Keith Urban’s Opry Memories Run Deep
Keith Urban was asked to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry at his and Vince Gill’s “All For The Hall” benefit concert in 2012, and he was inducted about a week later on April 21st, 2012.
Keith, who performed during the Opry 100th Anniversary televised celebration last night (3/19), said during his Opry induction in 2012, “To stand in this circle is the most phenomenal thing. I just want to thank the Opry for this honor, but also the responsibility. This is a responsibility that I take deep to the heart of me…I honor the history of country music, but I absolutely fully dedicate myself to the future of country music, as well.”
The first person Urban met when he first performed as a solo artist at the Opry was Ricky Skaggs, and he said he couldn’t have been more engaged and friendly to him. He told us, “Really the first guy I met out there when I went out early on was probably Ricky Skaggs because I was such a Ricky fan. And he was just so approachable and easy to talk to, and I was just really such a fan that I kept thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m talking to Ricky Skaggs. This is so cool,’ but that was the behind-the-scenes vibe at the Opry. It’s just like that. Everybody’s just so approachable and laid-back.”
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Keith’s first time ever stepping on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry was as part of the backing band for the late Australian country legend, Slim Dusty. Urban said of his first time playing the Opry, “The first time I played the Opry was actually backing another guy named Slim Dusty, who’s no longer with us, but a legendary Australian country artist who was invited to perform. He used the little band I had called The Ranch.”
He concluded, “He just basically used us as his backing band, and I remember standing back there and thinking it’d be great if I could get up there sometime and sing into that microphone.”
