
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 16, 1993                   TAG: 9305160223
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: F-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By Terry Teachout
DATELINE: NASHVILLE                                LENGTH: Medium

THE GRAND OLD OPRY IS STILL THE MECCA OF COUNTRY MUSIC

Are you a closet country music fan, ashamed to tell snobbish co-workers of your secret lust for beer-drinking music? If so, relax: You're in good company. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, country's share of the marketplace has doubled since 1990.

Brand-new country fans looking for a total-immersion vacation experience should head straight for Music City, U.S.A.: Nashville, Tenn., capital of the country music industry and home of the Grand Ole Opry.

Time was when the Opry was just a radio show airing every Saturday night. Not that it was anything to scoff about. Every top name in country, from Roy Acuff to Johnny Cash, sang there. But the Opry long ago outgrew the Ryman Auditorium, the ex-gospel tabernacle that housed it from 1943 to 1974. It's now broadcast directly from Opryland USA, the 757-acre complex nine miles northeast of downtown Nashville that is home to the Opry House, TNN (The Nashville Network), Opryland theme park and Opryland Hotel.

The 1,891-room hotel is more than a little bit hard to believe, especially when you check in, pass through the lobby and step into the Cascades, a two-acre indoor tropical garden (8,200 plants, 449 species) complete with three waterfalls and a 940-jet fountain. The "Dancing Waters" are on display nightly, illuminated by lasers and accompanied by a harpist who specializes in ... Elvis Presley medleys. And Opryland Hotel has another two-acre indoor garden, not to mention a shopping arcade, an 18-hole golf course and a stupendous Sunday brunch buffet. Biscuits and gravy are served. So is trout meuniere. (So are bagels and lox.) The atmosphere is luxurious but comfortable - a resort hotel for down-home types.

Opryland theme park is clean, wholesome and friendly, with musical entertainment galore for the grownups and 21 rides for the kids. ("You will GET WET on this ride," a sign on the Old Mill Scream promises - accurately.) In addition to the half-dozen free shows scattered throughout the park, the Chevrolet/Geo Theater features special outdoor concerts. (This summer's roster includes Patty Loveless, Tanya Tucker and Pam Tillis.)

If you want to get away for an evening, the General Jackson Showboat offers three-hour dinner cruises along the Cumberland River, featuring an excellent meal and a super-slick Broadway-style revue. Or you can amble over to the TNN studios for a live taping of "Nashville Now," Ralph Emery's talk show.

Two stops in Nashville proper are a must: The Ryman Auditorium (downtown) and the Country Music Hall of Fame (on Music Row). The Hall of Fame is not a sleazy tourist trap but a serious, well-run museum whose exhibits include both the sublime (Jimmie Rodgers' guitar) and the preposterous (Willie Nelson's sneakers).

Naturally, the whole point of an Opryland vacation is a visit to the Grand Ole Opry. Founded in 1925, it's the longest-running regularly-scheduled program in the history of radio. And you can count on a well-rounded package of artists ranging from Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass and the Opry's senior member (he joined in 1939), to hot young guns like Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs.

In recent years, Branson, Mo., has become a popular destination for country-loving vacationers. But Opryland USA remains the ultimate in one-stop country music shopping. And despite its new state-of-the-art home, the Grand Ole Opry is not just another sterile theme-park attraction. It's still the Mother Church of Country Music. Beat that, Branson.

by CNB