Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium, 1974
Called "The Mother Church of Country Music," the Ryman Auditorium saw a historic chapter come to a close in 1974 when it closed its doors on 5th Avenue to move into new quarters at Opryland USA.
Nashville photographer Jim McGuire had full access to the Ryman and shares over 100 stunning black and white photographs with chapter introductions and captions from the last year of this landmark and the most famous show in country music. Most of the photographs have never been published so come share the memories of this institution and your favorite legendary country music stars.
With the foreword written by Garrison Keillor, and an introduction by Opry legend Marty Stuart, this book is a must-have for any country music lover.
We earn a commission for purchases made through the following links.
Book details
- Author
- Jim McGuire
- Imprint
- Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Formats
- Hardcover
- Subjects
- History › United States › State & Local › South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Photography › Subjects & Themes - Topics
- Grand Ole Opry · country music history · Nashville · black-and-white photography · pictorial history · 1970s music · concert photography
- ISBN-13
- 9781683369608
About the authors
JIM McGUIRE is a Nashville-based photographer who has shot more than 400 album covers and hundreds of portraits of country, bluegrass, and Americana musicians, including Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Doc Watson. He is the author of Nashville Portraits: Legends of Country Music.
McGuire’s work was the subject of the traveling exhibition Jim McGuire: The Nashville Portraits, organized by the Morris Museum of Art. His first photographs were made as an Air Force photographer in Vietnam in 1964.
Jim lives in Nashville.
GARRISON KEILLOR is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality who created and hosted A Prairie Home Companion on public radio from 1974 to 2016, reaching millions of listeners weekly. His books include Lake Wobegon Days, Homegrown Democrat and Good Poems.
Keillor received a Peabody Award, a Grammy Award, and the National Humanities Medal, and was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and wrote for The New Yorker.
Garrison was born in Anoka, Minnesota.
MARTY STUART is a country singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is the author of the introduction to Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium, 1974.
Stuart became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1992 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He has served multiple terms as president of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s board.
When he’s not writing, Stuart performs and records country music. He joined Lester Flatt’s bluegrass band at age 13 and later toured with Johnny Cash.
Marty was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
