Nearly 30 years ago today, on Feb. 29, 1992, Travis Tritt’s hard work and determination paid off when the Grand Ole Opry recognized him as a member. Following his induction, Tritt wrote about the Opry’s significance and its sacred nature in the country music world in his 1994 autobiography, Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof.
“The Grand Ole Opry stands still as one of the biggest traditional gods, that we pay homage to in the business. In country music, there’s not a single person whose grandfather or father doesn’t have a story about listening to the Grand Ole Opry around a little small AM radio or one of those big console AM radios when they were a kid. My dad told me about it when he was young. I listened to the Grand Ole Opry, watched it on television when I was young. Every person in country music, I think, has got a story like that.”
Travis Tritt’s Duet That Landed Him Opry Invite
However, Tritt didn’t go at it alone when making a name for himself in country music. He recruited the help of award-winning songwriter and singer Marty Stuart. Together, they crafted the song that propelled him to his induction when they wrote: “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’.”
The duet appeared on Tritt’s sophomore album, It’s All About to Change. After its release, it quickly made its way up the charts. Despite Tritt’s launch into stardom, he remained humble. Even when the Opry extended their invitation to Tritt to join the organization, he stayed free from vanity— somewhat of a rarity for a celebrity.
“I always thought that I was too rowdy and too much of a rocker, or too heavily influenced by the other side, to be asked to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry,” he confessed.
“When I was inducted, I was the youngest member that had ever been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. I guess the added excitement of never thinking that I would be there mixed with what tremendously high esteem that that particular institution is held in by my family, and by all the people that I know, to be a part of that institution is just absolutely one of the coolest things that I could ever be associated with.”
