memories, special moments, and share personal stories from their time at the historic radio show. This 90-minute program, hosted by the Museum’s Paul Kingsbury, was recorded on September 16, 2023, in support of the exhibition Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See.
During the program, the panelists share recollections of joining the Opry as cast members, the camaraderie among the artists on the show, changes in the program over the years, amusing stories about the legendary figures of the Opry (including Roy Acuff, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Jean Shepard), and more.
A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame since 2001, Bill Anderson has had more than eighty hit singles on the country charts as a recording artist and has written hits for a wide range of artists, including James Brown, Aretha Franklin, the Louvin Brothers, Willie Nelson, Charley Pride, Connie Smith, and George Strait. Jeannie Seely, who marked fifty-six years as an Opry member during the filming of this program, is a Grammy-winning artist with more than two dozen chart hits and hosts “Sundays with Seely” on SiriusXM radio. E. W. “Bud” Wendell, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame since 1998, served as the Grand Ole Opry’s manager from 1968 to 1974 and later as CEO of the radio station WSM and then Gaylord Entertainment. Mark Wills earned his first #1 hit in 1999 with a Bill Anderson song (“Wish You Were Here”) and has been an Opry cast member since 2019.
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