Personalities | George D. Hay | Early Years of Hillbilly | Country

(Radio showman, 1895–1968)

Best known as the emcee of the Grand Ole Opry from its start until the late 1940s, Hay had an earlier career as a newspaper columnist and radio announcer in Memphis, followed by a spell on WLS in Chicago, where he presented the ancestor of the National Barn Dance. Joining WSM in Nashville in 1925, he created similar programming that became the Opry. He is seen in a characteristic role in the 1940 movie Grand Ole Opry.

Styles & Forms | Early Years of Hillbilly | Country
Personalities | The Hill Billies | Early Years of Hillbilly | Country

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music, consultant editor Bob Allen

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