Gaylord Who? Gaylord What?

Story by Bill Farley photographs by Judith Royce

When you head to Nashville , and, sooner or later just about all music fans will, there’s one name you’re bound to hear all over town. It’s not Willie or Waylon or Dolly, Hank, Patsy, Loretta, or even Elvis. It’s Gaylord

If you’re asking yourself, “Gaylord who?” you’re not even close. Gaylord is a “what,” Gaylord Entertainment to be specific, and this multi-faceted corporation has a hand in many of the key attractions in this Tennessee city along the banks of the Cumberland River .

Nashville sits right at the edge of a one-day driving excursion from the Lowcountry, about ten hours away on I-26 and I-40, if you don’t spend too much time on pit stops, gas stops and snack breaks. It’s a pretty easy drive and there’s a certain satisfaction in arriving without having to schedule (and pay for) an overnight stay mid-way.

Once there, travelers have their choice of a host of comfortable accommodations. But, if it’s luxury, fun and a real sense of what makes Nashville “ Music City U.S.A. ” you’re after, book yourself into the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel

Located “freeway close” just outside of town, this mega-complex offers just about everything a vacationer could want, from spectacular accommodations to its own mall to the legendary Grand Ole Opry itself.

The Opryland Resort itself is the largest non-gaming facility in the United States and boasts the most over-the-top design and décor east of Las Vegas . Opened in 1977 as a modest hostelry, it has grown exponentially over the years to become a one-of-a-kind destination. Its 2881 well-appointed guests rooms are clustered around three huge atriums, each distinctively laid out and replete with abundant gardens, trees, fountains and in one instance, even its own river. The total effect is much like staying in the world’s largest and best-tended arboretum.

And, it’s not just comfort and beauty that are readily available at the Opryland. The hotel has dining opportunities for every taste, from the lavish Water’s Edge Marketplace Buffet to Italian restaurants, a Japanese restaurant, a steakhouse, a sports grill, and Irish pub and a Jack Daniel’s Saloon. Just opened for the hip-and-hot crowd, a sophisticated, high-tech nightclub named Fuse.

For conventioneers, the hotel provides 600,000 square feet of meeting, convention and exhibition space, with a proposed addition of 400,000 more on the way. Golfers will enjoy the nearby Gaylord Springs Golf Links and there are also fun luncheon and dinner cruises aboard the colorful General Jackson Showboat.

Jean Shepherd on stage at the Opry

Opryland is also the home of WSM radio, where the Grand Ole Opry was launched in 1925 as the WSM Barn Dance. Two years later, the show’s announcer opened the program, which followed a highbrow music broadcast from New York , by noting that for the past hour listeners had heard classical and opera selections and now would be entertained by “our own grand ole opry!” Visitors are encouraged to stop by the studio and watch as radio greats such as Keith Bilbrey perform their on-air magic.

Of course, visiting Nashville is much more than staying at your hotel, no matter how attractive a proposition that might seem. No trip would be complete without paying homage to the home of American country music at some of its most famous “shrines.”

Ryman Auditorium is the Mother Church of Country Music

At the heart of the music scene is the fabled Ryman Auditorium. Built in 1892 literally as a tabernacle, the Ryman soon became a more secular venue, hosting everything from comedy to drama to Broadway plays to livestock auctions. The home of the Opry from 1943 until 1974, it closed when the new Opry facility opened and lay fallow for twenty years until the Gaylord organization gave “The Mother Church of Country Music” an $8.5 million makeover and reopened it to a wide range of concerts including four winter months of Opry broadcasts themselves each year. With acoustics said to be second only to the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City , the Ryman has presented every great name in the genre. A typical show today might feature bluegrass genius Ricky Skaggs and the country gospel family The Whites bringing a packed house off their church-style pews and to their feet for a standing ovation.

Elvis' Gold Cadillac at the Country and Western Museum

Another “must” stop downtown is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which includes a vast collection of artifacts telling the story of America’s own music from its roots to the present. Visitors will appreciates the thousand of photos, videos, audio clips and interactive exhibits including Elvis’ Solid Gold Cadillac, Mother Maybelle Carter’s guitar, Bob Wills’ fiddle, Bill Monroe’s mandolin, the Hee Haw corn field set, a two story wall of every gold and platinum record ever awarded in country and much more.

Through December 2009 “Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy” will tell the bittersweet tale of icon Hank Williams and his musical dynasty through film clips, recordings, memorabilia and rare interviews with Randall Hank Williams a/k/a Hank Williams Jr. and Hank’s sister, Lycretia. In all, the exhibit features more than 200 items from the family’s personal collection, most never before seen in public, and includes such oddities as a “Squirrel Band” comprised of animals Hank Sr. himself shot then had stuffed and mounted as musicians!

A similar exhibit honoring Kitty Wells, the Queen of Country Music, opened in August and will run through June. Wells became country music’s first female superstar and the Opry’s first female singing star after her breakthrough 1952 hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” – an “answer” to Hank Thompson’s “The Wild Side of Life” - made her an overnight sensation.

Other popular attractions in Nashville proper include Studio B, the venerable facility where Elvis recorded more than 250 songs and such classics as “The Three Bells,” “Gentle on My Mind,” “Bye Bye Love,” “Jolene,” “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’” and “Green, Green Grass of Home” went from vision to vinyl.

Roy Orbison honored at legendary Studio B

Just standing in this unadorned room plated with acoustic tiles and scattered with instruments from an upright and a grand piano to a vibraphone, a Hammond B-3 organ and a celeste conjures up ghosts of a bygone era in recording industry history.

For a truly unique Nashville experience, drop by the Bluebird Café. Opened in 1982 as a casual restaurant with music it quickly became a songwriters’ Mecca with food.  Patrons of the tiny club sit around a central “stage” where some of the most successful songsmiths in country gather in groups of three or four to talk about their craft, sing their songs and accompany each other on vocals and instruments. Artists who have performed at this extraordinary club range alphabetically from Gary Allan to Trisha Yearwood with literally hundreds of well-known names in between. The Bluebird Café’s motto is “Shhh!” and they mean it! Guests who would rather chat than listen are cordially invited to go somewhere else.

All of the musical activity in Nashville is bound to work up a hunger, and there are a plethora of places to satisfy that urge. One of the most popular is the Wildhorse Saloon, a Gaylord Entertainment property and a landmark since 1994 when Reba McEntire opened it by leading a stampede of live cattle through the streets to its doors. Line dancing is a specialty at the Wildhorse and when the music cranks up two hundred or more dancers will pack the floor. The upstairs balcony/bar is the place to watch the action and the infectious spirit of the dancers often lures even the most timid spectators to give it a whirl. That’s a good thing, because it takes a lot of exercise to work off the huge portions or ribs, pulled pork, sides and desserts that make the Saloon famous. Not to mention the fried pickles!

For another great meal, try Jack’s Bar-B-Que right in the heart of Broadway.  You can’t miss it. Just go in under the sign of the “flying pig” and enjoy one of the down-home meals that have helped cover the walls of this no-frills eatery with awards and honors from competitions around the nation. Jack’s often there and he’ll be more than glad to regale you with stories of the celebrities who crave his gustatory delights.

After dining at Jack’s, a stroll along Broadway is a must. Visit the legendary Ernest Tubbs’ record store; drop in at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, where Patsy Cline used to sneak out of the Ryman for a quick “beverage” and where Roger Miller is said to have written “King of the Road” on a cocktail napkin; or listen to a great country music set at Robert’s, where you can put a few beers and a new set of cowboy boots on the same tab.

Lest one think that Nashville ’s culinary scene is just pork and more pork, there are numerous upscale restaurants, among them F. Scott’s, a sophisticated room featuring contemporary American cuisine and jazz nightly. The scallops, grouper and New York steaks are incredible and no one passes up any of this popular restaurant’s ingenious desserts.

All these attractions notwithstanding, the real reason to visit Nashville is the Grand Ole Opry itself. Even people who may not put country music at the top of their listening list want to worship at this temple of Americana . Every week on Friday and Saturday nights and Tuesday nights (March through December) and Thursday nights, beginning in 2009, before a live and enthusiastic audience, the world’s longest running radio show broadcasts the best of country music over 650 WSM-AM, XM Satellite Radio, Opry.com and Great American Country cable television.

Typically, audiences see the new stars, superstars, and legends of country music back to back throughout the show. On any given night, a fan might see Alan Jackson, Jimmy Dickens, bluegrass great Del McCoury, or a new artists such as Taylor Swift on the show. Seating is still in church pews albeit with comfortable cushions, and in the center of the vast stage is a perfect “unbroken circle” of wood taken from the Ryman Auditorium stage as a symbol of continuity. Many of the legends of country music such as Roy Acuff, Patsy Cline, Marty Robbins and Minnie Pearl are gone now, but they remain immortalized at this venue where they are remembered at the Grand Ole Opry Museum alongside tributes to some of the greatest stars of today.

Nashville traces its musical roots to the early 1800s when it became a national hub for music publishing. And, that tradition remains very much alive today.

It’s an historic city that’s also as modern as 2008 and well worth a vacation visit. During October, “Opry Birthday Month” the city will be alive with a host of star performances, special events and attractive travel packages for visitors. There’s even a way to look into and prepare for your trip. It’s the “Grand Ole Opry Trip Planner: Your Pocket Guide to Nashville ” and it’s available by calling 1-800-SEE-OPRY or at Opry.com.

You don’t even have to tell ‘em that “Gaylord sent you.”