Garth Brooks Inducts Jon Pardi Into the Grand Ole Opry

Jon Pardi was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry last night (10/24) in Nashville. Before he performed on the show, he talked with us about what he remembered about his Grand Ole Opry debut several years ago.

Jon said, "I had long hair, and it was a rush. I am not old, but it was before Uber, and I had a stretch Hummer limo; I went all out. Me and my mom. I don't even know where we found a stretch Hummer limo, but it was rolling around mid-town by Losers (a small Nashville bar), where I was playing at the time. I was like, 'Man, we gotta take a limo to the Grand Ole Opry. We're doing it, Mom, we're doing it.' That's what I remember that night, and the band playing a little fast."

Pardi was inducted to the Grand Ole Opry by a surprise guest, Garth Brooks, who said, holding up Pardi's Opry member trophy, "I'll tell you what, brother, be careful what you wish for right here 'cause your life is about to go into warp speed right now. I've had great honors in my life, none greater than getting to be a member of this family right here. This is the big one."

Brooks then told the crowd that he met Jon at a CMA party when he was a "baby" act and added that "he was still old then." He then recalled that he took his very first selfie with Pardi. Garth said that when Jon opened for him in Knoxville in front of 80,00 people, he "had them eating out of his hand." He added, "What he did was turn the night around to where the pressure was on me when I came out of there. I used to Like Jon Pardi, after that night, I love Jon Pardi." Brooks said the two will have each other's back and that his next song will sound very different because "you are a member of the Grand Ole Opry."

An emotional Jon then thanked Garth, saying that his hero, whom he's looked up to since he was seven, was right behind him, and it was a full circle moment for him. He noted, "I love the Opry, I love being part of the family, and the future is holding on, I'm holding on Garth."

Jon also talked about stepping into the Opry Circle (part of the stage from the original Grand Ole Opry when it played at the Ryman Auditorium) for the first time as a member. He told us, "Tonight, I'll feel like I'll be one of those marks in that floor. I think that's a good feeling. There are a lot of marks on that floor, and to just have one represent me and my career and my family and what I think about country music and what I've tried to bring to country music over the years, I feel like that is what the circle is gonna mean tonight for me."

He added, "I'm nervous every time I get to be in the circle; now I get to feel nervous and a part of it. It's always like a respectful, nervous thing when you play the Opry, and thank God they have a teleprompter sometimes, man."

Pardi concluded, "Every time I play the Opry, it's always fun; I get to bring my band; every time, it feels more and more like home. Getting into the circle is coming back home."

Many country music superstars embrace the Grand Ole Opry and openly weep when invited to become members of the Nashville institution. However, a handful of country superstars are not members of the Opry.

To become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, you have to be invited, and that decision comes down to Opry management. According to the Opry website, "Opry membership requires a passion for country music's fans, a connection to the music's history, and it requires commitment – even a willingness to make significant sacrifices to uphold that commitment. Often, the Opry seeks out those who seek out the Opry, though decisions aren't based on which artists appear most on the show, either."

In picking new members of the Opry, their site says, "The Opry doesn't simply pass out invitations to the biggest stars with the most hits. Opry management looks for a musical and a generational balance. Opry membership requires a passion for country music's fans and a connection to the music's history. It requires commitment – even a willingness to make significant sacrifices to uphold that commitment."

To become a member, there is a rule that artists need to commit to playing the Grand Ole Opry stage several times a year. However, that rule is often broken by current Opry members (primarily icons and superstars), and it's just okay.

For some country superstars, it may be the commitment they shy away from or not having enough passion for the Opry history to leave the Grand Ole Opry out of their careers. We look at five country music superstars that are not members of the Grand Ole Opry. While all have played it at least once, these five acts rarely play the Grand Ole Opry stage.

Tim made his Grand Ole Opry debut in December 2003. After that, he played it a few times, but never that much, and now he doesn't play the Grand Ole Opry at all. Not sure why.

Faith played the Opry in the late 1990s when her career started to hit. She didn't play the Opry stage much after that.

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George played the Grand Ole Opry show once, his debut performance on the stage in October of 1982. That was the first and last time, and no one really knows why. There is a theory that he could not make the Opry commitment to play the stage very much because he never lived in Nashville; he has always resided in Texas.

Miranda played the Grand Ole Opry several times in her career, and some of her most recent performances on the Opry stage were in 2014 with then-husband Blake Shelton and in 2015 and 2016. She does not play it often now, and in 2015, she told me when asked about the Grand Ole Opry and someday becoming a member, "It's sort of something I don't talk about or have never asked or say that out loud. It was always a big deal to Blake, so that was something we always talked about, and he became a member, but I'd never really set it out for myself." She added, "It wasn't on my radar before because I focused on that for him, but I would definitely never say no to being a member of the Grand Ole Opry."

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Kenny made his Opry debut in 1996. He has been on the Opry stage a handful of times and once when he paid tribute to George Jones singing his classic, "White Lightning." These days it's very rare to see Chesney on the Grand Ole Opry stage.