Editing Roy Acuff (section)

===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.