Tag: Grand Ole Opry

December 31, 1952: Hank Williams' Final Concert

On New Year’s Eve 1952, country music legend Hank Williams was scheduled to perform at Charleston’s Municipal Auditorium as part of his comeback tour.

His life had been descending into turmoil for a long time. Various issues were to blame, including marriage troubles, back problems, prescription drug abuse, and alcoholism. In August 1952, he had been fired from the Grand Ole Opry because his notorious unreliability had finally overshadowed his incomparable talent.

But, by the end of 1952, he was trying to get his life and career back on track. He’d even released a new single entitled “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.” The Charleston show was expected to be an important part of his comeback. Unfortunately, an ice storm grounded his plane, and the show was canceled. He asked a family friend, Charles Carr, to drive him to his next performance in Canton, Ohio. On New Year’s Day, Carr stopped at a gas station in Oak Hill and discovered the singer dead in the back seat. Williams was only 29. Today, a plaque in Oak Hill commemorates Hank Williams’s “last stop on his last tour.”

Country Singer Brad Paisley Born: October 28, 1972

Country music superstar Brad Paisley was born in Marshall County on October 28, 1972. At age eight, the Glen Dale native began studying guitar with local musician “Hank” Goddard. Only two years later, he stepped in as the front man for the C-Notes, a local band of older musicians. At age 14, he became the youngest-ever regular cast member of Jamboree USA. He remained with the Wheeling radio show for eight years.

In the 1990s, he took his talents to Nashville and cut his debut album in 1999. The song “He Didn’t Have to Be” became Paisley’s first number one hit. The next year, the Academy of Country Music named him the Top New Male Vocalist. And, in 2001, he joined the Grand Ole Opry.

By 2010, Paisley had won more than 60 awards, including three Grammys. As one of the biggest stars in country music, he hasn’t shied away from controversial subjects. His 2013 album Wheelhouse addresses topics ranging from racism to spousal abuse. In recognition of his popularity, Paisley has been asked to perform at President Barack Obama’s inauguration and at the White House on two occasions.

West Virginia Native, Country Music Legend "Little" Jimmy Dickens Dies at 94

West Virginia native and country music legend “Little” Jimmy Dickens has died at the age of 94. According to a press release from The Grand Ole Opry, Dickens passed away Friday afternoon as a result of cardiac arrest following a stroke he suffered on Christmas Day.

Born in Bolt, West Virginia on December 19, 1920, Dickens would go on to be the longest running member of The Grand Ole Opry. He first performed on the show in 1948 and last played on December 20, 2014–just a day after his 94th birthday.

“The Grand Ole Opry did not have a better friend than Little Jimmy Dickens,” said Pete Fisher, Opry Vice President & General Manager through a news release on the show’s website Friday evening.  “He loved the audience and his Opry family, and all of us loved him back. He was a one-of-kind entertainer and a great soul whose spirit will live on for years to come.”

Dickens was well known for his diminutive size, rhinestone suits, 10-gallon hats – and ZANY novelty songs. Some of those included “Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait,” and “May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.”

He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983 and inducted into the first class of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2007. 

You can watch a West Virginia Public Broadcasting interview with Dickens from his West Virginia Music Hall of Fame induction below:

Country music icons, including fellow West Virginia native Brad Paisley, shared their thoughts on the loss of Dickens on social media as news of his passing began to spread:

 

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