Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was founded by Matt Davenport, Danny Gregg, and Ty Herndon, the last of whom became a solo artist in the mid-1990s. After undergoing several membership changes in its initial years, the band consisted of the same six members from 1989 to 2022: Marty Roe, Gene Johnson, Jimmy Olander, Brian Prout (drums), Dan Truman (keyboards), and Dana Williams. After Prout and Johnson both departed in 2022, they were replaced by Micah Schweinsberg and Carson McKee respectively.
Diamond Rio performing at Kunsan Air Base, 2006
Ty Herndon (seen here in 2009) was an early member of the Grizzly River Boys, who later became Diamond Rio.
Craig Wiseman wrote the band's singles "Bubba Hyde", "Walkin' Away", and "Holdin'".
Opryland USA was a theme park in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally from 1972 to 1997, and for a special Christmas-themed engagement every December from 1993 to 1997. During the late 1980s, nearly 2.5 million people visited the park annually. Billed as the "Home of American Music", Opryland USA featured a large number of musical shows along with typical amusement park rides, such as roller coasters.
Opryland USA logo from 1972 to the late 1980s
The General Jackson Showboat opened in 1985 as an Opryland attraction
The Delta atrium opened at the Opryland Hotel in 1996
The Rock n' Roller Coaster, now named Canyon Blaster, was moved to The Great Escape in 2003
