Seniormost Grand Ole Opry member Bill Anderson inducted Jamey Johnson on Saturday night (March 19) as the newest member of one of country music's most exclusive clubs.
Videos by Wide Open Country
"Buddy Cannon introduced me to Jamey Johnson, it's been a good 20 years ago, I guess, and I knew from the very first time I met him, he was one of us," Anderson said from the Opry stage. "And by that I mean, I knew he had a country heart and a country soul and I knew he wanted more than anything in the world to be a part of the Grand Ole Opry. I introduced him the first time he ever came on this stage [in 2005].
"The last time he was here on this stage as a guest, I said 'Jamey, I hate to tell you this but you'll never be a guest here again'," Anderson continued. "He looked at me and said, 'Well I've been kicked out of a lot of places.' I said 'No, we're not kicking you out buddy, we're welcoming you in. The next time you're on this stage, you're going to be inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.'"
Johnson framed his induction as the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
"I don't have to tell y'all what this means to me," Johnson said. "If y'all know me you'll know that I've been talking about this moment since I was a kid, and I ain't a kid anymore, you can tell that by the gray in the beard."
It was also a big night for Ricky Skaggs, who was celebrating 40 years as a Grand Ole Opry member. Johnson performed six songs during the one-hour broadcast, including a version of gospel standard "Near the Cross" with Skaggs on mandolin.
Anderson stunned Johnson with an Opry invite on March 19 during a song-swapping and storytelling segment that teamed the longtime friends with Cannon, their co-writer of George Strait's "Give It Away" and a longtime Willie Nelson collaborator.
