More than 15,000 broadcasts from the Unbroken Circle
By Preshias Harris
Can it really be 100 years? Is it truly a full century since that first show was broadcast over the airwaves from the WSM radio studio in Nashville? On Saturday, November 28, 1925, announcer George D. Hay stood at the microphone and introduced 77-year-old Uncle Jimmy Thompson who sat down and entertained radio listeners with tunes played on his fiddle.
That show was titled WSM Barn Dance but by 1927 became better known by the name familiar to country music fans around the world: The Grand Ole Opry.
WSM had only been on the air since October 5, 2025, owned by the National Life and Accident Insurance Company that chose WSM as their call letters to promote their company slogan, “We Shield Millions.” By 1932, WSM was also reaching millions with a power boost to 50,000 watts at 650 kHz on the radio dial, as Tennessee’s only ‘clear channel’ allocation, heard by much of the United States after sundown.
Fast forward through the decades to November 28, 2025, as The Grand Ole Opry celebrated the 100th anniversary of its inaugural broadcast with two shows and more than 25 Opry members commemorating 100 years since that single fiddle tune launched a legacy which now includes over 15,000 broadcasts, countless stars, millions of fans, and one enduring unbroken circle.
Fittingly, the show ran on the Opry’s flagship radio station, WSM, and also aired on SiriusXM as well as around the world via livestream on Opry social media on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
In a poignant moment, Ricky Skaggs (Opry member since 1982) opened the show with a performance of “Tennessee Wagoner,” while playing the very fiddle with which Uncle Jimmy Thompson started it all, exactly 100 years ago. The night’s cast of more than 25 Opry members appeared on stage as Skaggs kicked off the show.
Former longtime Opry executive EW “Bud” Wendell raised the curtain to kick off the Opry’s 100th Anniversary night. At the age of 98, Mr. Wendell is only two years younger than the Opry itself and is the oldest member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
At the top of the show, Vince Gill (Opry member since 1991) introduced and played the new exclusive Opry 100 guitar that Martin Guitars designed for the centennial anniversary and in celebration of all the music to be made in the future on the Opry, marking the first time this limited-edition guitar has ever been played publicly.
Then the hits – and the stars – just kept on coming.
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