Editing Grand Ole Opry (section)

===Larger venues===
[[File:DSCF9014-crop1.jpg|thumb|right|The Hillsboro Theatre (now the [[Belcourt Theatre]]), home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1934 to 1936]]
[[File:WMA plaza.jpg|thumb|right|The [[War Memorial Auditorium (Nashville, Tennessee)|War Memorial Auditorium]], home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1939 to 1943]]
As audiences for the live show increased, National Life & Accident Insurance's radio venue became too small to accommodate the hordes of fans. They built a larger studio, but it was still not large enough. After several months with no audiences,{{clarify|date=January 2020|reason=No audiences?}} National Life decided to allow the show to move outside its home offices. In October 1934, the Opry moved into then-[[suburb]]an Hillsboro Theatre (now the Belcourt) before moving to the Dixie Tabernacle in East Nashville on June 13, 1936. The Opry then moved to the [[War Memorial Auditorium (Nashville, Tennessee)|War Memorial Auditorium]], a downtown venue adjacent to the [[Tennessee State Capitol|State Capitol]], and a 25-cent admission fee was charged to try to curb the large crowds, but to no avail. In June 1943, the Opry moved to the [[Ryman Auditorium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/10/02/things-know-grand-ole-opry/73244698/|title=10 things to know about the 'Grand Ole Opry'|work=USA Today|date=October 2, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Roy Acuff 1950.JPG|thumb|90px|Roy Acuff]]
[[File:Rymanauditorium1.jpg|left|thumb|150px|[[Ryman Auditorium]], the "Mother Church of Country Music", home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974, and seasonally since 1999]]

One hour of the Opry was nationally broadcast by the [[NBC Red Network]] from 1939 to 1956, and for much of its run, it aired one hour after the program that had inspired it, ''[[National Barn Dance]]''. The NBC segment, originally known by the name of its sponsor, ''The [[Prince Albert tobacco|Prince Albert]] Show'', was first hosted by Acuff, who was succeeded by [[Red Foley]] from 1946 to 1954. From October 15, 1955, to September 1956, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC-TV]] aired a live, hour-long television version once a month on Saturday nights (sponsored by Ralston-Purina) that pre-empted one hour of the then-90-minute ''[[Ozark Jubilee]]''. From 1955 to 1957, Al Gannaway owned and produced both ''The Country Show'' and ''Stars of the Grand Ole Opry,'' both filmed programs [[television syndication|syndicated]] by Flamingo Films. Gannaway's ''Stars of the Grand Ole Opry'' was the first television show shot in color.<ref>"ABC-TV to Air 'Ole Opry' Live Once Monthly" (October 8, 1955), ''[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]]'', p. 1</ref>

On October 2, 1954, a teenage [[Elvis Presley]] had his only Opry performance. Although the audience reacted politely to his revolutionary brand of [[rockabilly music]], Opry manager Jim Denny told Presley's producer [[Sam Phillips]] after the show that the singer's style did not suit the program.<ref>Gaar, Gillian G. "Box Set Spotlights Elvis Presley's Surviving Early Work at Sun Studio." Goldmine Feb. 2013: 40-44. Print.</ref>