Editing Roy Acuff (section)

== Career ==

===Early music career===
In 1932, Dr. Hauer's [[medicine show]], which toured the southern Appalachian region, hired Acuff as one of its entertainers.<ref name=larkin /> Acuff began his career as a [[blackface]] performer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cockrell |first1=Dale |title=The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music |date=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0195395631 |page=38 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLZz02EzmBYC&q=%22roy+acuff%22+blackface&pg=PA38 |access-date=26 June 2020 |chapter=Blackface Minstrelsy}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pickering |first1=Michael |title=Blackface Minstrelsy in Britain |date=2016 |publisher=Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series |isbn=978-1138265363 |page=216 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ETorDwAAQBAJ&q=%22roy+acuff%22+blackface&pg=PA216 |access-date=26 June 2020}}</ref> The purpose of the entertainers was to draw a large crowd to whom Hauer could sell [[patent medicine]]s (of suspect quality) for various ailments.<ref name=goo /> While on the medicine show circuit, Acuff met the legendary Appalachian banjoist [[Clarence Ashley]], from whom he learned "[[The House of the Rising Sun]]" and "Greenback Dollar", both of which Acuff later recorded.<ref>Wilson, Joe (2001). "Tom Ashley." CD liner notes for ''Greenback Dollar: The Music of Clarence "Tom" Ashley''. [[County Records]].</ref> As the medicine show lacked microphones, Acuff learned to sing loud enough to be heard above the din, a skill that later helped him stand out on early radio broadcasts.<ref name=goo />

In 1934, Acuff left the medicine show circuit and began playing at local shows with various musicians in the Knoxville area, where he had become a celebrity and fixture in local newspaper columns.<ref>Jack Neely, "[http://www.knoxmercury.com/2016/05/25/paper-pixels-project-reveals-surprising-nuggets-local-history/ 'Papers to Pixels Project' Reveals Surprising Nuggets of Local History]". ''Knoxville Mercury'', May 25, 2016.</ref> That year, guitarist Jess Easterday and [[Lap steel guitar|Hawaiian guitar]]ist Clell Summey joined Acuff to form the Tennessee Crackerjacks, who performed regularly on the Knoxville radio stations [[WRJZ|WROL]] and [[WNOX]] (the band moved back and forth between stations as Acuff bickered with their managers about compensation).<ref name=larkin /> Within a year, the group had added bassist Red Jones and changed its name to the Crazy Tennesseans after being introduced as such by a WROL announcer named Alan Stout.<ref name=wolfe1 /> Fans often remarked to Acuff how "clear" his voice was coming through over the radio, important in an era when singers were often drowned out by string-band cacophony.<ref name=goo /> The popularity of Acuff's rendering of the song "[[The Great Speckled Bird (song)|The Great Speckled Bird]]" helped the group land a contract with [[American Record Corporation]], (ARC) for which they recorded several dozen tracks (including the band's best-known track, "[[Wabash Cannonball]]") in 1936.<ref name=goo/> Needing to complete a 20-song commitment, the band recorded two ribald tunes—including "[[When Lulu's Gone]]"—but released them under a pseudonym, the Bang Boys.<ref>Schlappi, Elizabeth. ''Roy Acuff, the Smoky Mountain Boy''. [https://books.google.com/books?id=I7NYutp7s-oC&pg=PA28 p. 28]. 1997 reprint of Pelican Publishing ([[Gretna, Louisiana]]), 1978.</ref> The group split from ARC in 1937 over a separate contract dispute.<ref name=goo />

===Grand Ole Opry===
In 1938, the Crazy Tennesseans moved to Nashville to audition for the Grand Ole Opry. Although their first audition went poorly, the band's second audition impressed Opry founder [[George D. Hay]] and producer Harry Stone, and they offered the group a contract later that year. On Hay and Stone's suggestion, Acuff changed the group's name to the Smoky Mountain Boys, referring to the [[Great Smoky Mountains|mountains near where his bandmates and he grew up]].<ref name=goo /> Shortly after the band joined the Opry, Clell Summey left the group and was replaced by [[Fiddle]] player Beecher (Pete) Kirby—best known by his stage name [[Bashful Brother Oswald]]—whom Acuff had met in a Knoxville bakery earlier that year.<ref name=goo /> Acuff's powerful lead vocals and Kirby's dobro playing and high-pitched backing vocals gave the band its distinctive sound. By 1939, Jess Easterday had switched to bass to replace Red Jones, and Acuff had added guitarist Lonnie "Pap" Wilson and banjoist Rachel Veach to fill out the band's lineup. Within a year, Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys rivaled long-time Opry banjoist [[Uncle Dave Macon]] as the troupe's most popular act.<ref name=goo />
In the same period, he was initiated to the [[Masonic Lodge]] of East Nashville No. 560.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/textfiles/famous.html | title = List of famous freemasons | website = freemasonry.bcy.ca | access-date = September 30, 2018 | language = en | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20011004153632/http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/textfiles/famous.html | quotation = East Nashville No. 560, TN [19]| archive-date = October 4, 2001 | url-status = live}}</ref><ref name ="stjohnslodgedc.org" /><ref>{{cite book | author1 = al Manhal | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Qc5aDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Lodge+No.+560+Nashville+TN.+%22%2BAcuff%2BRoy&pg=PA231 | title = Initiation in Freemasonry | language = ar | year = 2009 | access-date = September 30, 2018 | page = 231 | publisher=Al Manhal |isbn = 9796500150710}}</ref>

In spring 1940, Acuff and his band traveled to Hollywood, where they appeared with Hay and Macon in the motion picture ''Grand Ole Opry''. Acuff appeared in several subsequent B movies, including ''[[O, My Darling Clementine]]'' (1943), in which he played a [[singing cowboy|singing sheriff]]; ''[[Night Train to Memphis]]'' (1946), the title of which comes from a song Acuff recorded in 1940; and ''Home in San Antone'' (1949), in which he starred with [[Lloyd Corrigan]] and [[William Frawley]].

Acuff and his band also joined Macon and other Opry acts at various tent shows held throughout the Southeast in the early 1940s. The crowds at these shows were so large that roads leading into the venues were jammed with traffic for miles.<ref name=goo /> Starting in 1939, Acuff hosted the Opry's ''Prince Albert'' segment. He left the show in 1946 after a dispute with management.<ref name=tehc>Cusic, Don (2009)."[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=3 Roy C. Acuff]." ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved February 11, 2013.</ref>

===Acuff-Rose===
In 1942, Acuff and songwriter [[Fred Rose (songwriter)|Fred Rose]] (1897–1954) formed Acuff-Rose Music. Acuff originally sought the company to publish his own music, but soon realized that demand from other country artists existed, many of whom had been exploited by larger publishing firms.<ref name=escott>[[Colin Escott]], "Roy Acuff." In ''The Essential Roy Acuff: 1936–1949'' [CD liner notes]. Sony Music Entertainment, 1992.</ref> Due in large part to Rose's [[ASCAP]] connections and gifted ability as a talent scout, Acuff-Rose quickly became the most important publishing company in country music. In 1946, the company signed [[Hank Williams]], and in 1950, published their first major hit, [[Patti Page]]'s rendition of "[[Tennessee Waltz]]".<ref>Don Cusic, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=4 Acuff-Rose]. ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: February 11, 2013.</ref>
[[File:Acuff-Pearl Statue.JPG|thumb|right|A life-sized statue of Acuff sits on a pew alongside a statue of [[Minnie Pearl]] in the lobby of [[Ryman Auditorium]].]]

===Political ambitions===
In 1943, Acuff was initiated into the East Nashville Freemasonic Lodge in Tennessee, of which he would remain a lifelong member.<ref>{{cite web|last=Research|first=Masonic|title=Famous Freemasons|url=http://www.pinallodge30.com/famousmasons.aspx|publisher=Pinal Lodge No. 30|access-date=July 28, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224182230/http://www.pinallodge30.com/famousmasons.aspx|archive-date=December 24, 2011}}</ref><ref name ="stjohnslodgedc.org">{{cite web | url = http://www.stjohnslodgedc.org/famous-masons | title = Famous Freemasons in the course of history | language = en | website = stjohnslodgedc.org | access-date = September 30, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151116030150/http://www.stjohnslodgedc.org/famous-masons | archive-date = November 16, 2015 | url-status = live}}</ref> Later that same year, Acuff invited Tennessee Governor [[Prentice Cooper]] to be the guest of honor at a gala held to mark the nationwide premiere of the Opry's ''Prince Albert'' show. Cooper rejected the offer, however, and lambasted Acuff and his "disgraceful" music for making Tennessee the "hillbilly capital of the United States."<ref name=escott /> A Nashville journalist reported the governor's comments to Acuff and suggested Acuff run for governor himself. While Acuff initially did not take the suggestion seriously, he did accept the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] nomination for governor in [[1948 Tennessee gubernatorial election|1948]].<ref name=goo /><ref name=escott />

Acuff's nomination caused great concern for [[E. H. Crump]], the head of a [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] political machine that had dominated Tennessee state politics for nearly a quarter-century. Crump was not worried so much about losing the governor's office—in spite of Acuff's name recognition—but did worry that Acuff would draw large crowds to Republican rallies and bolster other statewide candidates. While Acuff did relatively well and helped reinvigorate Tennessee's Republicans, his opponent, [[Gordon Browning]], still won with 67% of the vote.<ref>Paul Bergeron, et al. ''Tennesseans and Their History'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1999), p. 288.</ref><ref name=faber>Charles Faber. "Roy Acuff." ''Encyclopedia of Appalachia'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), p. 1116.</ref>

===Later career===
After leaving the Opry, Acuff spent several years touring the Western United States, although demand for his appearances dwindled with the lack of national exposure and the rise of musicians such as [[Ernest Tubb]] and [[Eddy Arnold]], who were more popular with younger audiences.<ref name=rumble /> He eventually returned to the Opry, although by the 1960s, his record sales had dropped off considerably. After nearly losing his life in an automobile accident outside of [[Sparta, Tennessee]], in 1965, Acuff pondered retiring, making only token appearances on the Opry stage and similar shows,<ref name=goo /> and occasionally performing duos with long-time bandmate Bashful Brother Oswald.

In 1972, Acuff's career received a brief resurgence in the folk-revival movement after he appeared on the [[Nitty Gritty Dirt Band]] album, ''[[Will the Circle be Unbroken (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album)|Will the Circle Be Unbroken]]''.<ref name=faber /> The appearance paved the way for one of the defining moments of Acuff's career, which came on the night of March 16, 1974, when the Opry officially moved from the [[Ryman Auditorium]] to the Grand Ole Opry House at [[Opryland USA|Opryland]]. The first show at the new venue opened with a huge projection of a late-1930s image of Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys onto a large screen above the stage. A recording from one of the band's 1939 appearances was played over the sound system, with the iconic voice of George Hay introducing the band, followed by the band's performance of "Wabash Cannonball". That same night, Acuff showed President [[Richard Nixon]], an honored guest at the event, how to [[yo-yo]], and convinced the president to play several songs on the piano.<ref name=goo />

In the early 1980s, after the death of his wife, Mildred, Acuff, then in his 80s, moved into a small house on the Opryland grounds and continued performing daily on stage. He arrived early most days at the Opry before the shows and performed odd jobs, such as stocking soda in backstage refrigerators. He made a [[cameo appearance]] in the music video for [[Moe Bandy]] and [[Joe Stampley]]'s 1984 parody [[hit song]] "Where's The Dress?"<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5yMEAAAAMBAJ&dq=roy+acuff+where%27s+the+dress+moe+and+joe&pg=PT114 Roblin, Andrew. "'Video City' Woos Film Industry," ''Billboard'', March 30, 1985.] Retrieved September 16, 2019</ref> In 1988, he received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}</ref> In 1991, he was awarded the [[National Medal of Arts]],<ref>[http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html#91 Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721054307/http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html |date=July 21, 2011 }}. Retrieved: February 15, 2010.</ref> and given a lifetime achievement award by the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]], the first country music act to receive the esteemed honor.