Fishin’ suppers and bluegrass tales
AROUND THE OPRY TABLE
A Feast of Recipes and Stories from The Grand Ole Opry
283 pp. Center Street - Hachette Book Group USA $24.99
By Kay West
Reviewed by Gary Presley
Plain folks, plain food ... you’ll expect that, but not more, when you pick up Around the Opry Table. True enough, that’s the basics of the book, but author Kay West includes more than one recipe that originates from outside Appalachia, the seminal geography of the music that turned Nashville, Tennessee into “Music City USA.” But it’s not the food that’s made to order in West’s effort; it’s the character sketches and historical tidbits about singers, songwriters, and country music legends.
Early on, there’s the story of Benjamin Francis Ford, nicknamed “Whitey” because of his cotton-top, but famous as the “Duke of Paducah” on the Opry stage. Ford enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1918, but later became an itinerant banjo player for radio shows like WLS’ National Barn Dance. Eventually, Ford compiled “an enormous catalog of jokes and developed his country bumpkin character.” The Duke’s favorite dish? Spaghetti and meatballs, complete with “Italian spices”—meaning oregano—a dish he learned from an Italian chef in New Jersey.
The recipes are interesting, it’s true. A reader will find everything from pear pie, from bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs by way of a longtime fan, all the way to mega-star Brad Paisley’s “favorite fishin’ supper”—Faye Smith’s Fried Pork Chops and Gravy.
Beyond the recipes—some to try; some to skip—readers will be fascinated by obscure country music history. West, an award-winning Nashville writer, doesn’t focus on the big-name performers alone. Of course, there’s mention of Johnny Cash, Alison Kraus, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, and others, but music fans will want Around the Opry Table for the history it puts on the table more than for the recipes it holds. There’s no mention of Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, or Carrie Underwood, but the country music gourmet will delight in stories about legends like Roy Acuff, Hank Williams, Tex Ritter, and Bill Monroe.
The Grand Ole Opry originated on WSM in 1925 as a promotional enterprise broadcast from the halls of the National Life and Accident Insurance Company in Nashville. The music itself—at least that part of the genre rooted in Anglo-Celtic folk music, gospel, and African-American rhythms—is hardscrabble and hard-living. In those days, and for years later, country music was considered déclassé in the city that styled itself the Athens of the South. At first, only a few of the Opry members—Minnie Pearl, for one, and the wife of Tex Ritter—were welcomed by Nashville’s elite.
History buffs will be intrigued by a character sketch of Uncle Dave Macon, son of a Confederate army captain who bought a hotel after the Civil War. Adept with a banjo, the younger Macon prospered as the owner of a horse-and-wagon freight company until Henry Ford put the Model T on the road. Macon turned his avocation into a vocation and eventually took the stage at the Opry.
West relates how the next generation of artists who joined the Opry often toured crammed into one or two automobiles. When times grew hard, they were paid in produce and pullets; when times were better, they often were invited to big spreads laid out by local fans. There’s little discussion of today’s mega-stars, who cruise on luxurious tour buses, enjoy huge suites as dressing rooms, and employ personal chefs. She’s more likely to focus on roots artists like Kitty Wells, the original Honky-tonk Angel. “One of Kitty Wells’ proudest roles was homemaker,” West writes, “and she was known among family, friends, and colleagues for her skills in the kitchen. Responding to requests for her recipes, she compiled a couple of cookbooks, written in her warm, down-home style.”
It’s also clear from Around the Opry Table that the business and the art of country music and country cooking go together. West writes about the Opry links to the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain, Rudy’s Farm Sausage, Odom’s Tennessee Pride Real Country Sausage, and, of course, its perennial sponsor, Martha White Flour.
West’s effort will appeal to nearly any country music fan’s appetite. But readers who knows Bill Monroe invented Bluegrass music or that Jimmie Rodgers’ widow lent Ernest Tubb the ”Singing Brakeman’s” guitar to use in Tubb’s first recording session music will want the book for its history and its insights into the lives of early Opry stars.
By the way, there’s no favorite dish from the lean-as-a-mandolin-string Monroe, but Mrs. Tubb’s recipe for macaroni salad is included. Surprisingly, she adds Miracle Whip rather than the southern favorite, Blue Plate.
Gary Presley is an Associate Editor of the Internet Review of Books.