Better have the tissues ready for this one.
Randall King, who’s one of the absolute best rising stars in country music right now with his traditional honky-tonk sound and killer voice, made his Grand Ole Opry debut back in March, just days before the release his major-label debut album Shot Glass.
If there’s any new artist out there who appreciates and respects country music more than Randall I don’t know who it would be, so it’s a no-brainer that he belongs on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
And when he finally got to make his debut, it was an emotional day.
When Randall stepped into the iconic circle, he told the audience that he had dreamed about playing on the Grand Ole Opry since he was 9 years old. He then opened with one of the standout tracks from his new album Shot Glass, the quirky “Roger, Miller Lite and Me.”
And then he used his opportunity in the circle to pay tribute to his late sister, Leanna, to whom he dedicated his Grand Ole Opry debut:
“My sister passed away in April of 2020 from gastric sleeve surgery she had in 2013. Took me a long time to figure out why she’d get something like that. But I figured out why: It’s because somebody didn’t wake up and tell her every day that she was beautiful the way God made her.
I’m here to tell you today…if you’re listening to this, you’re beautiful the way God made you and you go home remembering that.”
Randall then performed his version of “I’ll Fly Away,” the same song that he sang to his sister in the hospital before she passed, the version that he later included on his EP named in her honor:
“I played my version of “I’ll Fly Away” for her in the hospital room. I played a little private concert for her. So tonight I’m gonna look up and I know she’ll be there.”
Randall also wore a guitar strap emblazoned with his sister’s signature – as well as a suit with it embroidered on the sleeve.
There weren’t many dry eyes in the Grand Ole Opry that night, and the crowd gave Randall two standing ovations in the short time that he was up on stage. And Randall confessed that he didn’t want to leave once he got up there:
“A lot of emotions. I didn’t wanna leave that circle tonight.”
The good news is that I have a feeling we’ll be seeing Randall in that circle for a long time to come.
The Grand Ole Opry all is about honoring country music, and there’s nobody who represents the future of country music while honoring its past more than Randall King.
