Prince has Grand Ole time during Opry debut

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This article was published 18/02/2023 (1308 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

William Prince basked in country music’s brightest spotlight Saturday night.

The Peguis First Nation singer-songwriter performed two songs during his debut on the famed Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest running radio show, which has transmitted legendary voices such as Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Elvis Presley on the Nashville station 650 WSM since 1925.

Prince sang When You Miss Someone, a tune from an upcoming album, and Breathless, a 2015 single that helped launch him from the Winnipeg club scene to stages across North America, Europe and the Grand Ole Opry.

“I’m feeling absolutely privileged and overwhelmed, all those beautiful things, to be a representative of the First Nations people of Canada and I’m so proud to be here,” the 37-year-old told the crowd after singing When You Miss Someone.

“It took me 20 years to become an overnight success, and here we are together.”

Opry host Mike Terry asked Prince about his musical background, and that allowed the singer to recount the story of his father Ed, who recorded two albums and performed and preached in community halls and churches across northern Manitoba.

“He had a deeper voice than I did, and he would sing old country classics as well as lead service on Sundays,” said Prince, who’s mellow baritone is his musical trump card. “He led me to the life we’re living here tonight.”

Prince’s Opry appearance will build the hype for his next record, Stand in the Joy, which comes out April 14. He said it’s about moments like the one he was experiencing Saturday night.

“Now that I’ve gotten to this place where I’m truly living my purpose every day, getting to share songs with people,” he said. “If that music I make has any small effect whatsoever on somebody else and might go on to inspire other First Nations, Native American youth, in any way, that’s a huge accomplishment for me.”

Being invited to perform on the Grand Ole Opry is like being anointed by the country-music establishment. The Music City radio show has inspired generations of artists on Saturday nights over the years, whether they grew up listening to the show on rickety sets operated by car batteries during the Great Depression, transistor radios during the 1960s and ’70s, or on the internet in 2023.

Among those who also performed on the show Saturday night were Grand Ole Opry members Del McCoury Band, Lorrie Morgan and Bill Anderson, a Country Music Hall of Famer who has been with the Opry since 1961.

Among the Canadians who’ve performed on the radio show over the years is another Manitoban, Neil Young, who brought his country songs to Nashville in 1984 and 1999, and also performed as part of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in 2000.

Canadian members of the Grand Ole Opry include Nova Scotia’s Hank Snow, who popularized the country classic I‘ve Been Everywhere in 1962, and Alberta singer Terri Clark, who in 2004 became the first Canadian woman to join the Opry.

Alan.Small@freepress.com

Twitter: @AlanDSmall