Voice of Country | Rascal Flatts Join the Grand Ole Opry

Rascal Flatts Join the Grand Ole Opry

Although it was a long time ago, I still remember it well. It was the year 2000 and I was in Nashville for VoC's predecessor station, 3C Digital Radio. I was making the rounds on Music Row, doing interviews and picking up CD's.

We'd always had a close relationship with the now sorely-missed Lyric Street Records. As Dale Turner, one of their executives, handed me the CD's I was in for, he slipped in one more. It was a pre-release with only a type-written card for a cover. "You might want to give this a listen," he told me. The name typed on the card: Rascal Flatts.

That group turned out to be the act that kept Lyric Street afloat for a number of years until parent company Disney finally pulled the plug. Initially, there were a number of critical brickbats thrown at the group.

"Boy Band!"

"Pop rubbish!"

And so on.

But Gary, Jay, and Joe Don got the last laugh, growing into a phenomenal success and going strong after many of their contemporaries (and their record label) had receded into Country Music history.

Then came the most unexpected twist to the tale: Rascal Flatts were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry. The formal induction was held on Saturday night, October 8th, 2011, and I attended on VoC's behalf.

The boys were obviously genuinely humbled by being asked to become a part of this most traditional and, let's face it, conservative institution. And there were a number of references to the Flatts' musical and stylistic differences from most Opry members.

It was mentioned during the induction that the Opry wanted to include all styles of Country music, particularly those that attracted new and younger fans And Little Jimmy Dickins told the Flatts onstage, "I've never heard a bad word said about you", the unspoken implication being that there HAD been some bad words said by some people along the road.

Personally, I'm happy to see the Opry reaching out and growing with the times. I always throught Lyric Street's SheDaisy had a lot more going for them than Rascal Flatts (I still think so), but it's always a pleasure to watch people achieve their dreams. And in that respect, the night definitely filled the bill.