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Grand Ole invite: Montgomery Gentry to join the Opry

May 28, 2009|LARRY VAUGHT

Eddie Montgomery had "no clue" what was coming when he heard a voice telling Montgomery Gentry to stop playing during a performance Tuesday night at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

"Charlie Daniels, one of my heroes, had snuck into the audience and took his hat off so we didn't know it was him," said Montgomery. "They were running a little late and we had already played two songs, so we thought they were going to tell us just to cut it short."

Instead, Daniels asked them to join the Grand Ole Opry nine years after they made their Grand Ole Opry debut. They will be formally inducted June 23.

"This is something you work all your life for," Montgomery said. "We play the Grand Ole Opry several times each year, but a lot of performers do that and never get in. It was just wild."

After Montgomery and Gentry hugged each other, Montgomery had to borrow a handkerchief from Daniels to wipe away the tears. They eventually managed to sing their current hit, "One in Every Crowd."

This is the 10th anniversary of the release of Montgomery Gentry's debut album, "Tattoos & Scars." Their current album, "Back When I Knew It All," has the No. 1 hit single "Back When I Knew It All" and the multi-week No. 1 "Roll With Me." The duo recently received two 2009 Academy of Country Music Award nominations.

"With each and every Opry performance Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry have offered, it has been quite apparent that not only do they know how to move audiences with their unique brand of music, but they, too, are moved by the connection they share with the Opry and its rich legacy," said Pete Fisher, Opry vice president and general manager.

Montgomery was still visibly moved by his honor on Wednesday.

"My dad worked his whole life just to get a chance to play the Opry," Montgomery said. "I didn't hardly sleep last night. I still can't believe it. We had a lot of stuff to do after the show, so I didn't call too many people. I didn't want to wake everybody up because I was wild. But this is right there with Kentucky winning a national basketball championship or beating Tennessee in football. This is big."

Montgomery lives in Perryville, Gentry in Nashville.

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