Want to Take a Virtual Tour of Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry? [PHOTOS]
I'm down at the Grand Ole Opry every month doing a live broadcast and am very thankful that it NEVER gets old. Being backstage at that legendary old house always still leaves me in awe.
Country music history is so rich and so varied.
And the Opry House has just absorbed as much of it as possible into its walls...
...and its themed dressing rooms.
Earlier this week, when I was there, I decided to do a little impromptu photo shoot of the backstage area--and not just the dressing rooms.
I also got to see, for the first time, the soundstage where they do CMT Crossroads AND where the legendary variety show Hee Haw was taped:
As we head down the hall, we'll head into Porter Wagoner's old dressing room which is called The Wagonmaster--dig the PURPLE COUCH:
Some of the biggest female superstars and legends have hung out in the room called Women of Country:
And when the Grand Ole Opry plays host to a country comedian, that entertainer or THOSE entertainers are in Now That's Funny:
What do Porter & Dolly, Johnny & June, Conway & Loretta, and so many other legendary duos have in common? They've all waited here until their turn on stage. It's called It Takes Two:
Now, there are times when artists who are not necessarily associated with country music appear on the Grand Ole Opry. Folks like Kevin Costner, Steve Martin, Paul McCartney, even Andy Warhol have made appearances--not to mention a very young Anderson Cooper accompanying his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. And they've all spent time in Friends & Neighbors:
There are three dressing rooms from which I have never broadcast. And one of them belonged to the legendary comic with that trademark price tag hanging from her equally trademark straw hat. It's the room they call Cousin Minnie:
Finally, there's one dressing room that's usually filled with a lot of excitement. It's the one, on Opry performance nights, that's occupied by those artists making their GRAND OLE OPRY DEBUTS. It's called Into the Circle:
And there you have it. The Grand Ole Opry from behind the scenes. If you ever take the tour, you'll visit them all.