Which country singers are members of the Grand Ole Opry?
26 stars who've received country music's highest honour
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music concert show in Nashville, Tennessee, which began as a radio barn dance on 28th November 1925. Since then, it's become one of the genre's most enduring and revered stages.
Once held in the historic Ryman Auditorium in Downtown Nashville, the show has taken place at the Grand Ole Opry House since 1974. Every show has multiple guest artists as well as Opry members.
How do you become a member of the Grand Ole Opry?
New members are selected by Opry management based on several factors including critical and commercial success, respect for the history of country music and commitment to appearing on the program.
Once a new member has been chosen, an existing member will ask the new member to join the Opry live on-air during the broadcast, usually when the new member is performing as a guest. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a handful of new members became automatic members or were invited via an interview.
Being invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry is considered one of country music's crowning achievements.
Which country singers are active members of the Grand Ole Opry?
Carly Pearce
INDUCTED: 3rd August 2021
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Carly Pearce has done well for a girl who left her Kentucky home and high school at 16 to take a job at Dollywood! She's gone on to become one of the most exciting new voices in country music, earning two ACM Awards for her Platinum-certified Number 1 duet with Lee Brice on 'I Hope You're Happy Now'. In the summer of 2021, Carly Pearce was invited by Dolly Parton to join the Grand Ole Opry, after over 80 performances on the show.
Lady A
INDUCTED: 21st January 2021
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Over the course of their career, Lady A have racked up more than 18 million album units - and the trio earned their 11th career Number 1 with the multi-week chart topper 'Champagne Night'. Known for their 9x Platinum hit 'Need You Now' - the highest certified song by a Country group - they have earned CMA 'Vocal Group of the Year' trophies three years in a row and countless other honours including five Grammy Awards.
Luke Combs
INDUCTED: 16th July 2019
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Luke Combs is a multi-platinum, ACM, CMA, CMT and Billboard Music Award-winning artist. His deluxe album, 'What You See Ain't Always What You Get', debuted at Number 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart as well as Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. His Platinum-certified single 'Forever After All' is Combs' 11th consecutive Number 1 single. Combs also recently made history as the first artist ever to have their first two studio albums spend 25 weeks or more at Number 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and his 2017 debut 'This One's For You' spent 50 non-consecutive weeks at Number 1 - tying the record for the longest reign atop the chart.
Kelsea Ballerini
INDUCTED: 16th April 2019
OPRY DEBUT: 14th February 2015
Kelsea Ballerini has already got two Grammy Award nominations and won two ACM Awards - and she's just getting started. Her debut and sophomore albums were both certified gold and total streams exceeding 2 billion to date. At the time of her induction, she became the Grand Ole Opry's youngest active member.
Dustin Lynch
INDUCTED: 18th September 2018
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Dustin Lynch has had six Number 1 hits, three Top 5 albums, and toured with genre giants Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line and Brad Paisley. After visiting the UK for the first time to play C2C, he's scored over one billion total career streams, the Grand Ole Opry member has scored industry recognition with Billboard Music Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, and CMT Music Awards nominations - plus he's made high–profile appearances on ACM Awards, CMA Music Fest, Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel.
Chris Janson
INDUCTED: 20th March 2018
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Chris Janson is Platinum-selling, high octane entertainer, multi-instrumentalist, and award-winning singer/songwriter. In the years since the release of his 2015 debut album 'Buy Me a Boat', the three-time CMA nominee has collected prestigious accolades that place him amongst country music greats. He took home the trophy for ACM Video of the Year for his Gold-certified, inspiring hit song 'Drunk Girl,' which also earned the Song of the Year title at the 2018 MusicRow Awards and was named one of the 'Ten Songs I Wish I'd Written' by NSAI. His chart-topping, triple-Platinum smash 'Buy Me A Boat' earned the same NSAI honour, making him one in a handful of the industry's most elite artists to earn the title multiple times.
Chris Young
INDUCTED: 17th October 2017
OPRY DEBUT: 10th June 2006
Chris Young is a Grammy-nominated recording artist, dynamic entertainer, international ambassador for country music and talented songwriter with a handful of Number 1s to his name, including 'Getting You Home,' 'Voices' and 'Tomorrow.'
Crystal Gayle
INDUCTED: 21st January 2017
OPRY DEBUT: 1st January 1967
She might be Loretta Lynn's younger sister, but Crystal Gayle is a star in her own right. She has racked up an impressive 20 Number 1 country singles, beginning with 'I'll Get Over You' and including her signature song, 'Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.' That song earned Crystal a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Her album 'We Must Believe In Magic' was the first by a female country artist to go Platinum.
Little Big Town
INDUCTED: 17th October 2014
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Little Big Town made their very first public appearance as a band on the Opry stage in 1999. Fast forward a few years and the band were enjoying success with albums as well as singles, including 'Boondocks', 'Bring It On Home', 'A Little More You' and 'Little White Church'. They have gone on to win Vocal Group of the Year nominations at the CMAs and the ACMs.
Darius Rucker
INDUCTED: 16th October 2012
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Darius Rucker found success with his band Hootie & The Blowfish, with the Grammy-winning group's 1994 debut 'Cracked Rear View' continuing to be one of the best-selling albums in history, surpassing the 16 million album mark. Rucker made the transition to country music with his first album, 'Learn to Live', releasing the single, 'Don't Think I Don't Think About It', which made him the first black artist to reach Number 1 on the Hot Country Songs charts since Charley Pride in 1983. In 2009, he became the first black American to win the New Artist Award from the Country Music Association, and the second black person to win any award from the association.
Keith Urban
INDUCTED: 21st April 2012
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
New Zealand-born and Australia-raised, Keith Urban moved to Nashville in 1992. With hits including 'Somebody Like You', 'Cop Car' and 'Raise 'Em Up', Urban has sold more than 15 million albums, been named radio's most-played country artist and has won praise the world over with his electrifying sold-out concerts that have taken him from Australia to Germany, Canada and the UK.
Rascal Flatts
INDUCTED: 8th October 2011
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Rascal Flatts boast over 20 million albums and 25 million digital downloads sold - as well as 13 Number 1 singles AND over 6 million concert tickets sold. With all the hits came millions of fans at live shows and awards to fill each group member's mantlepiece, now amounting to over 40 awards; among them, seven wins as the Academy of Country Music's Top Vocal Group Award. The Country Music Association honoured the group with its Horizon (Best New Artist) Award in 2002 followed by six consecutive Vocal Group of the Year trophies.
Blake Shelton
INDUCTED: 23rd October 2010
OPRY DEBUT: 5th May 2001
Blake Shelton has won CMA Entertainer of the Year, is a multiple Male Vocalist of the Year, and he and Miranda Lambert garnered Song of the Year honours for co-writing the Platinum-selling chart-topper, 'Over You'. He has earned a host of other awards and nominations, including multiple Grammy nominations, six Gold and Platinum albums, and has hosted the ACM Awards repeatedly.
Craig Morgan
INDUCTED: 25th October 2008
OPRY DEBUT: 21st April 2000
Craig Morgan has made a name for himself with massive radio airplay of his signature hits, among them 'Almost Home' which Music Row magazine named its song of the year for 2003; 'That's What I Love About Sunday,' which spent five weeks at Number 1 and was Billboard magazine's most-played country song of 2005; and regular-guy singles including 'Redneck Yacht Club,' 'Bonfire,' and 'International Harvester.'
Carrie Underwood
INDUCTED: 10th May 2008
OPRY DEBUT: 10th June 2005
Carrie Underwood has reigned supreme at the top of the country charts, including 'Jesus, Take the Wheel,' 'Before He Cheats,' 'Cowboy Casanova,' 'All-American Girl,' 'Good Girl' and 'See You Again.' She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, received seven Grammys and multiple awards from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association, which she has co-hosted with fellow Opry star Brad Paisley.
Josh Turner
INDUCTED: 27th October 2007
OPRY DEBUT: 21st December 2001
Josh Turner's 2003 debut album 'Long Black Train' sold more than a million copies and its follow up single, 'Your Man', debuted at Number 1 on Billboard magazine's Top Country Albums chart. His third album, 2007's 'Everything Is Fine', produced the hit 'Firecracker', and his fourth studio album, 'Haywire', released in 2010, gave us the chart-topping track 'Why Don't We Just Dance'.
Dierks Bentley
INDUCTED: 1st October 2005
OPRY DEBUT: 18th April 2003
Dierks Bentley's studio albums have accounted for 25 singles on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, of which 17 have reached Number 1. While he's a regular atop the country charts, he makes sure to include a bluegrass tune on every album. He's received three CMA Awards, four ACM Awards and been nominated for fourteen Grammy's.
Terri Clark
INDUCTED: 12th June 2004
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Shortly after a trip to Nashville, Terri Clark honed her craft playing for tips at clubs. Signing with Mercury Records in 1994, she hit the charts in short order with four Top 10 hits 'Better Things to Do,' 'When Boy Meets Girl,' 'If I Were You,' and 'Poor, Poor Pitiful Me', as Billboard named her its Top New Female Country Artist in 1995. The following year, she picked up her first Canadian Country Music Award, underlining what would turn out to be enduring home country appeal.
Brad Paisley
INDUCTED: 17th February 2001
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Brad Paisley has scored 32 Top 10 singles on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, 19 of which have reached Number 1. He set a new record in 2009 for the most consecutive singles (10), reaching the top spot on that chart. Paisley has sold over 11 million albums and has won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, and two American Music Awards.
Martina McBride
INDUCTED: 30th November 1995
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Martina McBride has won the Top Female Vocalist trophy four times at the Country Music Association Awards and three times from the Academy of Country Music, and eight of her albums have gone Platinum. Through 2010, 20 of her singles reached the Top 10, from 1993's breakthrough 'My Baby Loves Me' to 'Wrong Baby Wrong.' It's a voice - and career - you'd be hard-pressed not to consider 'Blessed,' to cite one of her Number 1 hits.
Vince Gill
INDUCTED: 10th August 1991
OPRY DEBUT: 29th July 1989
Vince Gill is one of the most awarded artists in country music history, and one of the youngest to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the 1990s, he was consistently in the Top 10, racking up several dozen hits, not to mention the fact that he's sold more than 22 million albums.
Alan Jackson
INDUCTED: 7th June 1991
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Alan Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all-time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide, with 44 million sold in the United States alone. He has had 66 songs appear on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and is the recipient of two Grammy Awards, 16 CMA Awards and 17 ACM Awards.
Garth Brooks
INDUCTED: 6th October 1990
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
The only male artist to have four albums exceed sales of 10 million, Garth Brooks has sold more than 128 million records. That total places Garth second only to The Beatles as the best-selling act of all time, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Garth has received nearly every accolade the recording industry can bestow upon an artist, including two Grammys, 11 Country Music Association Awards and 24 Billboard Music Awards. His TV credits include eight NBC specials, hosting Saturday Night Live twice and executive producing the made-for-TV movie, Call Me Claus. He's also earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Reba McEntire
INDUCTED: 17th January 1986
OPRY DEBUT: 17th September 1977
Reba is the only female artist to have scored Number 1 singles in each decade from the 1980s through to the current one. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998, has sold more than 55 million albums and earned two Grammy Awards. Reba is the most-nominated female artist in the history of the Country Music Association Awards, which named her its Entertainer of the Year in 1986.
Dolly Parton
INDUCTED: 4th January 1969
OPRY DEBUT: Unknown
Dolly Parton has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Parton has garnered 11 Grammy Awards and 50 nominations, including the Lifetime Achievement Award; 10 Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award; five Academy of Country Music Awards, also including Entertainer of the Year; four People's Choice Awards; and three American Music Awards.
Loretta Lynn
INDUCTED: 25th September 1962
OPRY DEBUT: 15th October 1960
Loretta Lynn's countless accolades include three Grammys and eight Country Music Association Awards. In 1972, she became the first female artist to win the Country Music Association's coveted Entertainer of the Year award. Now a member of the Country Music and Songwriters Halls of Fame, she received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
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