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Pan

27.

THE WORLD -
OF COUNTRY ©

“NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CP) — it may omeasa 7
surprise to devotoo of the Grand Ofe Urey but.
- Country music is not the biggest money-spinner for

ma Of 500,000 on the banks of the Cumberland
ver.
Music City, U.S.A. also happens to be Tennessee’s

- Capital, a centre of higher learning and the home of
six large insurance companies, one of which owns -

WSH, the radio station that broadcasts the Opry to

large portions of North America. .

‘The insufance business brings more than $1
billion a year into the city, say chamber of com-

merce spokeamen, Publishing, chiefly of religious. . |
fhiltion. -

material, .is worth. about $500
‘Tourists, many of them drawn by the sound of the

fiddies and guitars, spend another $450 million and -
the music industry itself generates revenue of about .

$900 million
Founded in 1779, Nashville has grown from 8 fort
to become the second largest city in the state. Only

‘Memphis, with a population of almost one million, is

larger.

_ BEGAN IN 1925 . .
The eocinection with the music industry dates

from the early part of the. century.
WSM, the initials of National Life's advertising
slogan We Shield Millions, began broadcasting
country music in 1925 with a show called WSM Barn

Dance. The show had a cast of two — fiddler Jimmy

Thompeon and announcer George D. Hay.

In 197, Hay was introducing the Bam Dance —
. When be quipped: “For the past hour we havebeen

listening to music largely taken from grand opera,

-but from now on we will present the Grand Ole

Opes."
‘The name stuck-and the show flourished. WSM

regulatiy broadcasts the Opry on Friday and

Saturday nights. There is a Saturday matinee
performance and during the eurnmer matinees are
held on Sundays.

The initial brosdcasts came from a small room in
the National Life building in downtown Nashville.
As the program became more popular, audiences
demanded to see it and it was moved.to larger
studios. *

Later it was housed in the Hilisboro Theatre in the

* city’s east side, Dixie Tabernacle and the Ryman

Auditorium in the downtown core, where it moved
in 1M1 and stayed for 33 years.’
Built in 1891 by a riverboat captain named

Ryman, the auditorium has a colorful history. Inits

early days it was used as a tabernacle for riverboat

, crews, a convention centre and a church.

Because! of its perfect acoustics, it became a

. theatre and: could seat 3,500. Under the Opry’s

banner, it became a historic site.

Increasing’audiences forced the Opry to move to :

larger facilities ‘at a 217-acre site eight kilometres

“gust of the downtown core. The new te, part of an q
vie —~enmpement~-park;~ is~ apphpetats

Opryland.

‘The new Opry house, opened in 1974, can seal 4,400 r
and has been used as a production house for TV

shows and the movie Nashvilie was well aa regular
Opry shows.
To keep the heritage alive, the stage contains a

’ gx-foot circle cut from the stage of the Ryman. a
The Opry has continually attracted audiences

from across the US, and Canada and during holidy

weekends thousands of Canadians board tour buses ~

to Nashville. From Toronto the drive takes 14 hours,

including a brief wait at the border crossing at —

Windsor, Ont. If one wants to fly, the trip takes
about three hours.

‘Atleast five different musical shows are staged at
Opeyland throughout the day, ranging from Ger-
shin tothe sounds at the turn of the century: Other

thows highlight the music of North America, jazz,

and gospel music.
Othcr features of the park include a museum of
musical instruments and various rides and con-

 pessions. Opry stars often niake personal ap-
‘pearances on the grounds. Admission for one day is

8.7 US. -
On the edge of Music Row are the Country Musle

_ Museum and Hall of Fame.

USED

the price of oll.goes up. -
It means shear profit for
the. sheepman™ from High

-Blaff, Man., who ‘anticipates -

a rise in wool prices with
every incresse in oil costs.
‘Every time the Arabs or

oil prices, the cost of syn- -

. thetles goes up with it and
. wool starts to look that much
better,’ Greenlay said ina
._telepbone interview from his
_ home,”

“The outlook has’ fo be
favorable. With’ the oil
"situation the way: At. is now,
weol.is our only renewable
resource in the fibre line.”

Greenlay, who raises from
1,-200 to 1,600-head-of sheep
on the ranch that has been in
his family since 1876, said -!

6 WINNIPEG (CP) - - Gard :
” Greenlay smiles every, time.

a See

e

‘was just a. nuisance | to
_ ‘Canadian sbeepmen,
- When. prices | for domiestic 7
- wool were running’ around Ww,
cents a: pound, a3 they were:
foc many years, there was nO
sincentive to shear: sheep- or

-spend time to care for the
wool, | +
: But better times loom oa

‘the horigad. Prices over the.
that for many: 'yeara wool Inst year have gone ‘to 70

‘cents a pound and Greenlay..

“expects them to top $1.s000.
: Sheep. are-growo in.

Canada . ‘primarily ‘for © the

: meat. ‘The major ‘wool

producing countries are

Australia and New Zealand.

If Greenlay is. right and
prices. continue to rise,
Canadian sheepmen ‘may.
start paying more attention

_to wool production. =":

_ prepare it properly, clean it

’ animal for wool, then it’s just

“When the price of wool
doesn't even pay the cost of
beinging insomecne to'shear
it, nobody takes time to .

Properly and make sure it

rative Wool ° aan Oo
stays’ clean, " be said. be

a Ltd.; hasn't: been. ‘sitting:
around. waiting - tor: coud:
“But when’ it gets to the ditions fo improve. :

point where you're making =]. have. a ‘Jot ot wool

five or six dollars profit per myself-and I: ‘don't simply ©

i arkels | most: of,

* Meet ‘often, “his persocal :
marketing strategy ‘has...

taken him into” thé. United

. States ‘where’ ‘prices: are

7 Greenlay says that! jas
apparently lita fire under.
“(tine -co-operative’ which is -

based in. Ontario. ‘and.

-“gerods: the border; ‘this
‘-reakaWay movement that
“trought them back to lifé.:

They were dead for a Jong

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