Steve Earle Invited To Become Grand Ole Opry Member
Vince Gill invites Steve Earle to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Photo: Chris Hollo for Grand Ole Opry
Steve Earle was invited to join the Grand Ole Opry family over the weekend by longtime friend and Opry member Vince Gill.
Gill took the stage after Earle’s performance of “Copperhead Road,” presenting Earle with a personalized guitar strap created in celebration of the Opry’s 100th. “You have to be an Opry member to have one of these,” Gill said. “We want to invite you to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.”
“This is kind of the biggest thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” said Earle, who was clearly moved. Earle then obliged Gill’s request for another song on the hallowed stage, “Hillbilly Highway.”
An Academy Award winner and Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame member, Earle has been called one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the past 30 years. His songs have been covered by artists including Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Patty Loveless, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton and more. Earle’s 1988 hit “Copperhead Road” was made an official state song of Tennessee in 2023. His most recent album, Jerry Jeff (2022) consisted of Earle’s versions of songs written by Jerry Jeff Walker, one of his mentors.
Earle has also published two books, a novel I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive in 2011, and Dog House Roses, a collection of short stories in 2003. As an actor, he has appeared in several films and had recurring roles in the HBO series The Wire and Tremé. In 2017, Earle wrote music for and appeared in Coal Country, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. In 2020, Earle was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also the host of the weekly show Hard Core Troubadour on SiriusXM Radio’s Outlaw Country channel.
Earle is the first artist invited to join the Opry in its special 100th year, and will officially be inducted later this year.
