NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Award-winning songwriter and multi-Grammy winner Rodney Crowell, Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill, and Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame member and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Emmylou Harris stepped into the circle together tonight for the Grand Ole Opry’s 4,935th consecutive Saturday night broadcast. Between the three of them, the music legends have amassed 36 Grammy®Awards and 109 nominations.
Harris kicked off the 4,935th consecutive Saturday night Opry with “If I Could Only Win Your Love”, from her debut album Pieces of the Sky. Harris shared that the tune was the first song she ever sang on the Grand Ole Opry when she debuted in 1975. She reflected on performing it that night with Charlie Louvin, who had written and recorded the classic with his brother Ira.
“That right there, my friends, is what an American Saturday night sounds like. Pure, undiluted country,” claimed Circle TV host Bobby Bones. “Emmylou Harris getting our evening started off the Opry way. On stereo left is Vince Gill and on stereo right is Rodney Crowell.”
The rich history and deep friendship between Crowell, Gill and Harris that spans almost 50 years was clearly evident as the three storytellers often found themselves going off their intended set lists to harmonize and collaborate on each other’s songs including Harris’ “Out Under the Stars” and the Crowell-penned “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.”
Among Crowell’s selections were “Still Learning How To Fly,” and “Bluebird Wine,” which he wrote and Harris recorded for her debut album. Together Crowell and Harris performed “You Can’t Say We Didn’t Try” from their 2015 duets album The Traveling Kind.
Gill kicked off his performance with “Oklahoma Borderline,” which he co-wrote with Crowell and Guy Clark. When he performed Crowell’s “Till I Gain Control Again”, he described the tune as “the song that bonded a friendship that has lasted almost 44 years.” As Gill performed the Crowell-penned “Song For the Life” for Crowell’s upcoming birthday, Crowell said to his friend, “For as long as I’ve known you, you can still make me cry.”
The three friends closed their Opry show with another Crowell-penned hit, “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight.”
Next Saturday, August 8, Old Crow Medicine Show, Dom Flemons, Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle will step onto the Grand Ole Opry stage at 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT for the 4,936th consecutive Saturday night broadcast. On Saturday, August 15, Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker will keep the circle unbroken as they step on the Opry stage for the 4,937th consecutive Saturday night broadcast.
The shows will be broadcast live on Circle and Gray TV stations, DISH Studio Channel 102, Sling TV, and other TV affiliates in addition to a companion live stream on Circle All Access Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The Opry can also be heard on 650 WSM-AM, wsmonline.com, and SiriusXM. Those tuning into the Livestream on Circle All Access YouTube, Twitter and Facebook channels each Saturday can watch a Circle Sessions at 7:30 PM ET/ 6:30 PM CT immediately prior to the Opry.