A Quote by Dickey Betts

When I was a kid in school, and you asked me what I was gonna be, I mean, even as a little first grader, I was gonna be a guitar picker on the 'Grand Ole Opry.' I just had it in my head that that's what I wanted to do, having no idea how it was done.
When I was growing up, Nashville was the place to go if you had songs to sell and thought you had talent and wanted to tour and be on Grand Ole Opry [radio show]. It was the big deal back in those days to play the Grand Ole Opry. And you could travel around the world saying, "Hi, I'm Willie from the Grand Ole Opry".
The Grand Ole Opry was my favorite. That's when I got to discover the stuff inside the Grand Ole Opry, like Hank Williams' clothes, the dressing room Taylor Swift stayed in and some other things. Then I got to perform.
I came out the back of the building and I was hollering, 'I've sung on the Grand Ole Opry! I've sung on the Grand Ole Opry!'
When I was asked if I wanted to perform on the Grand Ole Opry, I yelled, 'Are you kidding me?' I've been waiting for that my whole life. To be invited where so many of the greatest country artists have performed is an honor, and I still can't believe it has been bestowed on me. Just to stand in the circle where so many greats have stood-Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, I just couldn't believe it.
In the first season (of 'Californication'), when we had the threesome with the nipple clamps, I was, like, 'I don't get this, I don't know how you're gonna do it.' And then, all of a sudden, there's a crane with a camera hanging over our heads, and you're, like, 'Okayyyyyyy. But how are you gonna sell this? How are you gonna make it work?' And they ended up shooting it brilliantly, cutting it together, and it just all ended up working without me having to compromise my own personal morals.
The Grand Ole Opry, to a country singer, is what Yankee Stadium is to a baseball player. Broadway to an actor. It's the top of the ladder, the top of the mountain. You don't just play the Opry; you live it.
What I loved about country music when I was a kid was the Grand Ole Opry, was 'Hee Haw,' was 360 degrees of entertainment.
What I loved about country music when I was a kid was the Grand Ole Opry, was Hee Haw, was 360 degrees of entertainment.
Being a guitarist was scary, honestly, as a girl in Nashville. It just felt like no one was gonna ask me to be in a band and play guitar, like I never was gonna get asked to do that.
I had the question asked of me before, 'What do you like better: singing or playing guitar?' If I'm gonna be totally truthful, if that microphone's in my hand, I'm loving it. When the guitar's in my hand, I'm a little nervous, but I'm still loving it.
My mother has always been open about all kinds of music and entertainment. She wanted us to see that it was not just country music and the Grand Ole Opry.
If they don't have the Grand Ole Opry, like they do in Tennessee, just send me to hell or New York City, it would be about the same to me.
The Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry, if you're a Southern boy, is just a way of life.
My mom was always like, "If you love it, do it. If she's actually having fun, and I know that my kid is having fun, she's gonna do whatever she wants. Whether that's gymnastics, learning the car, acting or just being a normal kid, she's gonna do what makes her happy." That's how I've always lived my life.
The first time I remember going to Nashville was in 1971 back when 'Snowbird' was a hit and I performed at the Grand Ole Opry.
I shaved my head when I was 14 - is that bad? I asked my dad's permission first. He said, 'You're gonna look like a boy.' And I said, 'OK'... then I did it anyway. All through high school, I had a shaved head and I'd dye it crazy colors - it was fun.
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