Connie Smith to Celebrate 50th Anniversary as Grand Ole Opry Member August 8

Smith, Marty Stuart, Alison Krauss Among Those Scheduled For Two Shows

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Grand Ole Opry® presented by Humana® will honor Connie Smith on her 50th anniversary as an Opry member during two shows on Sat., August 8. Among Smith’s fellow Opry members also scheduled for the evening’s shows are Alison Krauss, Del McCoury, Jeannie Seely, Marty Stuart, Mel Tillis, and The Whites. Smith was inducted as an Opry member on August 21, 1965.

“We look forward to honoring one of the greatest voices and one of the most beautiful souls the

Grand Ole Opry has ever known when we celebrate Connie Smith’s 50th Opry anniversary next month,” said Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher. “Connie has delivered unbelievable performances on the Opry stage for decades, and we look forward to reminding her how much her fans and fellow artists love her spirit and her music.”

As a shy five-year-old, the eighth child in a family of 14, Constance June Meador once made the prophetic proclamation, “Someday I’m gonna sing on the Grand Ole Opry!” Decades after her dream became a reality, the singer continues to astonish audiences with a voice that is one of the most respected and recognizable in country music.

Born in Indiana and raised in West Virginia and Ohio, Smith was a young housewife and mother with a four-month-old son in Warner, Ohio, in 1963, when she traveled to the Frontier Ranch Park in Columbus. Talked into entering a talent contest, Smith won five silver dollars and the chance to meet Opry member Bill Anderson. By the next year, Chet Atkins had signed her to RCA Records and she had recorded a song penned by Anderson, “Once a Day.”

Released in August, the now-classic reached the top of the charts by November and became the first-ever debut single by a female country act to reach No. 1. The song spent eight weeks at the top and also was nominated for a Grammy. Her debut album was also a chart-topper, and she followed with a host of other hits, including “I Never Once Stopped Loving You,” “Nobody But a Fool,” “Ain’t Had No Lovin’,” and “Cincinnati, Ohio.” Along the way, she earned the name “Sweetheart of the Grand Ole Opry” from the King of Country Music, Roy Acuff.

In July 1997, Smith married fellow Opry member Stuart. 15 years later, the lauded vocalist who still enjoys recording as well as performing with her band the Sundowners, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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