Press Photos
Country’s Grandest Stage: The Opry at 100: Press Photos
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Downloadable Artifact Photos
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Wooden steamboat whistle
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George D. Hay, the Opry’s founder and longtime announcer, used this wooden steamboat whistle during broadcasts of the show.
Photo by Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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Hohner Marine Band chromatic harmonica
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This Hohner Marine Band chromatic harmonica belonged to Dr. Humphrey Bate, whose string band, the Possum Hunters, was the first to play country music over WSM.
Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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Hammered Dulcimer
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Kitty Cora Cline of Westmoreland, Tennessee, played this hand-built hammered dulcimer when she became the first female solo performer on the Opry in 1928.
Photo by Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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1927 Martin 00-42
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Paul Warmack—a mechanic by trade who led the Gully Jumpers, a hoedown band whose members all came from rural communities around Nashville—played this 1927 Martin 00-42 at the Opry. The Gully Jumpers joined the Opry in 1927 and continued with various lineups until the 1970s.
Photo by Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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16-inch, metal-based acetate disc
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This 16-inch, metal-based acetate disc contains the first performance of “The Prince Albert Show,” the segment of the Opry broadcast over the NBC radio network in October 1939.
Photo by Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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Straw hat
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Country Music Hall of Fame member Minnie Pearl wore this straw hat, decorated with cloth flowers and dangling $1.98 price tag, at her Opry debut in 1940.
Photo by Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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Letter
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Opry manager E. W. “Bud” Wendell, now a Country Music Hall of Fame member, wrote this letter to Country Music Hall of Fame member Charley Pride to invite him to become a regular Opry member in December 1968.
Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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Boots
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Country Music Hall of Fame member Reba McEntire wore these custom-made boots—modeled after a pair worn by Country Music Hall of Fame member Patsy Cline—when she made her Opry debut in September 1977.
Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
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Suit
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Ella Langley wore this suit for her debut performance at the Opry in February 2023. Langley customized the suit with beads and embroidery in the style of her grandmother’s handwriting.
Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum