Vince Gill held it together during his tribute to Kenny Rogers, but it wasn’t easy. The country legend performed “Sweet Music Man” during a Grand Ole Opry performance on Saturday (March 21) as a trio of performers honored the late Country Music Hall of Famer.
The Opry’s tradition of live Saturday night broadcast performances is still alive after last week, the second week without a live audience for the performance. Gill led the show with “Sweet Music Man,” a Top 10 hit from Rogers’ 1977 Daytime Friends album. Earlier in the day Brad Paisley had also tributed the 81-year-old with the song on Instagram. While not his most famous, it seems most appropriate.
“Nobody sings a love song quite like you do / Nobody else can make me sing along / Nobody else can make me feel that things are right when I know they’re wrong / Nobody sings a love song quite like you,” Gill sings in the video above.
He’d later admit it was the first time he’s ever sung that song.
What Are Kenny Rogers Top 10 Songs?
Marty Stuart joined Gill and Paisley onstage for the Grand Ole Opry showcase, and a press release notes that as Paisley finished his song “This Is Country Music,” he paid subtle homage to Rogers’ hit “The Gambler.” The Gambler died less than 24 hours earlier in Georgia.
The Grand Ole Opry has a long-standing tradition of honoring country stars who’ve died, but an even longer tradition of broadcasting. Opry records show 4,916 straight Saturday night performances. Through two wars, presidential assassinations, catastrophic floods and now the coronavirus, “the show has just gone right along and never gone off the air,” Stuart shares.
Fans can tune in on WSM-AM and it’s internet properties, as well as watch on Circle TV.
Watch the Full March 21 Grand Ole Opry Performance:
What Are Kenny Rogers Top 10 Songs?
See Pictures of Kenny Rogers Through the Years:
Let’s block ads! (Why?)