The Grand Ole Opry announced its newest member at the end of last night’s performance, and it’s none other than country star Jamey Johnson!
The honor is well-deserved, especially since Johnson has made five to six guest appearances at the Opry every year for the last 17 years. That’s more than 85 performances, and now his next performance will be as an official member of the Opry.
The Grand Ole Opry announced Jamey Johnson as its newest member in a video they shared on their social media pages. You can see it in the Twitter video below, where the country music institution captioned it, “Welcome to the family, @jamey_johnson.”
In the video, you can see “Whispering” Bill Anderson announce Johnson’s newest position at the Opry. He starts out by asking Johnson how many times he’s performed at the Opry, which we soon learn is five to six times a year for 17 years.
“You have made a lot of guest appearances,” Anderson summed up. “But the management and the staff and the people at the Opry told me to tell you that this is gonna be your last guest appearance here.”
“I’ve been kicked out of a whole lot of places in my life,” Johnson said jokingly.
Anderson replied, “Well you can add this to the list. Because you’re not gonna be a gust anymore. The next time Jamey Johnson’s on this stage, he’s gonna be the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry!”
The crowd went wild, and Johnson and Anderson hugged it out on stage. When Johnson formally accepted the invitation, he said, “I accepted it 20 years ago. I really don’t know what to say except the obvious — I love country music. I would have never moved here if it wasn’t for that; for the Opry keeping it alive and for the fans. I love you. Thank you.”
Country Music Fans Congratulate Jamey Johnson on his Invitation to Join the Grand Ole Opry
When the Grand Ole Opry announced Jamey Johnson as its newest member, fans on social media went wild. Johnson himself shared it on his Instagram page. And several fellow celebrities commented on the post with their congratulations.
“A very big deal, congrats brother,” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson commented. “I’ll meet ya on lower Broad.” Drink in hand, we presume.
Whiskey Myers wrote, “Congrats amigo! We couldn’t be more proud.”
And Jamey Johnson’s tour partner Randy Houser said, “Proud doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
It’s heartwarming to see so many fellow artists and fans celebrating Johnson’s success. Even more fans congratulated Johnson on Twitter as well.
“Finally!!!!!! So proud of you and thrilled that you are the newest Opry Member. Congratulations Jamey,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
Others said it was “about time” and “well deserved” for Johnson.
