Grand Ole Opry to release three CD series

It was more than 50 years in the making and worth the wait for music fans who will be able to hear all kinds of country on the three-CD series Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection plus a contemporary Our Kind of Country CD released today by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® and the Grand Ole Opry®. The Classic Collection includes live performances recorded on the celebrated stage of the Grand Ole Opry spanning six decades from the mid 1950s to the 2000s.

A long list of country stars’ memorable performances at the Opry is captured on the Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection CDs: Duets, Outlaws, and Classics. Our Kind of Country, meanwhile, features studio recordings of some of today’s superstar Opry members’ biggest hits of the past ten years. The CDs are sold separately for $11.99 and are available at all Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Grand Ole Opry retail locations as well as online at crackerbarrel.com and opry.com.

“The classic collection is truly ‘classic’ in every sense of the word,” said Julie Craig, marketing manager for Cracker Barrel. “It’s as close to an Opry experience as you can get without actually being in the Opry House. Listeners will enjoy high quality sound on every track, songs by historically renowned artists and enduring examples of some truly great performances. And Our Kind Of Country is an incredible showcase of the Opry’s current superstars and more recent additions—a dozen of the Opry’s best available on one CD for the first time.”

Artists on the Our Kind of Country CD are Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Diamond Rio, Terri Clark, Montgomery Gentry, and Dierks Bentley. The 12 tracks are studio recordings. Every artist is a Grand Ole Opry member, from McEntire (member since 1985) to Shelton (member since 2010). The artists included have collectively won every major award presented by the Country Music Association, including Entertainer of the Year (Jackson, McEntire and Paisley).

Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection - Duets spotlights live versions of some of country music’s iconic duos (Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton) as well as artists for whom live versions of collaborative efforts are quite rare (Glen Campbell and Steve Wariner, Ricky Skaggs and Emmylou Harris). The Louvin Brothers’ “When I Stop Dreaming” is the only live Opry recording of the brothers known to exist. Other artists on the Duets CD are Johnny Cash and June Carter; George Jones and Tammy Wynette; Jack Greene and Jeannie Seely; Bobby Lord and Patsy Cline; Emmylou Harris and Ricky Skaggs; Loretta Lynn and Ernest Tubb; Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius; and Ronnie Dunn and Rebecca Lynn Howard.

Artists on the Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection - Outlaws CD are Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kris Kristofferson, Bobby Bare, and George Jones. Together, those featured have collected hundreds of Top 40 country hits and innumerable industry awards.

Artists on Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection – Classics CD include Tammy Wynette; Johnny Cash; Patsy Cline; George Jones; Loretta Lynn; The Oak Ridge Boys; Dolly Parton; Porter Wagoner; Ray Price; Marty Robbins; Jack Greene; and Garth Brooks.

Grand Ole Opry Classic Collection is the latest in Cracker Barrel’s exclusive music program. On May 16, Cracker Barrel released Teddy Gentry’s Best New Nashville with original music from 12 talented new artists. On May 2, Cracker Barrel released Randy Travis’ self-titled album Randy Travis. In March of this year, Cracker Barrel released Kenny Rogers’ The Love of God, which debuted at #8 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and #2 on the Top Christian Albums chart. In January 2011, Cracker Barrel released The Grascals & Friends - Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin, which debuted at #1 on Billboard magazine’s Bluegrass Albums chart and at #26 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. In November of 2010, Cracker Barrel released Smokey Robinson’s Now & Then, which debuted at #19 on Billboard magazine’s R&B chart and was nominated for an NAACP IMAGE AWARD. September saw the release of the self-titled Rodney Atkins, which includes four #1 hits, and also the release of Mandy Barnett’s Winter Wonderland, which offers up all the authentic sounds of holiday traditions. In July, the company released Craig Morgan’s That’s Why-Collector’s Edition, and in May the release of Wynonna’s Love Heals debuted at #7 on the Billboard Magazine Top Country Albums chart. February’s release of Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart, where it spent nine weeks in the top position and 18 weeks overall in one of the three top positions. One of its songs was nominated for a Grammy® award. Over the last few years, Cracker Barrel has released exclusive CDs with Alan Jackson, the Zac Brown Band, George Jones, Montgomery Gentry, Dolly Parton, Bill Gaither, Ricky Skaggs, Aaron Tippin, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Josh Turner, Amy Grant, Kenny Rogers, Sara Evans, and Charlie Daniels.