When Kathy Mattea was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry Saturday night, she already had a little something up her sleeve.
Terri Clark did the honors, before Trisha Yearwood and Suzy Bogguss took to the stage to help sing one of Kathy’s biggest hits. Before the last chorus of “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” however, Kathy stopped the song.
“On behalf of my friends, and the entire Grand Ole Opry family,” Kathy said, “Suzy Bogguss has the voice of [an] angel with a generous spirit who has a collection of work that is timeless. Well, I have one question for you, my dear friend. Would you like to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry?”
The hitmaker behind “Aces” and “Drive South” was stunned.
“I was just so excited about all of us singing together tonight,” Suzy said. “I don’t even know what to say. Thank you, but I think I may wake up in a minute.”
It’s the first time in the Opry’s 100-year history an induction and invitation have happened in the same night.
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