I discovered this April 12, 1952 Grand Ole Opry program at Rolling Hills Antique Mall in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The program features many influential figures in bluegrass and country music, including Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, Chet Atkins, Maybelle Carter (of The Carter Family), and June Carter. The lineup also includes several songs that remain staples at modern bluegrass and old time jam sessions: “Bill Cheatham,” “Billy in the Lowground,” “Sally Goodin,” “Cripple Creek,” and “The Girl I Left Behind Me.”
Each section of the program was sponsored by an advertiser. The segment sponsored by Prince Albert smoking tobacco (manufactured by R.J. Reynolds) aired from 8:30 to 9:00 PM on NBC. The Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting on WSM radio in 1925 and has remained a cornerstone of American country music ever since.
1952 Video Snippet (YouTube) – Though it’s not the same day in 1952, this vintage video offers a feel for what was airing at the time. It does feature Hilly Billy Fever, which is also on this program and includes Roy Acuff and June Carter. Another good example of the time, this May 21, 1952 video snippet (Internet Archive) includes many of the same acts listed here including hillbilly piano player Moon Mullican playing Cherokee Boogie.
Program transcription: Left page text
Today, in all America, there is no entertainment comparable to WSM’s internationally famous Grand Ole Opry program. It is the longest (four hours) and oldest (26 years) sponsored program in the world. Reserved seat tickets are sold out usually two months in advance. During its twenty-six years on the air, it has drawn nearly 5,000,000 persons to Nashville to see the show personally. A recent check revealed that visitors at a single performance were from 39 states.
Entertainers on the Grand Ole Opry include the greatest folk music stars of today. And although their popularity often exceeds that of current bobby-soxers, these stars have kept “close to the soil.” Associate Editor of Collier’s Magazine, Bill Davidson, who recently wrote a story on the Opry says, “It is this genuineness that has enabled ‘Grand Ole Opry’ to survive and prosper where most of its major competitors which adopted modern music and techniques faded away.”
One portion of the Grand Ole Opry, from 8:30 to 9:00 CST, is broadcast over the NBC network every Saturday night.
The Grand Ole Opry began as the traditional barn dance show of its day, but its fame has grown throughout the nation and abroad until it has made Nashville the folk music capital of the world.
Program transcription: Cover Page / Title
GRAND OLE OPRY
Program transcription: Inside, Program Schedule
PROGRAM April 12, 1952
WARREN PAINT—7:30 to 7:45
ROY ACUFF – Night Train to Memphis
LEW CHILDRE – Hang Out the Front Door Key
THE LE CROIX SISTERS – Beyond the Sunset
THE JUG BAND – Down in Arkansas
JOE ZINCAN – Washington and Lee Swing
AMERICAN ACE—7:45 to 8:00
ROY ACUFF – The Great Titanic
OSWALD – Southern Moon
ROY ACUFF – Precious Jewel
JIMMY RIDDLE – Down Yonder
MARTHA WHITE—8:00 to 8:30
ERNEST TUBB – I’m Going Back to Birmingham
BILL MONROE – Letter from my Darling
MAMA MAYBELLE – Fair and Tender Ladies
JOHNNY & JACK – Three Ways of Knowing
THE CROOK BROTHERS – Alabama Gal
ERNEST TUBB – The Wild Side of Life
JUNE CARTER – Fiddling Around
CHET ATKINS – Listen to the Mocking Bird
BILL MONROE – Raw Hide
FIDDLE – Sally Goodin
PRINCE ALBERT—8:30 to 9:00
RED FOLEY – Milk Bucket Boogie
ROD ERASFIELD – Comedy
PEE WEE KING – Slow Poke
THE SQUARE DANCERS – Chicken Reel
RED FOLEY- Peace in the Valley
THE OLD HICKORY SINGERS – Down by the Ohio
MINNIE PEARL – Comedy
PEE WEE KING – Busy Body
STRING BEAN – Hillbilly Fever
RED FOLEY – Every Step of the Way
THE SQUARE DANCERS – Billy in the Low Ground
ROYAL CROWN COLA—9:00 to 9:30
ROY ACUFF – Little Pal
THE FRUIT JAR DRINKERS – Girl I Left Behind Me
GEORGE MORGAN – You’re a Little Doll
THE DUKE OF PADUCAH – Comedy
HANK SNOW – The Gold Rush Is Over
LONZO and OSCAR – Let’s Live a Little
ROY ACUFF – Jesus Died for Me
THE LE CROIX SISTERS – Today
OSWALD – Fireball Mail
HOWDY FORRESTER – Bill Cheatham
FORTUNE FEED—9:30 to 10:00
CARL SMITH – Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way
LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS – It May Be Silly
RAY PRICE – Talk to Your Heart
ANITA CARTER – Anything That’s a Part of You
MOON MULLICAN – Cherokee Boogie (record on YouTube)
THE JORDANAIRES – Working on a Building
LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS – Wondering
HAL SMITH – Fisher’s Hornpipe
CARL SMITH – I Overlooked an Orchid
WALL RITE—10:00 to 10:15
BILL MONROE – I’m on my Way to the Old Home
THE OLD HICKORY SINGERS – Put on your Old Grey Bonnet
GEORGE MORGAN – Almost
BILL MONROE – Lord Protect my Soul
OLD JOE CLARK – Pig in the Pen
DR. LE GEAR—10:15 to 10:30
ROY ACUFF – Heartaches and Flowers
THE LE CROWE SISTERS – Any Time
THE JUG BAND – Pappy Lost his Peg Leg
ROY ACUFF – Will the Circle Be Unbroken
BIG HOWDY – Devil’s Dream
JEFFERSON ISLAND SALT—10:30 to 11:00
ERNEST TUBB – Somebody’s Stolen my Honey
LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS – Cold Feet
RAY PRICE – Hurry, Hurry Home
THE GULLY JUMPERS – Dance all Night
THE JORDANAIRES – Rocka my Soul
ERNEST TUBB – Our Baby’s Book
JUNE CARTER – I’m all Broke out with Love
CHET ATKINS – Rain Bow (recording of July 12, 1952 performance, YouTube )
LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS – They Locked God outside the Iron Curtain
MAMA MAYBELLE – Down Yonder
FIDDLE – Frog Hair
D CON—11:00 to 11:15
MOON MULLICAN – Pipe Liner Blues
ANNIE LOU AND DANNY – I Can’t Get off my Horse
STRING BEAN – Cripple Creek
MOON MULLICAN – Mean Mama Blues
FIDDLE – Turkey in the Straw
SOLTICE—11:15 to 11:30
CARL SMITH – Don’t Just Stand There
JOHNNY AND JACK – When you Want a Little Lovin
SAM and KIRK – When my Sweetie Puts her Lovin on
CARL SMITH – Little Girl in my Home Town
HAL SMITH – Fire in the Mountain
ABC CHICK—11:30 to 11:45
HANK SNOW – Music Making Mama
LEW CHILDRE – Golden River
THE CROOK BROTHERS – Lost Indian
HANK SNOW – Why Do you Punish Me
THE CROOK BROTHERS – Trouble among the Yearling
O-CEL-O—11:45 to 12:00
GEORGE MORGAN – My Baby Lied to Me
LONZO and OSCAR – Let’s Live a Little Bit
THE FRUIT JAR DRINKERS – Paty on the Turn Pike
GEORGE MORGAN – Please Don’t Let Me Love You
THE FRUIT JAR DRINKERS – Down Yonder