NASHVILLE, Tn. — Since she was 19 years old, Cross Lanes, W.Va. native Kathy Mattea has been dedicated to country music.
“I moved to Nashville when I was 19 and got a job at the (country music) Hall of Fame. We talked about the history of country music and the history of the Opry. So now at the other end of my life to get to be a member and be part of what I started teaching people about when I was young feels like a beautiful, full-circle moment,” said Mattea in a recent conversation with MetroNews.
Mattea was performing on the Grand Ole Opry stage on Saturday night, August 9th when fellow West Virginia native Charlie McCoy walked onto the stage with a bouquet of roses and interrupted her performance. Mattea’s speaker was shut-off mid-song and for a brief moment she was unsure of what was happening, but soon, McCoy with a large smile offered those words which mean everything to country music performers.
“How would you like to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry?” McCoy asked of her.
“YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, and oh my gosh. Thank-you,” replied Mattea with a hug from her longtime buddy as the crowd roared in approval.
“We’ve known each other for years and he’s played on a bunch of my records and he’s a fellow West Virginia Music Hall of Fame member. The fact that it was him just made it so sweet,” she added.
McCoy, a native of Fayette County, W.Va., despite a long and storied music career, was only invited to become a member of the Opry last year. With Kathy’s invitation, there are now three native West Virginians who are living members of the exclusive organization. Brad Paisley is the third. Some might count Connie Smith who has been a member of the Opry since 1965 and spent some of her life in West Virginia, but is listed as being from Indiana in her Opry biography.
Members are invited to join exclusively at the discretion of Opry management. Their duties as members are largely unwritten obligations to carry be a steward and caretaker of the rich heritage and tradition of the Opry and to the legacy of country music.
“They treat you like family whether you’re a member or not,” Mattea said. “To be invited in is like being invited into the ‘inner circle’ I guess is the best way to put it.”
Mattea has had a thriving role in country music since breaking onto the scene in the 1980’s. Along with being a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame she has also taken on the duties as Host of Mountain Stage on West Virginia Public Radio each Sunday from Charleston and airing worldwide on public radio. She still performs regularly on the Opry and with the membership will continue performing as an obligation.
“When I was 19 I went on my first tour of the Ryman Auditorium, before it every got restored and it was falling apart. They gave tours because of the history and I walked out onto the stage and all of the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I couldn’t believe I was standing there. It pretty much still feels that way every time,” she said.