Roy Acuff was born in Maynardville, Tennessee, to Ida Carr and Simon E. Neil Acuff (a Baptist preacher, judge and tenant farmer), the third of their five children. Originally, Acuff didn't plan to be a singer. Acuff sang in the church choir as a schoolboy, but he was more interested in sports, particularly baseball. Not only was he attracted to the sport, he had a wild streak — after his family moved to Knoxville, he was frequently arrested for fighting. Acuff continued to concentrate on playing ball, eventually becoming strong enough to earn a tryout for the major leagues. However, that tryout never took place. Before he had a chance to play, he was struck by a severe sunstroke while he was on a fishing trip; after the sunstroke, Acuff suffered a nervous breakdown. While he was recovering, he decided that a career in baseball was no longer possible, so he decided to become an entertainer. He began to learn the fiddle and became an apprentice of Doc Hauer, a local medicine show man.
While traveling with the medicine show, Acuff learned how to be a performer -- he learned how to sing, how to imitate, how to entertain, how to put on a show. Soon, Acuff joined the Tennessee Crackerjacks, who had a regular slot on Knoxville radio station WROL. Although he was performing frequently, he wasn't making any significant headway, failing to become a star in Tennessee. One song changed that situation -- "The Great Speckled Bird," an old gospel tune that had become popular with the Church of God sect. After another radio entertainer wrote the words out to the song, Acuff began performing it in his shows. Quickly, he became popular throughout the eastern part of Tennessee and was asked to record the song by ARC, a record label with national distribution. Acuff headed north to Chicago for a recording session, which resulted in 20 different songs. In addition to "The Great Speckled Bird," he recorded "Steamboat Whistle Blues" and "The Wabash Cannonball," another Tennessee standard that featured the singer imitating the sound of a train whistle; he also made a handful of risqué numbers during these sessions, which were released under the name the Bang Boys.
Music career
He then turned his attention to his father's fiddle and began playing in a traveling medicine show, often performing in blackface. He toured the Southern United States and eventually formed a band called "The Crazy Tennesseans".
In 1936, he recorded his two most enduring songs, the traditional The Great Speckled Bird and The Wabash Cannonball. He debuted at the Grand Ole Opry two years later. He was booked as a fiddler, and he should have played the Turkey Buzzard for a square dancing segment, but he decided to try and sing The Great Speckled Bird. His decision was not well received, however. Acuff became a regular on the Opry, forming a backing band called the Smoky Mountain Boys, led by friend and Dobro player Bashful Brother Oswald. By 1940 he was the star of the show.
The Great Roy Acuff LP (1964)Acuff's recording of The House of the Rising Sun on November 3, 1938 is the first known commercial recording of the song. He released several singles in the 1940s such as The Wreck on the Highway, Beneath That Lonely Mound of Clay and The Precious Jewel. During the 1940s he also appeared in eight movies.
In 1942, a man of many talents, he formed a music publishing venture with Chicago songwriter Fred Rose. Acuff-Rose Music became a country music phenomenon, owning huge numbers of copyrights including those by Marty Robbins, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and all of the songs of Hank Williams.
As his record sales declined in the late 1940s and 1950s, Acuff spent most of his time on the road, becoming one of the hottest tickets in country music. In 1962 he was the first living musician elected to The Country Music Hall of Fame. By the 1970s Acuff performed almost exclusively with the Grand Ole Opry, at Opryland USA, greatly legitimizing it as the top institution in country music. He made one rare appearance at Carlton Haney's Camp Spring Bluegrass Festival in 1971.
For his contribution to the recording industry, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located on 1541 Vine St. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1991.
Political career
Acuff had a brief affair with politics, losing campaigns for the governor of Tennessee as a Republican in 1944 and 1948. In 1970, he campaigned for his friend Tex Ritter in his bid for the GOP nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from Tennessee.
Trivia
A popular legend is that Japanese troops during World War II would enter battle yelling, "To hell with Roosevelt! To hell with Babe Ruth! To hell with Roy Acuff!"
Acuff was initiated as an Entered Apprentice at the East Nashville Freemasonry Lodge in 1943, and raised to Master Mason in 1944. He was made a 33rd Degree Mason on 21 October 1985.
Acuff is thought to be one inspiration for Henry Gibson's character Haven Hamilton in Robert Altman's film Nashville. The fictionalized character was reportedly a composite of several well-known musicians, including Acuff and Hank Snow.
Acuff on recording: "A little secret of my policy in the studio ... whenever you once decide that you are going to record a number, put everything you've got into it. Don't say, 'Oh, we'll take it over and do it again' because every time you go through it you lose just a little something ... [l]et's do it the first time and to hell with the rest of them" - on the classic album Will the Circle Be Unbroken.
U.S. Olympian high jumper Amy Acuff is his distant cousin. Some sources erroneously list her as his daughter.
Turn Your Radio On
Roy Acuff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the mighty host of heaven sings
Turn your radio on
(Turn your radio on, turn your radio on)
If you want to hear the songs of Zion
Coming from the land of endless spring
Get in touch with God
Turn your radio on (turn your radio on)
And listen to the music in the air
Turn your radio on
(Turn your radio on, heaven's glory shared, heaven's glory shared)
Turn the lights down low
(Turn the lights down low and listen to the Master's radio)
Get in touch with God (get in touch with God)
Turn your radio on (turn your radio on)
Brother, listen in to the Gloryland chorus
Listen to the glad Hosannas roll
Turn your radio on
(Turn your radio on, turn your radio on)
Get a little taste of joys awaitin'
Get a little heaven in your soul
Get in touch with God
(Get in touch with God, turn your radio on)
Turn your radio on (turn your radio on)
And listen to the music in the air
Turn your radio on
(Turn your radio on, heaven's glory shared, heaven's glory shared)
Turn the lights down low
(Turn the lights down low and listen to the Master's radio)
Get in touch with God (get in touch with God)
Turn your radio on (turn your radio on)
Listen to the songs of the fathers and the mothers
And the many friends gone on before
Turn your radio on
(Turn your radio on, turn your radio on)
Some eternal morning we shall meet them
Over on the hallelujah shore
Get in touch with God
(Get in touch with God, turn your radio on)
Turn your radio on (turn your radio on)
And listen to the music in the air
Turn your radio on
(Turn your radio on, heaven's glory shared, heaven's glory shared)
Turn the lights down low
(Turn the lights down low and listen to the Master's radio)
Get in touch with God (get in touch with God)
Turn your radio on (turn your radio on)
The lyrics of Roy Acuff's "Turn Your Radio On" call on listeners to tune in to a spiritual radio station to hear the "songs of Zion" and "the Gloryland chorus" as sung by the "mighty host of heaven." The song encourages listeners to turn down the lights and "get in touch with God" as they listen to the music on the airwaves. The lyrics also suggest that through listening to the spiritual music on the radio, listeners can gain a taste of the joys that await them in heaven, and connect with loved ones who have passed away.
One interpretation of the song's message is that it is a call to focus on the spiritual realm and to seek a deeper connection with God. Listening to songs of faith and hope on the radio can help listeners to feel a sense of unity with others who share their faith, and to remember loved ones who have passed on. The song's upbeat tempo and joyful lyrics suggest that tuning in to the spiritual radio station can bring a sense of excitement and positivity to listeners' lives.
Overall, "Turn Your Radio On" offers a message of hope, joy, and connection. It encourages listeners to find comfort and inspiration in spiritual music, and to seek a deeper connection with the divine.
Line by Line Meaning
Come and listen in to the radio station
Join the radio broadcast
Where the mighty host of heaven sings
Listen to the heavenly choir singing
Turn your radio on
Switch on your radio
(Turn your radio on, turn your radio on)
(Repeat the previous instruction)
If you want to hear the songs of Zion
If you want to listen to hymns
Coming from the land of endless spring
Broadcasting from a heavenly place
Get in touch with God
Connect with the divine
(Get in touch with God, turn your radio on)
(Connect with the divine by switching on your radio)
And listen to the music in the air
Listen to the spiritual songs
(Turn your radio on, heaven's glory shared, heaven's glory shared)
(Switch on your radio to share the glory of heaven)
Turn the lights down low
Dim the lights
(Turn the lights down low and listen to the Master's radio)
(Listen to religious music while in low lighting)
Brother, listen in to the Gloryland chorus
Listen to the heavenly choir sing
Listen to the glad Hosannas roll
Listen to joyful praises
Get a little taste of joys awaitin'
Experience a preview of the joys in the afterlife
Get a little heaven in your soul
Feel a bit of heavenly peace
Listen to the songs of the fathers and the mothers
Listen to hymns from past generations
And the many friends gone on before
And the departed loved ones
Some eternal morning we shall meet them
We will reunite with them in the afterlife
Over on the hallelujah shore
On the heavenly shore
Turn your radio on
Switch on your radio
(Turn your radio on, turn your radio on)
(Repeat the previous instruction)
(get in touch with God)
(Connect with the divine)
(turn your radio on)
(Switch on your radio)
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Albert E. Brumley Sr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind