Editing Grand Ole Opry (section)

==Controversies==
In April 1963, Opry management mandated that members had to perform no less than 26 shows a year in order to maintain their membership.<ref name="Billboard Christmas">{{cite magazine|title=Four Dropped From 'Opry' To Return on Christmas|magazine=Billboard|date=November 27, 1965|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60|page=50}}</ref> WSM decreased the number of those required performances to 20 in January 1964,<ref name="Billboard Christmas"/> and the minimum number was 12 in 2000.<ref name="CMT News">{{cite web|last=Morris|first=Edward|title=Grand Ole Opry Looking Toward Building Its Audience|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1472737/grand-ole-opry-looking-toward-building-its-audience.jhtml|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119112023/http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1472737/grand-ole-opry-looking-toward-building-its-audience.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 19, 2013|publisher=CMT/CMT News|access-date=December 9, 2012|date=April 20, 2000}}</ref> Although the minimum number of performances has been reduced over the years, artists offered membership are expected to display their dedication to the Opry with frequent attendance.<ref name="CMT News"/>

Another controversy raged for years over permissible instrumentation, especially the use of [[drum]]s and electrically amplified instruments. Some purists were appalled at the prospect; traditionally, a [[string bass]] provided the [[rhythm]] component in country music, and [[percussion instrument]]s were seldom used. Electric amplification, new in the beginning days of the Opry, was regarded as the province of popular music and jazz in the 1940s. Although the Opry allowed electric guitars and steel guitars by World War II, the restrictions against drums and horns continued, causing a conflict when [[Bob Wills]]<ref>Kienzle, Richard. (2003). Southwest shuffle: pioneers of honky-tonk, Western swing, and country jazz. New York: Routledge. pp.&nbsp;254-257.</ref> and [[Pee Wee King]]<ref>Hall, Wade. (1998). "Pee Wee King". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp.&nbsp;283–4.</ref> defied the show's ban on drums. Wills openly flouted the rule. King, who performed at the Ryman in 1945 after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's death, did not technically defy the ban. He did not use his drums on the Opry, but this particular Saturday night, the Opry was cancelled due to FDR's death. He and his band were asked to perform their theater show (with their drummer) because a number of fans showed up assuming the Opry would go on. It took years after that before drums became commonly accepted at the Opry; as late as 1967, an item in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' claimed that "[a] full set of drums was used on the 'Grand Ole Opry' for the first time in history when Jerry Reed performed last week. Jerry's drummer, Willie Akerman, was allowed to use the entire set during his guest performance there."<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Williams |first1=Bill |title=Nashville Scene |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=30 September 1967 |pages=50, 53}}</ref>

[[Stonewall Jackson (musician)|Stonewall Jackson]], an Opry member since 1956, sued the Opry management in 2007 alleging that manager Pete Fisher was trying to purge older members of the Opry from its membership and committing [[age discrimination]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_en_mu/people_stonewall_jackson|title=Yahoo! News, 1/12/07}}</ref> Jackson settled the lawsuit in 2008<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081010150251/http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1596410/stonewall-jacksons-lawsuit-against-opry-settled.jhtml "Stonewall Jackson's Lawsuit Against Opry Settled"] Cmt.com, October 6, 2008</ref> and resumed appearing on the program until retiring in 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsmv.com/news/longtime-country-singer-stonewall-jackson-dies-at-89/article_be5e03c0-5545-11ec-ac21-efa846c5812d.html |title=Longtime country singer Stonewall Jackson dies at 89 |first=Tony |last=Garcia |date=December 4, 2021 |work=[[WSMV-TV]] |access-date=December 4, 2021}}</ref>

In early 2022, [[Morgan Wallen]] performed on the Grand Ole Opry alongside [[Ernest (musician)|Ernest]]. This move was criticized, as Wallen had been taped less than a year prior shouting a racial slur, and the Opry had previously made stances against racism on social media. In response to the latter, music writer Holly G. founded the [[Black Opry]] as a means of raising awareness of black artists in country music.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://local12.com/news/entertainment/people-are-much-too-sensitive-opinions-get-heated-over-morgan-wallen-grand-ole-opry-performance-nashville-black-artists-country-music-racial-slurs | title='People are much too sensitive': Opinions get heated over Morgan Wallen's Opry performance | publisher=Local 12 | date=January 12, 2022 | accessdate=April 12, 2022}}</ref>