Backstage At The GRAND OLe OPRY

Blake Emmons

In April of 1982, I visited Blake Emmons and his family at their beauty home just outside Nashville

to plan for an up-coming Western Canada road trip as his keyboard guy and musical director for our traveling group "Phoenix".

One sunny afternoon Blake said, "C'mon Davey, let's go visit some friends of mine!"

I grabbed my camera and we headed off to a few Nashville recording studios and then ended up at The Opry.

As we came in through the backstage door, Skeeter Davis was signing a few autographs

Skeeter

Then just through the stage door up ahead was Hank Snow

It was quite a rush being there taking a close-up of the great Canadian showman himself!

Hank in his flaming red jacket can be seen onstage in the background in the next one,

fixin' to introduce Little Jimmy Dickens seen here making some changes to his set list

 

 

 

   

Roy Drusky and Blake catchin' up...

 

We took a stroll down the hall and made a bee-line for Roy Acuff's dressing room

where Marty Robbins was trying out his new song on Roy

Marty Robbins

                

When he finished pickin' Marty turned to greet us with

"Howdy, Blake! Bring your buddy on in an' set a spell!"

 

'Bashful Brother Oswald' aka Pete Kirby came in, and he and Marty gave the song a trial run.

Pete was with Roy's Smokey Mountain Boys from the 1940's onward

 

Johnny Russell    Marty     Roy Acuff     Pete Kirby

Thanks and a tilt of the Deeferdog hat to

Cathy Barton and Dave Para for identifying Johnny Russell in the above photo with Roy and Marty.

Johnny was a beloved singer with The Opry in the 80's and 90's and Dave says, a very funny man

 

Young Cathy plucking banjo with Pete in the same dressing room.

We found the above pic on Cathy and Dave's website.

They are wicked-good bluegrass pickers, so be sure to check 'em out!

I got this one backstage of the great George Jones talking to a fan

Poster by Harry Kalensky & Mariascha Wright