This is the most absurd thing I've ever read. By removing the LEGENDS from the Opry stage would make the Opry BORING! I for one would only go to the Grand Ole Opry if someone like Brenda Lee or Loretta Lynn was appearing. (by the way, I am 25 years old) You say the LEGENDS don't put people in the sets. They have been putting people in the sets for DECADES. This new country is no good. It's pop, not country music. It's all about IMAGE now and that has taken over Country Music and made it worse! I wouldn't think twice about buying a ticket to the Opry to see some new act. Retiring at 65 is ridiculous! If the performer wants to and still can perform, they should be on the stage. Luckily, some smart younger people are discovering their music and it would be a SHAME if someone like me, who discovered this wonderful music at an early age, couldn't attend the Opry and not see The Legends!
If I couldn't go to the opry on fri or sat night and make fun of porter wagoner's crazy suit... I just couldn't go. Also if you tell me that Earl Scruggs the last link to Opry of old can't be a member anymore I would start a pention to BURN THAT MOTHER DOWN somewhere Roy Acuff is rolling in his grave...
I support this petition and I have only one question for Mr. Rice. I'm curious as to how you would feel if someone did the same to you and you knew in your heart that you were in NO WAY ready for the cake and a handshake? These great country singers lived and worked their whole lives to give us their all and now you want to tell them their all isn't good enough anymore? Who the hell are you? Forgive my french everyone. The boy just has my blood boiling is all.
I support this petition. This new "pop" country that we have is not real country music. These artists are studio creations of what producers think we want to hear. It's not all about ripped abs and showing your midriff! None of the songs these new artists are singing will last through the ages like Jones, Haggard, Waylon, Loretta, Willie and so on. We need to keep their style of music alive as long as we can. There are few, if any, that can "Fill Their Shoes!"
It's called the GRAND OLE OPRY for a reason, Mr. Tandy. It's the GRAND Dames and Masters that keep the show going, they are the ties that bind the history of this GRAND establishment and make it available for the youngsters that are up & coming in the genres of Country, Western, Southern Gospel and Bluegrass music.
Where else but onstage and backstage can the young artists selling records today meet the ones that most influenced their music? AND, where else can multiple generations of a family gather for an evening's entertainment, and have something served up for everyone?? Mr. Rice, you'd better think twice before sweep our Legends out the backdoor with a piece of cake & a handshake!
I support this petition. That would mean Loretta Lynn, Bill Anderson, Little Jimmy D, Charley Pride and Porter W. would have to hang it up. If they want to kill the Opry just shoot it and get it over with.
Is this an April Fool's joke? 6 days late in its printing, but surely this suggestion is a joke to get the world riled. What a ludicrous idea! I support this petition.
I support this petition.
So, Tandy, I got your message, but what's your next suggestion? Set every person over 65 adrift on an ice floe and goodbye Charley?
Your suggestion not only cheapens the legends of the Opry, but also the Opry itself. If you really think that getting rid of the legends of the Opry will make the youngsters "hear the call" then your mind suffers from a sad lack of imagination.
I support this petition. I can't believe how much of a jackass this guy is. Like many others have said, if it wasn't for the legends there wouldn't be a weekly show. The younger "stars" could care less about the opry or real country music.
Forcing retirement is absolutely absurd. There are millions of people in the workforce who continue to work after retirement age. Why target our legends. These are the artists who have given up so much in there lives to fullfill their dreams. Forcing retirement on the artists would be like forcing your average working person to give up. This is their lives. They have a right to live it to the fullest and do whatever makes them the happiest. Rice is insane. I say he should be forced to retire now. To hell with waiting til the idiot is 65.
I support this petition.
I could not believe what I was reading?? Tandy??? You made your fortune off the very people you want to put out to pasture…”maybe you are the mule that needs to go out and graze in the field”…Without the Legends of Country music…there would be no Opry. How sad that you actually think this way. When are you going to stop managing people and making a living?? I am sure you are well over 65!
Carol Adams…
I support this petition. Many of the legends are over 65 and still sing just as good or better than they ever did. They are what made the Opry what it is. The newer, youger members have absolutely no loyalty to the Opry and are not concerned about the future of the Opry.
I more-than-wholeheartedly support this petition. As I read the comments already registered by petition signers, I can only say that I support them 100%. They've already killed what we know as COUNTRY music--the new noise is a far cry from REAL country music. Without the legends on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, it might as well become a garage or department store, because it wouldn't bear any resemblance to the great institute that the Legends have established. It isn't fun getting old, but maybe I won't have to be here when the true Legends are gone, in the years to come, and the noise they are calling Country Music today will prevail--oh the thought! I hope you are hearing us, Mr. Rice!! And when is YOUR retirement party??!!
I support this petition. The Opry cannot keep younger members, without more pay. Wouldn't it be bettter to keep the legends and the country music fans who have been supporting the opry for years?
I think it would be a big mistake to retire the ledgends from the Opry. They are the backbone of the of the Country Music Industry. I'm sure the newer members feel the same way. They can sure learn a lot from the ones "who have been there and done that." Retirement should be an individual choice. We love the Ledgends of Country Music and never tire of being entertained by them. If you get rid of the backbone of the Opry, you will lose the rest of the body of the Opry. I think they should stay as long as their and heath is good, and they want to keep entertaining!
I support this petition because I love the Opry! I have listened for many, many years and think it would take so much away from it if the Legends of the Opry were gone!
I support this petition. The Opry has been steadily going downhill in the last few years, since they quit having most of the legends who formed it on their show. Now mostly they've reduced it to pop fluff except for the rare exception. I think they should instead retire the people who RUN the Opry!!
I support this petition. This is the stupidest idea I have ever heard! Just because someone is getting up in years doesn't mean they don't "have anything going" for them. I would rather see the "old" acts than some of the new!
i do not support this petition... let them sing.. they are the ones that stated it all!! ppl always trying to find something else to control and gripe about!!!
I do not support this pettition as i love the old music and performers. i say let them play and sing as long as they want to or can stand in front of a mic and do so
I support this petition. If you are a fan of a country music's Legend, you are a fan no matter how old they may get! And you are a fan, till the end of their life, and beyond.Our Legends are what made Country Music, Country! Take that away from us,and what are we left with? Keep our Legends and Keep Country Music Traditional. Let the choice of Retirement be up to them!
Bro Norm.
I support this petition.
Keep those feet burried in that Rock-Solid, Stubborn Concrete on this one & I'm pretty darn sure there would be more than a few artist & fans who would happily draw you out a good map to the nearest lake so you could test them thare concrete clod hoppers darlin ;)
I support this petition.
This is what is happening to tradition and the Legends of country music....the money grabbers are always trying to push the Legends out. They belong there before the so called stars of today.
I would hope someone would force MR. Tandy Rice to retire before he is ready to on his own.
As for Jeanne Pruitt retiring.....I heard in Nashville over this past week end that she has been having a lot of throat problems, is WHY she retired...not because of age!!!!!
you must be out of your stupid minds, who do you think made the opry, the very ones you are saying may be to old, i think in best interest of us that work and pay to see legends, not assembly line singers, we should have a say in this i think they should stay as long as they want to, besides 55 aint old.
I support this petition. I love going to the Grand Ole Opry, Like getting pictures of the legends, they're getting up in years,some of them don't have that many more years left,keep them as members,Mr.Rice what would you do if you got to the pearly gates, & was denied to be let in, because you made the older legends retire.
I support this is petition.
I think this is so wrong,I feel they have evrry right to work as long as they wish and their health is good, why take away the most enjoyable thing they like to do. i hope this petition works out and lets tme see how loved all these wonderful people mean to us, Please keep the opera going and dont make out artist retire
let them enjoy their life to the fullest and do what they love and do what they do best,bringhappiness to us all in their songs
God Bless them all
If the legends are forced to retire, the Opry no longer remain a media for country music. Most of the younger singers sound like they need to be at a rock concert rather than the Opry. The Opry needs to get back to its roots - the type of music that made the opry famous - country music. I support this petition.
I support this petition. You bet your butt I do! I am wondering if ole Rice Tandy isn't losing some of his thought process.....hmmm How old is he again?? and MAYBE he would have a different outlook if they put an age limit on "office". The legends are just that....'LEGENDS" What about putting Tandy Rice out of office, or boycotting ANYTHING he has his hand in....Personally, I think the guy IS A BRAINLESS IDIOT,
and his only "talent" is ticking people off......So....how does one get rid of the likes of him??? THE JERK!!!
I support this petition.To make the legeons of country retire just because they are 65 makes no sense. As long as they want to sing there, they should be allowed to. After all sometimes that is the only place we get to see and hear some of our favorites that radio has cut off. With this new type of so called country hitting the airwaves, I have decided to shut off my radio and play the CD's of whoever I like be in Waylon Jennings, Ricky Van Shelton, Doug Stone, Holly Dunn, or Dolly Parton.
I support this petition. Now I know how some "artists" bacame stars. Mr Rice was in charge of the CMA. And since this article shows his complete and total lack of principals, lack of common sense and total stupidity I can definitely see how country became less than country. I say kick out the kids who have NO talent and leave those that do alone. People come to Nashville to see the Opry - the legends and the new artists. Hey Charlie Pride ran circles around the kids he was on with. He got a standing ovation from the crowd the night I was there. The others didn't. I noticed that Mr. Rice is the "past" president of the CMA. Was he forced out because of age? Maybe that's why he's so bitter!!! They make it mandatory to retire I will NEVER go to the Opry!
The older artists are the ones that make the opry worth listening to. I don't listen to most new country music on the radio and I wouldn't walk across the street to see most of them.
I support this petition. The only reason I watch the Opry is to see the legends I grew up with. Without the legends I have no reason to watch or listen. As long as there are dedicated fans like me, I hope the legends play as long as they wish. You can bet I'll be there paying my money to see Little Jimmy, Porter, and Whispering Bill when they turn 100.
You bet I support this petition. Tandy Rice's article is one of the most outrageously stupid things that I've read regarding the future of the Opry and country music in years. It reads like a bad joke. Too bad it doesn't appear to be one to Rice.
I support this petition. I grew up with the elder opry performers, and still enjoy hearing or seeing them in person. Let this piece of American Heritage live on !!
I support this petition. Has this man not heard some of the "older" country musicians lately? Some haven't lost a thing as far as their voices. As for the ones who have, it's nice just to be able to say that one has been in the same building as them! I'm sure if we wanted them to retire, we wouldn't go see the "old" country.
I support this petition.
I've always thought of The Opry and it's members as a family and we don't go around voting out our family members. Welcome the new but treasure the old. Both have reason to be there.
I support this petition. Your damnd right I support this petition...how about we retire dickface...Tandy Rice instead. I have never heard anything this stupid since the election of G W Bush...
I am constantly dissappointed in the state of the human race and am no longer surpise by the ignorant and stupidy that people spew...
Tandy Rice is an nut case and should be suspended from publish any more of his crap!
Rice flake says the older artists do not put fannies in the seats... look at Buck Owens before he he passed, Look at Roy Clark still going strong...as far as George Jones is concerned... He ain't for Tandys ole rockin chair and tandy should shut the you know what UP!
I am proud to be a country music fan and support the classic country fully and to the bitter end.
John Raines
Mill Spring, NC 28756
I support this petition and those who Care about the Opry as I do -- even being from a northern state I realize the Value of these shows going on...and on.
This organization's musical offerings relate to our daily lives with the lyrics and the membership list should reflect that as well.... Life (and Opry membership) should not be there for a select few...and have a requirement that they be younger folks or be put out to pasture at age 65. What a silly notion!!!!! Where would this institution be without our Little Jimmy Dickens for instance. He cracks us up...even if he retells his jokes. You gotta laugh at the 84 yr old guy... He can still deliver in all aspects of the performer he is...singer, story/joke teller.
I have memories of Charlie Pride playing with me last June and just so many fun times there at both the Grand Ole Opry House as well as the Ryman.
May this petition reach all around the world!!!
I support this petition. This is another example of our culture discarding our seniors. If it weren't for these great stars, there wouldn't be a Grand Old Opry for the young "seat fillers" to even perform in. Get with it folks. How old is Mr. Rice anyway?
