Nashville's Mother Church--the Ryman Auditorium

The Ryman Auditorium , revered as the “Mother Church” of country music, has been an anchor of the Nashville music scene for more than a century. The Grand Ole Opry moved in to the Ryman Auditorium in 1943 with live music shows broadcast weekly across America's airwaves every Saturday evening on WSM 650 AM radio until 1974 when it outrgrew the Ryman and moved into its new home, The Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland . From Hank Williams and Flatt & Scruggs, Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, to Patsy Cline and Bob Hope, the list of luminaries who have performed at the National Historic Landmark Ryman, is a literal Who’s Who of the America's 20th Century music scene. This show originally broadcast in 2017 is reposted as a Best-of-the-Best Journeys of Discovery show in celebration of its 32nd anniversary producing NPR affiliate KCBX on-air and digital media shows featured on NPR One. Underwriting support for Journeys of Discovery provided by Nashville's Big Back