T. Graham Brown will soon be a Grand Ole Opry member. The 69-year-old was invited to join by Vince Gill, in front of a live audience during a taping of Brown’s popular SiriusXM show, Live Wire.
Gill begins by asking Brown how many times he has played the Opry, to which Brown replied at least 400.
“I’ll shoot you straight,” Gill says. “i was asked by the Opry to come here and invite you to be the next member.”
Brown became emotional, as Gill continued to speak.
“They love you,” Gill said as Brown cried. “That’s a special place, and you will be a valued part of that place. I didn’t mean to make you cry, but congratulations.”
“That’s amazing,” Brown said, “Oh my goodness. Please tell me you’re not kidding me. This is the greatest thing … You don’t know what that means to me, buddy.”
“Amazing. I so wanted this; you just don’t know,” he continued. “I so wanted this. I’m so proud of the Opry. I’m just so proud to be there every time. I’ve never taken it for granted, ever. It’s just amazing.”
“They love you,” Gill said. “That’s a special place, and you’ll be a valued part of that place. I didn’t mean to make you cry. Congratulations!”
Brown is rightfully proud of his radio show, which he began more than five years ago, and vows to keep doing, in spite of his already busy schedule.
“It’s fun,” Brown recently told Everything Nash. “It’s called Live Wire, and I play live cuts from artists’ live albums. That’s what it’s all about, live music. I do one of mine, and they usually will run an hour, an hour-and-a-half. There’s no set time. And they air it ten times during the month on the live country channel, so everybody gets a chance to hear it. And then, if they subscribe to the series, there’s an app you can download and then has it on-demand, so you can go back and listen to back episodes. I get to always have one of my friends [on the show].”
Brown is also working on an autobiography, and will appear in an upcoming film, Nashville Wtich.
Jon Pardi was the last artist inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Scotty McCreery‘s Opry induction will take place on Saturday, April 20.
Brown’s Live Wire episode featuring Gill will debut on Wednesday, April 6 at 10:00 PM ET on SiriusXM’s Prime Country, channel 58. An induction date for Brown will be announced soon.
