Carly Pearce was a friend of Jeannie Seely before Pearce had any success in country music. It was Seely who gave Pearce her first glimpse at what life was like backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, something Pearce opened up about when sharing her tribute to Seely, who passed away last week.
“When I was in my early 20s, Jeannie and I got to know each other because she lived down the street from me,” Pearce writes. “She quickly took me under her wing, inviting me to go backstage at the Opry— knowing it was my dream to play there. Since then, she has become one of my biggest mentors and dearest friends. She celebrated my successes, let me cry on her back porch in private, and helped welcome me into the Grand Ole Opry family. I can’t quite put into words what this woman means to me, the Opry and country music… but I know there will be a hole in my heart forever.
“Jeannie, thank you for your guidance, your wit, your talents and your shine,” she continues. “I whispered in her ear this week that I promised to keep the sparkles in the circle and her legacy in lights- and I promise to do that. I love you forever, Jeannie.”
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Pearce also shared her thoughts on Seely’s influence with her record label, and the lessons she learned from watching Seely’s own career.
“Jeannie used to put me on her backstage list when I was cleaning Airbnb’s when Carrie Underwood was playing,” Pearce recalls. “And it’s really cool to me to see how many parallels in our lives and in our careers. We both debuted when we were 25 – 50 years apart – and she’s just really been a great mentor to me to make me see what a woman can do. She was the first female to ever host a segment on the Opry.
“I just feel like she’s continued to push boundaries that I look at and I admire her for that,” she continues. “And I admire her boldness as an artist and as a woman in country music. And she has really, I feel like, groomed me to one day have this moment where she’s looking at me as one of the next generation of females that they’re passing the torch to.”
Seely was 85 years old when she passed away at a Nashville hospital on Friday, August 1. Seely, who was also the first female to wear a miniskirt on the Grand Ole Opry stage, holds the record for the most Grand Ole Opry performances, with 5937 performances since her induction in 1967.
“In her 57 years as an Opry member, she is recognized for changing the image of female country performers with her bold fashion statements, championed efforts to support and enhance women’s roles in the music industry and was quite proud to be the first female to host a segment of the Opry,” the Grand Ole Opry says in part. Read their entire statement here.