A man who has written over 30 No. 1 hits for a living stood on the Grand Ole Opry stage Saturday night and couldn’t think of a single word to say.
Jon Pardi walked out during ’90s Country Night at the Opry and surprised Rhett Akins with the invitation he’s waited more than three decades to hear.
“You’ve always been family to me, but I’m here to invite you to be part of a different family,” Pardi said. “Rhett Akins, I am here to invite you to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.”
Akins dropped to the stage floor as the crowd erupted. When he finally gathered himself, surrounded by family and friends, the songwriter who has spent his entire adult life putting feelings into words had exactly one sentence.
“All I do everyday is write words and I can’t think of any words right now other than, ‘Thank you Lord Jesus.'”
That might be the most honest thing anyone has ever said on the Opry stage.
The Man Who Wrote Nashville’s Biggest Hits Was Never in the Room He Built
Here’s the part that’s hard to believe. Rhett Akins has written some of the most played country songs of the last 20 years and he wasn’t an Opry member until Saturday night.
“Dirt on My Boots” for Jon Pardi. “Boys ‘Round Here” for Blake Shelton. “Bait a Hook” for Justin Moore. “When She Says Baby” for Jason Aldean. “Take a Back Road” for Rodney Atkins. “To Be Loved By You” for Parker McCollum. Over 30 No. 1 hits with his name on the writing credits. Half of country radio’s biggest moments in the past decade started with Rhett Akins sitting in a room with a guitar and an idea.
And as an artist, he gave the ’90s one of the most recognizable country songs of the decade. “That Ain’t My Truck” came out in 1995 and it’s still on playlists 31 years later. “I Brake for Brunettes” and “Don’t Get Me Started” followed, and even though his own chart success never matched the monster hits he was handing to other artists, nobody in Nashville questioned whether Rhett Akins belonged.
Except apparently, the Opry took its time confirming what everyone already knew.
His Son Thomas Rhett Was Standing Right There When It Happened
Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins’ son and one of the biggest names in modern country, was on stage with the rest of the family when Pardi delivered the news. Watching your dad get the invitation that changes everything, in the same room where you’ve stood together performing songs you wrote in the kitchen when you were eight years old, that’s a moment neither of them is going to forget.
In June 2021, father and son made their first Opry performance together, singing “What’s Your Country Song,” a No. 1 they co-wrote. Thomas told the crowd, “Do y’all understand how freakin’ cool this is right here?” Rhett Akins, beaming, said, “You were over there at two years old watching me play. We’ve written songs in the kitchen since you were eight years old and now we are singing one we wrote together on the Grand Ole Opry that went to No. 1!”
That was five years ago. Saturday night, the kid who used to watch from the side of the stage watched his dad finally get invited to stay.
Akins told the crowd, “I’ve been listening to the Grand Ole Opry since I was a kid with my grandparents and watching it when it used to be on TNN, and playing here — anytime they ask me, if I was in Alaska and they ask me to play, I’d fly home immediately.”
That’s a man who never treated the Opry like a career move. He treated it like church. And he showed up every single time they asked for 30 years before they ever asked him to stay.
The Pardi Connection Made the Invitation Perfect
The fact that Jon Pardi delivered the invitation wasn’t random. Akins wrote Pardi’s second No. 1 hit, “Dirt on My Boots,” the song that helped turn Pardi from a promising newcomer into a headliner. They’ve co-written together for years, and their relationship goes deeper than business.
Pardi told the crowd, “Rhett has always been somebody that has always been a mentor and taught a lot to me how to write songs, how to be a co-writer. He has over 30 No. 1’s.”
Opry executive producer Dan Rogers added, “We’re going to be so pleased to welcome a fellow like Rhett who has made such an impact both as a recording artist and an often-recorded songwriter into the Opry family. Rhett lauds the Opry’s traditions and is excited to help build its future as the show enters its second century.”
No official induction date has been announced yet, but when it comes, Rhett Akins will walk into the circle not as the guy who wrote hits for everybody else, but as the newest member of the institution he’s loved since he was sitting in his grandparents’ living room watching it on TNN.
Thirty years. Thirty No. 1 hits. And when the moment finally came, the best songwriter in Nashville couldn’t find a single word except the only one that mattered. “Thank you, Lord Jesus.”
