Uncle Dave Macon and Bill Monroe Grand Ole Opry Radio

This is a short snippet of a live radio airing of the Grand Ole Opry on April 12, 1941. This was taken from a 7" home recording disc. Someone likely sat their microphone close to the radio speaker while listening in to WSM. Enjoy this rare glimpse into what it was like hearing two of the Opry's biggest performers of the day. April,1941 was a good time to be on the Grand Ole Opry. The country's economy had nearly recovered from the Great Depression and a feature-length Republic Pictures film entitled "Grand Ole Opry" had hit theaters less than a year before featuring some of the Opry's most popular stars such as Roy Acuff and as Acuff called him, the 'greatest of the folk song singers,' Uncle Dave Macon. In this recording we first hear Uncle Dave Macon and his son Dorris Macon performing a love ballad that dates to 1886, the very year that young David first had his picture made with a banjo at the age of 16. This piece fades into audience applause and the ripping fiddle of (likely) Art Wooten with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys. Thankfully, we get a short verse, chorus and temp change before the recording cuts out likely due to being recorded over with the same disc cutter or turning the radio dial a little too far, and then back in for a few fleeting seconds. In the short slot Monroe's voice and Clyde Moody's guitar come through clear and distinct. The newspaper article shown is from Boone, N.C. one month after this radio slot was recorded. This recording of the Blue Grass Boys is from before their November, 1941 recording session in Atlanta. Thank goodness things like this still turn up. Y'all enjoy! I do not own the rights to this video. This video is intended for educational purposes.

Added 18 Sept 2026