Oldest Member of Grand Ole Opry : Harmonica Player Herman Crook, 89

Herman Crook, a harmonica player who was the oldest member of the Grand Ole Opry, died Friday, a hospital spokeswoman said. He was 89.

Crook died of respiratory failure after entering Park View Medical Center on Monday night while suffering a heart attack, said hospital spokeswoman Fran Rajotte.

Crook was the last remaining charter member of the Grand Ole Opry, founded in 1925. He returned to the Opry last weekend after a nine-week absence because of health problems.

‘Wanted It Country’

“He loved country music, but he wanted it country,” said Opry star Roy Acuff, who at 84 is now the oldest Opry member. “He didn’t go for any of this rock ‘n’ roll type stuff.”

Jerry Strobel, an Opry spokesman, saw Crook’s final performance Saturday night. “Herman was pretty weak. Since he went into the hospital, he had lost a lot of weight. I thought all in all he did a very fine job. He gathered a little more strength once he hit the spotlight,” he said.

Although Crook was a harmonica player, Acuff said he liked to sing and did so occasionally on the show. “His favorite number was ‘Amazing Grace.’ ”

Crook, orphaned early in life, was raised in Nashville by brothers and sisters from whom he learned songs.

String Band Leader

In 1926, Crook led a country music string band on the Saturday Night Barn Dance and went on the Opry in 1927. The band is the only act left that represents the original tradition of the Opry. The band plays for cloggers, who perform traditional mountain dancing.

“Back in the early days--before the Opry was actually started--we used to get two or three together and go around to different houses to play for folks. We didn’t charge anything. It was just for fun,” Crook said in an interview.

“We had gathered at a certain home one Sunday afternoon, and the people told us about this young lady down the street who played the piano. I suggested they invite her to join the playing.”

The woman, Helen Lee Adams, became his wife.

Crook was among the Opry musicians who participated in Nashville’s first recording sessions in 1928. By the 1960s, the Opry had become a modern, highly professional program, and the traditional sound of Crook’s group, called the Crook Brothers Band, became a less prominent part of the show.

Didn’t Smoke or Drink

“I’ve never taken a drink of whiskey, smoked a cigarette or spoken a curse word in my life. I never did take those habits up, and I’m glad I didn’t,” Crook said.

Services are scheduled Monday at Hermitage Funeral Home. Opry member Roy Drusky will sing two songs, backed by the Carollee Singers. Jerry Whitehurst will play the piano.

Survivors include his wife, 5 sons, 2 daughters, 19 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.