Grand Ole Opry

For those who are not familiar with American Country Music the Mecca of all Country Music Fans is the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. In fact it is the oldest continuous radio program in the United States. It has been broadcasting live on WSM Radio since October 5th, 1925.

I use to be a big country music fan. The radios in my cars were always tuned to country station with several more on standby with each selection button. The only music I very bought was country. I knew all the songs and artist and could sing along with them all, though no one would want to hear that.

In my very early youth, around the age of 5 or 6, I can still remember sitting on the front porch on hot summer evenings with my father on a Saturday night tuning in the Grand Ole Opry Show. We had an old radio, which had to be turned in just the right direction to get a good signal.

Mother would join us and I remember that she always brought work for us. She had us shelling peas, husking corn or maybe folding clothes, always something while we were listening.

However, in the nine years that I have lived in Thailand I have slowly let the simple pleasure of listening to country music fade away. In fact I rarely listen to any music. I don’t know why, it just happened. It just wasn’t readily accessible and I didn’t pursue it. Other things occupied my mind.

Well, this week I discovered that all major radio stations in the United States are now accessible via the Internet. The first station I looked up was WSM and sure as shit, there it was. Live from Nashville all the way here in Thailand. Talk amount modern miracles.

So after all these years, I can tune into the Grand Ole Opry several times a week. And there they are, many of the same artists that I listened to as a kid. Little Jimmy Dickens, Whispering Bill Anderson, and Jimmy C. Newman are still going strong. It was a real treat and I now have WSM Radio firmly set as one of my favorite sites on the old computer. Who would have every thought and someone living in Thailand would be able to listen to a live radio show from Nashville, Tennessee with prefect reception. It’s a great world in many aspects isn’t it?

I have never been to the Grand Ole Opry to see a live performance so I’m now planning a road trip for my next home visit in February. Just hope I can get my rock and roll loving sons interested enough to join me.

If you would like to tune in for a little review, you may do so at: http://www.wsmonline.com/. Twenty-four hours a day country music with live performances of the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. Times are listed on the web site. Enjoy.