Ronnie Milsap performs at the Grand Ole Opry on Feb. 12, 2016, for the 40th anniversary of his membership. Photo: Chris Hollo.

Ronnie Milsap took center stage at the Grand Ole Opry on Friday night (Feb. 12) as he celebrated the 40th anniversary of his induction.

“Before I joined the Opry in 1976, Jeanne Pruett was always getting me to come out here and guest,” Milsap said. “Eventually she said, ‘I think you need to join the Grand Ole Opry.’ And I said, ‘Well, how do you do that?’ All of a sudden, one night I was over here and Mr. Roy Acuff came up to me in the hall and said, ‘Hey, Ronnie, you want to be a member of the Opry?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ He said, ‘Okay, then, you’re going to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry.’”

Before taking the stage, the country legend celebrated with friends, family members, and fellow artists in the Opry House’s backstage Family Room with a cake marking the occasion. Later introduced on stage by fellow Opry and Country Music Hall of Famer Connie Smith, Milsap reflected on the night he joined the Opry (on Feb. 6, 1976).

“I was so happy that night Roy Acuff inducted me,” Milsap began, shouting Acuff’s moniker “the KING of country music!” After the show, Milsap met fans outside The Opry Shop, celebrating that day’s release of his latest album, Gospel Greats.

“Ronnie Milsap is one-of-a-kind at the Opry and in country music,” said Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher. “His style transcends musical boundaries and his exuberant spirit makes its mark on the Opry every time he comes home to visit.”

Born blind in North Carolina, Milsap lived with his grandmother until he was 6 years old. He attended Morehead State School for the Blind in Raleigh, where he was given strict classical training. But late at night he listened to his favorite country, gospel, and R&B broadcasts. The music reminded him of home.

Milsap studied pre-law at Young Harris Junior College near Atlanta, Georgia, eventually earning a scholarship to Emory University. Instead of continuing with law, he threw himself into music, forming his own band. During the mid-’60s, he landed a stint with J.J. Cale and session work with producer Chips Moman, notably on Elvis Presley’s “Kentucky Rain” and “Don’t Cry Daddy.”

In 1973, Milsap moved from Memphis to Nashville. He was signed by RCA and released the two-sided hit, “All Together Now (Let’s Fall Apart)” and “I Hate You.” He followed with “That Girl Who Waits on Tables” and “Pure Love.”

A year later, he had three No. 1 songs. The flood of hits wouldn’t let up for 15 years: “Daydreams About Night Things,” “(I’m A) Stand by My Woman Man,” “Smoky Mountain Rain,” “Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night),” “How Do I Turn You On” and “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me” all stormed the charts.

Along with his multiple gold and platinum albums, Milsap has earned six Grammys and numerous CMA and ACM Awards. He’s a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Pictured (L-R): Eddie Stubbs, Connie Smith, and Ronnie Milsap. Photo: Chris Hollo

Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Michael Martin, songwriters Jameson Rodgers, Barry Zito, Marla Cannon-Goodman and Matt Jenkins, and ASCAP’s Robert Filhart.

Barry Zito, a former pitcher for the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants, performed for the first time in Nashville as a songwriter on Feb. 3. He appeared as part of an ASCAP showcase at the Bluebird Café.

Zito announced his retirement from professional baseball in October. He has turned his attention to songwriting full-time, according to a spokesperson for ASCAP.

He was joined in-the-round by hit songwriters Marla Cannon-Goodman and Matt Jenkins, and emerging songwriter-artist Jameson Rodgers.

The next edition of the Emmy-nominated webcast Skyville Live will feature vocal stylist Patti Austin, soul sensation Andra Day, and rising R&B/pop star Miesa. Filmed in Nashville, the show will stream live exclusively via go90, a free mobile video platform available across all wireless carriers, and on AOL.com.

Austin stepped onto the stage of the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem when she was just 4 years old at the urging of music legend Dinah Washington. Austin rocketed to the top of the New York session scene in the ’70s, adding her distinctive voice to recordings by Paul Simon, Diana Ross, James Brown, Bette Midler, Michael Jackson, Ray Charles and many others. Later, she signed with Quincy Jones’ Quest label and achieved mainstream success with her Grammy-nominated hit “Baby Come To Me” and Oscar-nominated “How Do You Keep the Music Playing.” In 2007, she won a Grammy for her solo album, Avant Gershwin. Fans can look forward to Austin’s new radio show SiriusXM this spring, as well as a Duke Ellington big band tribute. She is continuing her philanthropic work with The Over My Shoulder Foundation, which she created to encourage mentoring in all walks of life, and will also be touring worldwide throughout 2016.

With a vintage flair and voice for the ages, Day has perfected the American soul sound and has already earned a Grammy nomination for her debut album, Cheers To The Fall (Buskin/Warner Bros. Records). Her song “Rise Up” was hand-selected by the team at Beats By Dre to appear in a campaign around tennis superstar Serena Williams’ run during the U.S. Open and was also nominated for a Grammy (Best R&B Performance).

Miesa is a 24-year-old R&B/pop star on the rise. Born to a Haitian mother and a Filipino father, she showed her talent early on guitar, piano and clarinet. After hearing Miesa’s vocals on a demo earmarked for Kelly Rowland, Chauncy Jackson of Siri Music Group signed her. Her first single is “Antidote.” Drawing from influences Nina Simone, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse, Miesa is wrapping her debut album, which will release early this summer via Siri Music Group (Capitol/Caroline). Her latest single is “Too Bad For You.”