75 YEARS OF MUSIC THE OPRY HONORS ITS HERITAGE.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

The Grand Ole Opry may line up behind death and taxes as one of the few certainties in life, and a rare pleasant one at that.

The Nashville institution, hailed as the mother church of country music, is celebrating an unmatched 75 years of weekly live shows and radio broadcasts. That's a record undisrupted by the Great Depression, wars, floods, tornadoes, an eviction and, of course, the broken hearts and three-day benders its performers often sing about.

Ever since 80-year-old fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson sat in on a Nov. 28, 1925, WSM radio broadcast, listeners have shown a powerful appetite for heartland music, from primitive Appalachian and bluegrass strains practiced in front-porch jam sessions to the studio-polished pop- and rock-flavored renditions of more recent masters.

And the Grand Ole Opry has delivered, every Saturday night, through its many incarnations and locations. It originally was dubbed ``The WSM Barn Dance,'' but got its permanent title from its first announcer, George D. Hay. In 1928, ``Barn Dance'' followed an NBC radio program called ``The Music Appreciation Hour.'' One night Hay announced, ``For the past hour we have been listening to music taken largely from grand opera, but now we will present 'The Grand Ole Opry.' ''

Tonight CBS airs ``Grand Ole Opry 75th - A Celebration,'' taped last month at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House, the Opry's home since 1974. Hosted by Dolly Parton and Vince Gill, this show sets itself apart from annual awards telecasts with its high regard for the institution.

``The thing I thought was really cool about it was the artists didn't come out and do, 'Here's my new single this week. Here I am paying tribute to the Opry but here's my new single,' which could easily have happened and I'm sure in some ways there's pressure to make that happen,'' said Martina McBride, an Opry member since 1995. ``Everybody came out and really paid tribute to the Opry, which is what we're here for and what the show is supposed to be about. I thought it was refreshing.

``And I think the audience will get to see people singing songs they've never heard them sing before and showing a side of themselves they've never shown before, and it'll make for an interesting show as opposed to just turning it on and hearing somebody sing their hit song again.''

In its early years, the Opry show aired on station WSM (650 AM) from small studios on the fifth floor of the National Life and Accident Insurance Co. (WSM stood for the company's slogan: We Shield Millions.)

But fans quickly began gathering in the building's hallways for the broadcasts, and it quickly outgrew its space. The station's parent company kicked the program out of the office building and the Opry moved three times during the '30s - to the Hillsboro Theatre, the Dixie Tabernacle and the War Memorial Auditorium - before settling in 1943 in the 3,000-seat Ryman Auditorium, built as a revival house with church pews and stained-glass windows. The live audience pepped up the show with applause and laughter, and the Opry created a down-home image with bumpkin costumes and such caricatures as Cousin Minnie Pearl and Grandpa Jones.

The fan base continued to grow, as did the power of the little station. Its wattage was boosted incrementally over the years to its current 50,000 watts. Its 650-AM position is a clear-channel signal, which means no other U.S. station uses that frequency, enabling WSM to reach as far as Fiji under optimal conditions. (Its availability in Los Angeles varies depending on weather, and it is heard more easily at night.)

Even with additional shows to accommodate the crowds, the Opry outgrew its musty Ryman home, and in 1974 moved to its current theater. But country artists are a sentimental lot, so the original circle of hardwood from Ryman's center stage was installed in the same place at the new Grand Ole Opry House.

On A&E's special aired earlier this week, ``The Grand Ole Opry: 75 Years of America's Music,'' several artists spoke of a tendency to sidestep that sacred disc, and how unworthy they feel to set boots on the same spot as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Roy Acuff and other greats.

The CBS telecast pays homage to many of the Opry's most celebrated stars, including Williams, Cline, Pearl, Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash. The cast includes George Jones, Charley Pride, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood (doing Cline's hit ``Crazy''), Porter Wagoner and Little Jimmy Dickens.

McBride sings Loretta Lynn's ``One's on the Way,'' Lynn takes a turn with ``Coal Miner's Daughter'' and ``Don't Come Home A'Drinkin' '' and Travis Tritt renders Cash's ``Folsom Prison Blues.'' The entire company comes together for country's most beloved finale, ``Will the Circle Be Unbroken,'' made famous some 65 years ago by the Carter Family.

``To me, the Opry is a huge part of the history of country music,'' said McBride, who performs there at least eight to 10 times a year. ``I feel like it's a place we can always look to to be reminded of that history and heritage and the fact that there were people before us.

``The fact that it's an ongoing show with some of the legends of country music as well as the newcomers is unique in and of itself. If you could imagine a show where all the legends of rock 'n' roll or jazz or pop or any other kind of music got together once a week to play, and then new people came in and paid tribute to them - it's pretty amazing.

``There isn't that in any other kind of music. It's something that we desperately are dedicated to, keeping it alive and running and breathing new life into it every chance we get and making more people aware of it,'' McBride said.

The Opry has taken steps toward the 21st century, recently renovating the theater with new sound and lighting systems, large-screen projections, and its first new set in about 20 years that includes a glittery notation of its Web site, www.opry.com.

But McBride says the institution always is in danger of becoming more a museumlike shrine to the past than a springboard for trendsetters.

``What it's going to rely on is people who come up, who are contemporary now and in the future, to feel that bond with the Opry and that desire to keep it going,'' she said. ``I do think most country music artists have that respect for it. Even though the music has changed dramatically, you can still sit down and have a conversation with most anyone about the history of country music, and a large percentage of country artists have at least a working knowledge of it, which is, I think, admirable and important.

``It speaks volumes about how important our history is when we, as contemporary country music artists, would go back and have a vast knowledge of traditional country music and instrumentation and chord structure and all the legends of country music, and can go out there and pay tribute to that and give that a nod, no matter what we're doing every day on the radio.''

The weekly Grand Ole Opry programs can be seen and heard Saturdays on cable's TNN starting at 8 p.m., or live on the Web site at 4:30 p.m.

``GRAND OLE OPRY 75TH - A CELEBRATION''

What: All-star tribute to the ``mother church of country music.''

The stars: Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood and others.

Where: KCBS (Channel 2).

When: 9 tonight.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) The assembled well-wishers, left, gather around the Opry's birthday cake. Above, Vince Gill and Dolly Parton host the evening's festivities.

(3) Country's old and new generations meet when Loretta Lynn and Martina McBride join together in song.

(5) A country jam session erupts when Garth Brooks, left, and Steve Wariner join forces.