Honoring the Man in Black on his big night.
Jelly Roll was formally inducted as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry last night, after having been surprised with the invitation by Craig Morgan during an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast last year.
The invitation was clearly an emotional one for Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord. He’s previously recalled hearing Craig Morgan’s song “Almost Home” while he was in jail, and after being released he Googled Craig Morgan to see where he was playing – and he just so happened to be playing the Opry.
Jelly Roll would go on to make his own Opry debut in 2021, and in a true full-circle moment, the following year he would have the opportunity to perform “Almost Home” with Craig Morgan on the Opry stage.
@feel_good_music_ An emotional Jelly Roll gets to perform classic “Almost Home” with one of his idols Craig Morgan… #JellyRoll #CraigMorgan #AlmostHome #countrymusic #feelgoodmusic #fyp #grandoleopry
Well obviously since his debut, Jelly Roll has gone on to become one of the biggest names in country music. He’s scored 8 #1 singles, is selling out arenas and amphitheaters all across the country (and the world), and has won the CMA Award for New Artist of the Year and just this past month took home his first three Grammy awards.
Not too shabby for a guy from Antioch, Tennessee who spent most of his youth behind bars.
Last night, Jelly was officially inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in a show that featured Lainey Wilson, Ernest, and of course, Craig Morgan (among others). And ahead of the show, Jelly revealed the special piece of jewelry that he was wearing for the big night – one that belonged to Johnny Cash.
The cross necklace was given to Jelly Roll by Cash’s son, and is one that was deeply emotional for Jelly as a symbol of his faith and redemption:
“John Carter Cash came backstage this evening, and he opens up a box and he goes, ‘I got something of my father’s I think that he would want you to wear.’ And he opened up this cross necklace, it was Johnny Cash’s necklace. He said it was his father’s favorite piece of jewelry that his father owned. He thinks that he would want me to wear this during the induction…
I just – I live my entire life somewhere between two middle fingers and the grace of Jesus Christ. And I learned that from Johnny Cash, you know what I mean? This is the same guy that famously kicked the lights out on stage at the Ryman and flipped the bird at a photographer while breaking something. That’s breaking the law, by the way. He could have went to jail for that, destruction of property.
And this is also the same guy that I know is sitting right next to Jesus on the throne of heaven, smiling down for all the work he did for God on this planet, too. So I just, dude, I wear black because of Johnny Cash.
I could cry about this alone. This is just – my uncle grabbed it and almost cried, it was like that big a deal.”
Pretty cool stuff.
Later that evening, Jelly once again became emotional when the time came for him to officially be inducted by his friend and “Save Me” duet partner Lainey Wilson:
@eatpraylose #jellyroll #jellyrollofficial #opry #laineywilson #jellyrollconcert
Pretty special moment for Jelly Roll.
