For Jamey Johnson, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry wasn’t just another career milestone, it was a lifelong dream that, at one point in his career, felt so out of reach he considered walking away from the legendary stage altogether.
During a recent conversation with Tracy Lawrence on the TL’s Road House podcast, Johnson reflected on finally being invited to become an Opry member after more than two decades of performing there, admitting there was a time when the lack of an invitation became “a burr in my saddle.”
“To say the least, it’s a humble honor to get to be a member of the Opry. It has the job of representing country music past, present and future all at the same time. And unfortunately for a lot of us years ago, they weren’t interested in bringing in too many new members. For the longest time, that really got to be a burr in my saddle and I was getting to the point where I didn’t want to play it anymore because I wanted it so bad,” Johnson admitted to Lawrence. “I wanted to be a member ever since I moved to town. And I kind of always knew that I was called to be a member.”
The Alabama native went on to explain that he believes artists who genuinely care about preserving country music and its legacy are exactly the kind of people who should become members of the Grand Ole Opry.
“Who else should be a member of the Grand Ole Opry, but somebody that cares whether it lives on or doesn’t live on? And so the ones of us who do care should be filling up that membership.”
Johnson also praised the Grand Ole Opry’s current leadership, saying he believes the organization has taken steps to recognize artists who may have been overlooked during a time when fewer membership invitations were extended.
“I think that’s what they’ve been doing over the past several years. Dan Rogers has been really looking around the… And I’m not talking about just current artists. They know they left a bunch of you guys out back in the ’90s and he wasn’t in charge of it back then and can’t do nothing about it now except try and reach out. But that part is a little weird for me. We just celebrated my fourth year as a member, but I’ve been playing the Opry for over 21 years. And so there has to be some other way of representing your official anniversary and that sort of thing.”
When Lawrence revealed that he made his Grand Ole Opry debut in 1991, Johnson pointed out how strange it would feel for someone with such a long history on the Opry stage to only now begin celebrating their first official year as a member.
Lawrence revealed that his Opry debut took place in 1991, to which Johnson responded, “so we’re talking a long, long time.”
He continued, “And if you were to become a member now, you’d be 2027 celebrating your first year. And there’s just something a little off about that. But I think this current team at the Opry, they’re working real hard to correct some of those overlookings and things like that.”
Johnson then turned to Lawrence with a heartfelt wish for the future.
“And I would just tell you, just as your brother, man, I hope you come play the Opry and I hope they make you a member. And I hope you get to walk out there and have Tracy Lawrence night at the Opry.”
Lawrence appreciated the encouragement, but admitted he isn’t getting his hopes up.
Lawrence admitted, “I’d love to see that, but I ain’t holding my breath…Everything you’re speaking is all the truth, man.”
For more of Tracy Lawrence and Jamey Johnson’s conversation, watch the video below.
The post Jamey Johnson Reflects On Grand Ole Opry Membership, Says Tracy Lawrence And Other Overlooked Artists Deserve Recognition appeared first on Country Now.
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