Since launching 100 years ago, the Grand Ole Opry has become the pinnacle of country music, serving as a hallowed stage for the genre's legends and future stars. Many of them have been invited to become Opry members, which remains the highest achievement for a country artist.
"Being part of the Grand Ole Opry's story is the greatest honor in our careers. We feel lucky to be a part of this house and the family who always lives inside," Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood write in the foreword of 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry, the official book available April 15.
In addition to the book — which details behind-the-scenes moments, historic performances, and memorable tales from the famed radio show and venue — the Opry is commemorating its centennial anniversary with a series of events throughout the year. The Opry will host more shows than ever before, including a "Opry 100 Honors" series and 100 Opry debuts; release a children's book, Howdy! Welcome To The Grand Ole Opry, in September; and head overseas for the first time with a special show at London's Royal Albert Hall in the fall.
NBC will join in the celebrations with a star-studded, televised special, "Opry 100: A Live Celebration," airing March 19. The three-hour event will feature performances from some of country music's biggest names, several of whom — including Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, and Lainey Wilson — are active Opry members. While the current membership tallies 76, the Opry has inducted more than 200 artists to its renowned cast.
"For decades, Opry members have been much of the heart and soul of the show," Grand Ole Opry Senior VP/Executive Producer Dan Rogers tells GRAMMY.com. "Opry membership is all about relationships — the relationships members share with fans, with each other, and with the ideal of the Opry itself."
Sixty-one of the 76 current Opry members have received GRAMMY nominations, and 41 of those nominated artists have become GRAMMY winners. Ahead of "Opry 100: A Live Celebration," get to know all of the GRAMMY-winning Opry members.
Bobby Bare
Bobby Bare grew up in Ohio, living and working on a farm. "All we had was the Grand Ole Opry," the country legend said in Ken Burke's 2005 book, Country Music Changed My Life.
He went on to become a six-time GRAMMY-nominated country star, winning in the Best Country & Western Recording Category for "Detroit City" at the 6th GRAMMY Awards in 1964. Just over a year later, Bare was inducted into the Opry on Aug. 7, 1965.
Eventually, he left "when the attendance requirements became too cumbersome" for members, author Craig Shelburne explains in 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry. But more than 50 years later, on April 7, 2018 — Bare's 83rd birthday — he was welcomed back to the Opry as a member by his "biggest champion," Garth Brooks.
Clint Black
Clint Black rose to fame in the late '80s as part of the genre's "Class of '89." He'd make his Opry debut that year, and less than two years later was inducted as a member on Jan. 10, 1991. With 13 chart-topping hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart including "Killin' Time" off his debut album of the same name, Black soon became an Opry regular.
Black won a GRAMMY at the 1999 GRAMMYs thanks to "Same Old Train," his collaboration with Joe Diffie, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, and Dwight Yoakam for the Columbia Records compilation Tribute To Tradition; the song was awarded Best Country Collaboration With Vocals. While that remains his sole win, Black has received 11 nominations in total.
Garth Brooks
Also part of the "Class of '89," Garth Brooks has been a mainstay at the Opry since his induction on October 6, 1990. The singer has invited and inducted countless Opry members into the family. "This place has always put the music first and the people that play it," Brooks said after inducting Bobby Bare.
Brooks is no stranger to the GRAMMYs, either. With 14 nominations, Brooks has taken home two golden gramophones: Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for "Ropin' The Wind" in 1992, and Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "In Another's Eyes" in 1998 — the latter alongside his wife, frequent collaborator and fellow Opry member, Trisha Yearwood.
Steven Curtis Chapman
The Grand Ole Opry has a long history of welcoming artists from other genres, and contemporary Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman is one of those acts. While the singer has amassed 50 No. 1 singles as a Christian artist, he's also collaborated with country singers, including fellow Opry members Brad Paisley and Lady A's Hillary Scott. Fittingly, Lady A welcomed him into the Opry family on Nov. 1, 2024.
More than 30 years before his Opry induction, Chapman won his first golden gramophone. At the 1992 GRAMMYs, the singer's For The Sake Of The Call won Best Pop Gospel Album; though the Category (which was eventually renamed Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album) is now defunct, it helped Chapman win all five of his GRAMMYs to date.
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Diamond Rio
Like Garth Brooks, Diamond Rio has 14 career GRAMMY nominations. The six-member band made their Opry debut in 1991, the same year they released their debut album.
Seven years later, they became the first group since The Whites, who joined in 1984, to receive Opry membership when they were inducted on April 18, 1998. Thirteen years after that, Diamond Rio would receive their first GRAMMY win in the Southern, Country, Or Bluegrass Gospel Album Category for The Reason.
Larry Gatlin (of the Gatlin Brothers)
Larry Gatlin saw early success as a backing vocalist for Kris Kristofferson and as a solo artist before teaming up with his brothers, Steve and Rudy, as the Gatlin Brothers. A prolific songwriter, Larry had his first solo hit in 1975 with "Broken Lady," which also won him a GRAMMY for Best Country Song at the 1977 GRAMMYs.
The year prior, The Gatlin Brothers were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on Christmas Day. Gatlin would continue writing the majority of the band's hits solo, while acts like Kristofferson, Glen Campbell, and Elvis Presley also recorded his songs.
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle has her big sister, Loretta Lynn, to thank for her Opry debut. "My first time to perform on the Opry, Loretta was sick and she talked them into letting me perform in her spot," Gayle told Country Stars Central. "I remember singing 'Ribbon of Darkness Over Me' in my little shiny dress my mother made me."
She'd go on to pave her own successful path, which included the GRAMMY-winning hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." The chart-topper was named Best Country Vocal Performance, Female at the 1978 GRAMMYs. Nearly 40 years later, on Jan. 21, 2017, she was officially invited into the Opry family.
Vince Gill
Before Vince Gill embraced a career as a solo artist, he toured with Bluegrass Alliance, Ricky Skaggs' Boone Creek, and Rosanne Cash as a guitarist. Two years before he notched his first GRAMMY in 1991 for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for "When I Call Your Name," Gill made his Opry debut as a solo artist — and performed his future GRAMMY winner.
On Aug. 10, 1991, Gill was inducted into the Opry by Roy Acuff. Along with remaining a frequent performer on the famed radio show, the country star has also further cemented his status with the Recording Academy; with 22 GRAMMYs to his name, Gill is the winningest male country artist as of press time.
Emmylou Harris
A 13-time GRAMMY winner, Emmylou Harris received her first golden gramophone in 1977 for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female for Elite Hotel. Additional GRAMMY highlights her win for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal in 1988 for Trio, her collaboration with Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton.
Several years later, Harris was inducted into the Opry on Jan. 25, 1992. Wrecking Ball, which won Harris a GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1996, will be inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2025. It marks Harris' second GRAMMY Hall of Fame inclusion, following Trio.
Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson made his Opry debut in March 1990 and, a little over a year later, was inducted as a member in June 1991. "When I walked out there, I don't even remember it," he recalls in 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry. "I was so nervous . . . I'm standing there with Randy Travis, and Roy Acuff is standing beside me. . . . I think I was just in shock."
Just months after his induction, Jackson earned his first GRAMMY nominations. His first win would come 11 years later at the 2003 GRAMMYs, where he took home Best Country Song for his heartfelt response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)." Earning his second golden gramophone in 2011 for his Zac Brown Band collaboration, "As She's Walking Away" (Best Country Collaboration With Vocals), Jackson tallies 20 total nominations.
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Alison Krauss
Thanks to her work as both a solo artist and the frontwoman of Union Station, Alison Krauss has won a whopping 27 GRAMMYs — making her the Opry member with the most GRAMMY wins, and the fifth winningest artist of all time.
A teenage bluegrass fiddle prodigy, Krauss made her Opry debut at 17. By 18, she received her first GRAMMY nomination, and the following year in 1991, she won a GRAMMY for Best Bluegrass Recording for I've Got That Old Feeling.
At 21, Krauss was inducted into the Opry by Garth Brooks in 1993. It was a momentous occasion for the singer, as Krauss became the first bluegrass artist to join the Opry since Jim & Jesse and the Osborne Brothers were inducted in 1964.
Lady A
NBC specials are significant to Lady A, the country trio of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood. During "Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music" on Jan. 21, 2021, Lady A was surprised with an Opry invitation and immediate induction.
The seven-time GRAMMY Award winners took home their first GRAMMY at the 2010 GRAMMYs, for Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for "I Run To You." The next year, Lady A swept the 2011 ceremony with five trophies, thanks to their global crossover hit "Need You Now." (Scott added two more GRAMMYs to her collection in 2017, as her family's Christian project, aptly called Hillary Scott & The Scott Family, won Best Contemporary Christian Music Album and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.)
Little Big Town
The Grand Ole Opry holds special meaning to Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. It was where the quartet made its first public appearance as a band in 1999. Fifteen years later, Vince Gill and Little Jimmy Dickens inducted the group on Oct. 17, 2014.
The three-time GRAMMY winners took home their first trophy the year before for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Pontoon." In 2016, they made their GRAMMY stage debut with a performance of their hotly debated hit "Girl Crush," which took home Best Country Duo/Group Performance that night. In fact, all three of Little Big Town's wins have been in that Category, with their third coming in 2018 thanks to the Taylor Swift-penned ballad "Better Man."
Patty Loveless
First visiting the Opry as the guest of Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner at just 14 years old, Patty Loveless recalled that she "felt like I was in hillbilly heaven." Years later, she was added to the lineup of a traveling Opry concert before she became a member on June 11, 1988.
Despite countless GRAMMY nominations, it would take another decade before Loveless won her first of two golden gramophones. In 1999, Loveless was one of the who's-who cast of country singers on the Best Country Collaboration With Vocals winner "Same Old Train"; in 2011, she won a GRAMMY on her own thanks to Mountain Soul II, which won Bluegrass Album.
Barbara Mandrell
A steel guitar prodigy nicknamed "Princess of the Steel," Barbara Mandrell opened for Johnny Cash and toured military bases with her family band. According to 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry, she "decided to retire from music as an 18-year-old newlywed." During a family vacation to Nashville, that sentiment changed with an Opry visit. Inspired to get back into music, she joined the cast in 1972.
Eleven years later, she won back-to-back GRAMMYs in 1983 and 1984: Best Inspirational Performance for He Set My Life to Music, and Best Soul Gospel Performance By A Duo Or Group for "I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today," respectively.
In 1997, she retired once again, and her final performance as an artist was fittingly at the Opry. "I chose that venue because it felt like my home," she said.
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Ashley McBryde
Ashley McBryde's songs were made for the Opry stage. During a press conference ahead of her Opry induction on Dec. 10, 2022, she explained her set list for the occasion. "Obviously, I'll be playing 'Girl Goin' Nowhere,'" she says, referring to her breakout hit. "I wrote that song in hopes of playing the Opry some day."
While "Girl Goin' Nowhere" and its namesake album helped McBryde earn her first three GRAMMY nominations, her GRAMMY win came a couple years later. McBryde and fellow Opry member Carly Pearce won Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" in 2023.
Del McCoury
Bluegrass musician Del McCoury made his first Grand Ole Opry appearance in 1963 as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys. As McCoury recalled, it was a much different time back then: "I wasn't in the union yet, and you had to belong to the local union in Nashville to be able to play. You could sing, but you couldn't play."
Inducted 40 years after his debut, McCoury has remained a staple at the Opry as well as at the GRAMMYs. A 16-time GRAMMY nominee, McCoury has won twice, both for Best Bluegrass Album: The Company We Keep in 2006, and The Streets Of Baltimore in 2014.
Charlie McCoy
Session musician, music director and solo artist, Charlie McCoy has sat in on more than 12,000 recording sessions; he's been in the studio with everyone from Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley to Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. His work as an artist has helped him earn seven GRAMMY nominations, including one win; his album The Real McCoy was awarded Best Country Instrumental Performance in 1973.
On July 13, 2022, he joined the Opry, where he continues to play today, wowing audiences with his mesmerizing harmonica skills. He also was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009 alongside fellow Opry members Barbara Mandrell and Roy Clark.
Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire's Opry debut in 1977 didn't go as planned. The singer almost missed it as the guard at the gate didn't see her name on the list of performers. "Reba found a nearby phone and called her booking agent, who arranged for her to get past security," as detailed on her Opry page. Her set was cut to one song because of a surprise appearance from Dolly Parton.
Though her debut was short, McEntire proved her staying power when she was inducted on Jan. 14, 1986. The following year, she'd win her first of three GRAMMYs for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female for "Whoever's In New England."
Ronnie Milsap
Before he became an Opry member in early 1976, Ronnie Milsap had already taken home his first GRAMMY Award. The singer received a golden gramophone at the 1975 GRAMMYs for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends."
He's won six total GRAMMYs throughout his career, including three more in the same Category for hits "(I'm A) Stand By My Woman Man," "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me" and "Lost In The Fifties Tonight (In The Still Of The Night)."
Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show's musical arc is a classic rags-to-riches story. The two-time GRAMMY winners got their start busking on the streets of New York, and eventually the sidewalks outside of the Grand Ole Opry House in 2000.
They made their Opry debut Jan. 13, 2001, and were inducted on Sept. 17, 2013. They'd won the first of their two GRAMMYs that same year, taking home Best Long Form Music Video for "Big Easy Express" in February; the group won Best Bluegrass Album for Remedy two years later.
Brad Paisley
"You don't last long here," Brad Paisley has said of the Opry, "if you're anything other than humble and down-to-earth." And that he is.
A guitar virtuoso, Paisley has shared his unique brand of country music to the Opry for more than 25 years. Nearly two years after his Opry debut, Paisley was officially inducted as a member on February 17, 2001.
Paisley won his first GRAMMY for Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Throttleneck" in 2008. The following year, the 18-time nominee took home two more for Best Male Country Vocal Performance ("Letter To Me") and Best Country Instrumental Performance ("Cluster Pluck").
Dolly Parton
Tennessee native Dolly Parton grew up listening to WSM (the radio station that hosts the Opry show) and dreaming of gracing the Opry stage. According to 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry, she made her Opry debut at just 13; accompanied by her uncle Bill Owens on guitar, her cover of George Jones' "You've Gotta Be My Baby" resulted in three encores. Ten years later, she became an Opry member on Jan. 4, 1969.
While Parton was nominated for several GRAMMYs following her Opry induction, it would be another 10 years before she took home a golden gramophone. In 1979, she won Best Country Vocal Performance, Female for "Here You Come Again," marking her first of 10 GRAMMYs. In 2011, the Recording Academy honored Parton with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Carly Pearce
A longtime fan of the Grand Ole Opry, Carly Pearce has described her induction as the "highest honor as an artist." Before she was invited to become a member by Dolly Parton, Pearce had already performed over 85 times on the Opry stage. Seven years after her 2015 debut, Pearce stepped into the famed circle as a member on Aug. 3, 2021.
It proved a fruitful season for Pearce, who won her first GRAMMY two years later. Her poignant country heartbreak ballad with Ashley McBryde was awarded Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 2023 GRAMMYs.
Riders In The Sky
According to Riders In The Sky's official Opry page, they "became the first Opry cast members to fully represent the cowboy stylings that helped to put the 'Western' in 'Country & Western.'" Riders In The Sky — guitarist Doug "Ranger Doug" Green, bassist Fred "Too Slim" Labour, fiddle player Paul "Woody Paul" Chrisman, and accordionist Joey "The CowPolka King" Miskulin — joined the Opry cast on June 19, 1982.
The group has also celebrated two GRAMMY wins throughout their career, taking home Best Musical Album For Children at the 2001 and 2003 GRAMMYs, for Woody's Roundup Featuring Riders In The Sky for Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. Scream Factory Favorites, respectively.
Darius Rucker
Long before he was a country star, Darius Rucker was the GRAMMY-winning frontman for Hootie & the Blowfish. The group won two GRAMMYs for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "Let Her Cry" in 1996.
Since beginning his career as a solo country act in 2008, Rucker has added to his GRAMMY collection and his impressive list of accolades. He made his Opry debut on July 15 that same year, being invited to join the Opry family on Oct. 16, 2012. Two years later, Rucker took home his third GRAMMY, for Best Country Solo Performance for his diamond-certified cover of Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel."
Don Schlitz
For more than 45 years, Don Schlitz has helped write some of country music's most iconic songs. Naturally, the revered songwriter has won two GRAMMYs for Best Country Song: in 1979 for Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler," and in 1988 for Randy Travis' "Forever And Ever, Amen."
An Opry member since Aug. 30, 2022, Schlitz remains a regular Opry performer, sharing the stories behind his famous songs with his signature wit. In addition to the Opry, Schlitz was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1997.
Jeannie Seely
Since her 1966 Opry debut, Jeannie Seely has performed over 5,300 times — more than any other artist. The singer, Opry host and member was inducted into the family on Sept. 16, 1967.
Earlier that year, she won her first GRAMMY for Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Female for "Don't Touch Me." Though that remains her only GRAMMY win to date, Seely's sole victory marked a historic moment: she became the third female country artist to ever win a GRAMMY, following Dottie West and Jody Miller.
Ricky Skaggs
Like Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs' earliest memories include WSM. According to 100 Years of Grand Ole Opry, Skaggs' grandfather had no electricity, so visits included listening to the Opry "in a Ford pickup truck parked by the barn."
Years later, his dad got backstage during a show. Earl Scruggs saw a young Skaggs playing mandolin and invited him to audition for Flatt & Scruggs' television show, where he appeared at age 7.
Skaggs spent his early years in Nashville as a sideman. Two decades later, in 1982, he was inducted as an Opry member. And in 1984, Skaggs won his first of 14 GRAMMYs, for Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Fireball."
Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart's earliest Opry memory was sitting on his grandmother's lap in 1963 at age 4. At the beginning of the broadcast, the announcer asked for a moment of silence following the deaths of Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, and Randy Hughes in a plane crash. "You could hear people sobbing," he recalled at an Opry First Look breakfast in October 2024. "It touched my heart, and it tore me up, and it was further ingrained in me that this is my family."
Stuart officially joined the Opry family on November 28, 1992. The following year, he'd win his first of five GRAMMYs for Best Country Vocal Collaboration for "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'" with fellow Opry member Travis Tritt.
The Oak Ridge Boys
After decades of Opry performances, the Oak Ridge Boys were inducted as members on August 6, 2011. That evening, then-President George H.W. Bush surprised the audience with a video message, discussing his appreciation of the band.
William Lee Golden, Duane Allen, Richard Sterban, and the late Joe Bonsall were known in the gospel world before transitioning to country music. The Oak Ridge Boys won their first GRAMMY in 1970 with Best Gospel Performance (Other Than Soul Gospel) for "Talk About the Good Times." The group won four more GRAMMYs, including Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for their classic "Elvira" in 1982.
The Whites
The Whites have been mainstays at the Opry since their induction 40 years ago on March 2, 1984. The band consists of sisters Sharon and Cheryl White and their late father, Buck White, who died in January 2025.
Well-known in bluegrass circles, The Whites' have earned five GRAMMY nominations throughout their career. The first of their two GRAMMY wins came in 2002 thanks to their contributions to Album Of The Year-winning soundtrack O Brother, Where Art Thou?; in 2008, they won Best Southern, Country Or Bluegrass Gospel Album for Salt Of The Earth.
Pam Tillis
For Pam Tillis, the Opry really is family. She played the Opry for decades, long before she was inducted as a member in 2000. At age 8, she made her Opry debut alongside her father, Mel Tillis, singing "Tom Dooley." "It was a larger-than-life moment for me," Pam recalled to Opry.com. "It was sort of like he was passing me the baton."
Success would only continue for the singer. A year before she was formally inducted by Little Jimmy Dickens, Tillis received a GRAMMY for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for her part in the all-star collaboration "Same Old Train."
Randy Travis
It's hard to imagine a time when Randy Travis wasn't considered country music royalty, with his distinctive baritone and traditional country-leaning music. Before he became an Opry member in 1986, the aspiring singer paid his dues "cooking catfish, washing dishes and performing at the Nashville Palace," according to his Opry page.
In 1985, Travis signed with Warner Bros. Records, and his groundbreaking album Storms of Life came the following year. While "Diggin' Up Bones" notched a GRAMMY nomination in 1987, Travis' first of seven wins came the following year with Best Country Vocal Performance, Male for his sophomore album, Always & Forever.
Travis Tritt
Travis Tritt found a friendship and mentor in Roy Acuff in the early 1990s. "I don't know why to this day," he told Opry.com, "but Roy Acuff saw something in me that he liked. … He came up and put his arm around me backstage and said, 'Son, we want to see you back here at the Opry more often.'" The following year, Travis was invited to join the Opry on Feb. 29, 1992.
Tritt won his first GRAMMY in 1993 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration for "The Whiskey Ain't Workin'" with frequent collaborator and Opry member Stuart. His second win was also for a collaboration, as Tritt was one of the many country stars featured on "Same Old Train," which won Best Country Collaboration With Vocals in 1999.
Carrie Underwood
Just two weeks after winning "American Idol" in 2005, Carrie Underwood made her Opry debut. Three years later, Underwood was invited to become a member by her hero, Randy Travis.
Underwood's career continued to skyrocket from there, thanks to her phenomenal vocal range and versatile song collection. The eight-time GRAMMY winner received her first career GRAMMYs in 2006, when she took home the coveted Best New Artist and Best Female Vocal Country Performance for "Jesus, Take The Wheel." And two years after Travis invited her to join the Opry, Underwood had another full-circle moment with her idol: their duet rendition of his classic "I Told You So" won a GRAMMY for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals in 2010.
Keith Urban
For more than 30 years, Keith Urban has graced country radio airwaves with his catchy hits and jaw-dropping guitar slinging. Eight years after he moved from Australia to Nashville, he performed on the Opry stage for the first time in 2000; Urban officially became a member on April 21, 2012.
In between his Opry debut and induction, Urban became a four-time GRAMMY winner. He took home his first trophy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "You'll Think Of Me" in 2006, claiming three more victories in the same Category in 2008, 2010 and 2011 for "Stupid Boy," "Sweet Thing," and "'Til Summer Comes Around," respectively. To date, he's racked up 19 nominations.
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Rhonda Vincent
Like many before her, Rhonda Vincent's career started as a member of her family's band, the Sally Mountain Show. At 5, she was playing drums with the band; she learned the mandolin by the time she was 8, and the fiddle at age 10. In 2000, she embraced her bluegrass beginnings and released Back Home Again with her band, The Rage.
In 2017, the eight-time GRAMMY nominee won her first golden gramophone for Best Bluegrass Album with All The Rage - In Concert Volume One [Live]. Almost exactly four years later, Vincent was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on Feb. 6, 2021.
Steve Wariner
Steve Wariner had an innate knowledge of music at a young age. Starting off his career playing bass in his father's band at age 10, Wariner had played with Dottie West, Bob Luman and Chet Atkins by the time he was 24. His fruitful and fast-rising career led him to joining the Opry on May 11, 1996.
Along the way, Wariner received his first GRAMMY in 1992, for Best Country Vocal Collaboration for "Restless." Nearly 20 years later, he won Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Producer's Medley," featured on Steve Wariner, c.g.p., My Tribute to Chet Atkins. He's won four GRAMMYs and received 11 nominations in total.
Lainey Wilson
"My name is Lainey Wilson, and this ain't gonna be the last time I'm standing in this circle," the Louisiana native promised during her Opry debut on Feb. 14, 2020. She wasn't lying: four years later, she'd return for her Opry induction on June 7, 2024. It was that same year that she notched her first GRAMMY, for Best Country Album for Bell Bottom Country.
For Wilson, her Opry induction was a dream realized from when she was nine. As she told the audience upon her induction, "Tonight is the biggest honor of my life, being able to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry."
Trisha Yearwood
Much like Wilson, a family vacation in Nashville sparked Trisha Yearwood's goal to perform on the revered Opry stage. White her dream came true upon her debut on Feb. 29, 1992, her induction as a member on March 13, 1999 marked a moment that was even more special.
"My mother came here on her senior class trip from South Georgia," she recalled to Opry.com. "She wrote in her diary about seeing Hank Snow, Hawkshaw Hawkins and all those people. When I was inducted as a member of the Opry in 1999, she brought her diary and got Hank Snow to sign it. So it's not only about me, it's also about my whole family."
The '90s were a monumental decade for Yearwood, as she took home all three of her GRAMMYs in that time. First winning for Best Country Vocal Collaboration in 1995 (for "I Fall To Pieces"), the singer celebrated two wins at the 1998 GRAMMYs: Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "How Do I Live," and Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "In Another's Eyes" alongside her husband and fellow Opry member, Garth Brooks.