On Friday 17 July 2026, Gene Watson reflected on another great night (on Thursday 16 July 2026) at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
‘It’s always a great night at the Grand Ole Opry, but Thursday 16 July 2026 was extra special!
Rhonda Vincent invited me to sing, backed by Bluegrass royalty – and even surprised me with a Gospel medley.
Rhonda had started a ‘Facebook Live’ request to have me sing with her on the Opry – so, of course, I said yes.
But I didn’t know she had recruited some Bluegrass royalty to back us up.
Jamie Johnson of The Grascals was phenomenal on vocals and acoustic guitar, Rhonda’s own son-in-law knocked us out on the Dobro, Kelly Lang on bass, and many more greats were in the band.
Adam Haynes on fiddle was the lone member of Rhonda’s regular band, while the others were on vacation.
While we rehearsed the Hank Williams Sr. song, ‘My Sweet Love Around’, the world famous Gospel artist, Jason Crabb, stopped by to listen in.
After our rehearsal, Rhonda asked me to also join in on her Gospel medley that closed out her set on stage.
I was happy to do that.
Of course, I had no idea what songs were in the medley, but she assured me I’d know them all, and she was correct.
As the old saying goes, I was ‘flying by the seat of my pants’ on that medley, but it turned out great – as I knew it would with Rhonda in charge.
You just never know what you’ll hear on any night at the Opry!’
Source
Gene Watson on Facebook
Gene Watson / Rhonda Vincent Music Connection
On Tuesday 7 June 2011, Gene Watson & Rhonda Vincent saw the release of ‘Your Money & My Good Looks’ (Upper Management Music, 2011), their first duets album, which reached No.56 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart in 2011.
Hank Williams (Monday 17 September 1923 – Thursday 1 January 1953) recorded ‘My Sweet Love Ain’t Around’ (written by Hank Williams), and included the track on ‘Moanin’ The Blues’ (MGM Records, 1952); the track, which was released as a single in 1947, and did not chart, was subsequently included on Hank Williams’ ‘Moanin’ The Blues’ (MGM Records, 1956).
