Last Friday, April 8th, was one for the history books. I was completely taken by surprise when Charlie Mattos, the Opry announcer called me over after my performance and announced I was receiving a plaque to commemorate my 60 years in the music business. Dan Rogers, GM of the Opry walked out with it (and my drummer, Todd Hines, helped to hold it up). It may be the biggest plaque ever made. The inscription reads: “To commemorate 60 years of hits, countless miles on the road, millions of fans impacted and one timeless country voice.” I was just speechless. It has taken me all week to process it all but even now I can’t find the words to say how grateful I am to everyone that worked on this and of course, a huge thank you to all my fans who’ve allowed me to sing for my living for all these 60 years. I’m just very grateful for this honor.
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- My buddy, Mark Wills and I snapped this photo just before I walked onstage.
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- You can see I’m totally surprised and in awe of this amazing gift.
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- Trying to speak after a huge shock is no easy thing. I hope I was coherent.