Grand Ole Opry To Recognize New Longest-Serving Member, Bill Anderson

Saturday, July 22 will be another landmark date in the storied career of country veteran Bill Anderson, when he is honored by Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, and by fellow members such as Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs, as the longest-serving member in the history of the famous, long-running show.

It’s 62 years this week since “Whisperin’ Bill” was inducted into the Opry, on July 15, 1961. That takes him past Herman Crook, the harmonica player and member of the Crook Brothers Band, whose membership ran from 1926 until his death in 1988. Anderson will both perform and be honored during a show featuring Gill, Skaggs, fellow inductees including Jamey Johnson and Jeannie Seely, and other artists including Sam Grow.

Dan Rogers, Opry vice president and executive producer, said: “The Grand Ole Opry continues to be built on the shoulders of Opry members such as Bill Anderson. Singling Bill out as the Opry’s longest-tenured member in our history among so many greats who came before him as well as so many contemporaries he calls his friends is a tremendous honor for all of us. We look forward to celebrating his achievement and dedication later this month.” Tickets for the show start at $40 and are available at the Opry website.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s current exhibit Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See, has been extended until September 25. It features historic photographs, keepsakes, instruments, manuscripts, and other items, providing a deep dive into the life and career of a country mainstay, as both performer and songwriter, who has placed songs on the country charts in seven consecutive decades. The run went from Ray Price’s “City Lights” in the late 1950s to “Whiskey Lullaby” in 2004, co-written by Anderson with Jon Randall, and recorded by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss.

Listen to the best Bill Anderson songs.