Grand Ole Opry - March 9, 1974

March 9, 1974 was the date of the final Saturday night broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry from the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, the show's home for almost 31 years since June 1943. Recorded on cassette tape from the WSM radio broadcast by late Opry Fan Club president Glen Thompson in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and suffering at times the effects of the weak radio signal more than 500 miles away, this is nonetheless the most complete recording of this historic night to yet surface. This extremely rare recording captures selected parts of the program beginning with the 8:30 Stephens Work Clothes segment hosted by Hank Snow, through the remainder of the show and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop Midnite Jamboree, guest-hosted that night by Roy Acuff. Also heard here is the more-than-one-minute-long standing ovation for Minnie Pearl, easily the most emotional and best-remembered moment of the night. The following week the Grand Ole Opry moved into a new facility at Opryland which is still the show's primary home, and although the fate of the Ryman was uncertain at the time of the move, the Ryman was restored in 1994 and in January 1999, just weeks shy of 25 years after this 1974 farewell broadcast, the Opry returned to the Ryman and has been staged at the Ryman on a limited basis since that time.  8:30: Stephens Work Clothes (announcer: Hairl Hensley) 0:38 Hank Snow (host): I'm Moving On 3:48 Jan Howard: My Kind of People 6:09 Fruit Jar Drinkers/The Stoney Mt. Cloggers: Katy Hill 9:02 Hank Snow: Brand on My Heart 13:10 Jan Howard: Sunshine on My Shoulder 17:24 Hank Snow: Hello Love 9:00: Rudy's (announcer: Grant Turner) 21:42 Billy Grammer (host): Under the Double Eagle, Black Mountain Rag, Wildwood Flower 26:17 Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: Nine Pound Hammer 29:19 The Carlisles: Too Old to Cut the Mustard 33:51 Billy Grammer - Orange Blossom Special 37:32 Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper - To My Mansion in the Sky 42:08 The Carlisles - I'm Moving 9:30: Kellogg's (announcer: Grant Turner) 47:25 Bobby Bare (host): Come Sundown 51:04 The Willis Brothers: Truck Stop 54:58 Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: Philadelphia Lawyer 57:57 Bobby Bare: Blowing in the Wind; Worried Man Blues; Gotta Travel On 1:01:16 The Willis Brothers: Maiden's Prayer 1:04:12 Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper: I Shall Not Be Moved 1:07:54 Bobby Bare: Daddy, What If? 10:00: Fender Guitar (announcer: Hairl Hensley) 1:12:00 Stu Phillips (host): Pride 1:15:31 Jody Miller: Darling, You Can Always Come Back Home 1:17:53 The Carlisles: Little Liza Jane 1:21:04 Stu Phillips: There Must Be Another Way to Say Goodbye 10:15: Union '76 (announcer: Hairl Hensley) 1:24:56 Roy Acuff (host): When I Lay My Burdens Down 1:37:17 Minnie Pearl: Jealous Hearted Me 10:30: Trailblazer (announcer: Grant Turner) 1:42:25 Wilburn Brothers (host): It Looks Like the Suns Gonna Shine 1:44:26 Lonzo & Oscar: Traces of Life 1:47:24 Wilburn Brothers: God Bless America Again 10:45: Beechnut Chewing Tobacco (announcer: Grant Turner) 1:51:19 Billy Grammer (host): Gotta Travel On 1:53:52 The Crook Brothers/The Stoney Mt. Cloggers: Liberty 1:56:12 Billy Grammer: How Great Thou Art 11:00: Coca Cola (announcer: Hairl Hensley) 2:00:21 Hank Snow (host): In the Misty Moonlight 2:03:08 Jan Howard: Where No One Stands Alone 2:06:56 Fruit Jar Drinkers/The Stoney Mt. Cloggers: Nubbin Ridge 2:09:35 Sam and Kirk McGee: Freight Train, Victor Rag, I Don't Love Nobody 2:13:33 Hank Snow: I Don't Hurt Anymore 11:30: Baltz Brothers (Elm Hill) (announcer: Hairl Hensley) 2:17:19 Marty Robbins (host): I Walk Alone 12:00: Ernest Tubb Record Shop Midnite Jamboree (announcer: Grant Turner) 2:18:48 Roy Acuff (host): Walking the Floor Over You 2:20:23 Roy Acuff: All the Things That Might Have Been 2:23:58 Carl & Pearl Butler: Sundown in Nashville 2:27:09 Bashful Brother Oswald: Late Last Night 2:28:47 Ernest Tubb: It's Been So Long Darling 2:31:26 Roy Acuff: The Last Letter 2:35:30 Dale Potter: Listen to the Mockingbird 2:39:39 Don Sauter: Pick Me Up on Your Way Down 2:44:21 Carl & Pearl Butler: Somebody Touched Me 2:48:04 Carl & Pearl Butler: Don't Let Me Cross Over 2:51:17 Roy Acuff: Pins and Needles in My Heart 2:54:27 Bashful Brother Oswald: Weary Weary Blues 2:57:11 Roy Acuff and all: I Saw the Light 3:01:05 Roy Acuff: Walking the Floor Over You