NASHVILLE, TN â The first woman to ever yell âWOOOOOO!â at a bluegrass show over eight decades ago will be honored by the city of Nashville with a statue on Lower Broadway.
Mayor Freddie OâConnell acknowledged Vicki Lynn Bludso (103) in a heartfelt speech during the statueâs unveiling ceremony. “When a 22-year-old Vicki Lynn devised her perfect exclamation during the open bars of ‘Shady Grove,’ she had no idea that ‘WOOOO!’ would change the world,” OâConnell said.
“Heck, I yelled it last night during my daughterâs piano recital,” he grinned.
Despite the praise, the centenarian Bludso appeared unfazed in her remarks. âIâd just gotten out of a bad marriage and was letting off some steam,â she shrugged. âThe band kicked in, and it just came out. I didnât think the whole world would start sayin’ it.”
The last surviving member of The Red Boot Boys, fiddle player Jimmy âSlacksâ McCoy (99) was on stage at the time of the incident. âWhen it happened, I froze. I thought a lady had fallen out of the Ryman balcony.â
As the sound caught on, McCoy said it became nearly inescapable whenever The Red Boot Boys played. âSometimes theyâd yell it before a tune started or right in the middle of a solo. By the time we came off the road, our nerves were fried. I think it broke up the band.â He added, âEither that or the excessive drinking.â
The 14-foot bronze statue depicts a young and wild-eyed Bludso, head tilted back, bellowing with the now-signature âOâ-shaped mouth. Little did she know that âWOOOO!â would go on to span the worlds of music, sports, frats, bachelorette parties, transpotainment and extreme temperature change.
âI only said it once. Now Iâm stuck with it.â Bludso reminded the crowd.
Bludsoâs statue will join the statue of Rick Funt, more famously known as the 1974 creator of yelling âFreebird!â during a show of a band that did not, in fact, know the song.
