For the past five years or so, Neal McCoy’s fans have been asking the leaders of the Grand Ole Opry to induct the singer they know and love into the legendary country music show.
Their effort paid off Tuesday, when Longview’s own country music star — who’s had hits with songs such as “The Shake,” “Wink,” “No Doubt About It” and more — got his wish. He was invited to become the 100-year-old Opry’s newest member.
McCoy has performed as a guest at the Opry numerous times throughout his 45-year career, and he’s aspired to be a member for some time now. But he didn’t know when he made his Tuesday night stop there that he’d soon join its ranks. The whole ordeal was kept a secret from him, his road manager and his family.
“It was a lot bigger deal to me than I thought it would be,” McCoy said late Tuesday night as he started the all-night trip on his tour bus from Nashville, Tennessee, back to Longview. “It was such a special night to be at the Grand Ole Opry because it was honoring Charley Pride night.”
After all, it was Pride — the pioneering Black country singer — who gave McCoy his start in the music business.
Tuesday’s Opry paid tribute to Pride, singer of songs such as “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” and “Mountain of Love.” McCoy, one of Pride’s mentees, was a natural choice for a tribute show.
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McCoy and his wife, Melinda, met Charley and his wife, Rozene Cohran Pride, in 1981, when McCoy was a young artist setting out to make a music career. McCoy became one of Pride’s opening acts, and Charley and Rozene worked hard to get him a record deal, to get him in front of crowds, “to try to help me get a break,” McCoy said.
McCoy signed with Atlantic Records in 1990, and his 1994 album “No Doubt About It” was his breakout album. It included some of his most noted tunes, including “Wink” and “The City Put the Country Back in Me.” In 2005, he released “Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On” under his own label, and the tune was a Top 10 country hit.
In a nod to his friend and mentor, McCoy recorded a Pride tribute album in 2013, seven years before Pride died. McCoy sang three Pride tunes during Tuesday’s tribute.
Before McCoy went on stage, he visited with Rozene, who didn’t tell him what she learned when she arrived: that she’d be part of his invitation to the Opry. She joined country star Pam Tillis on stage when Tillis extended the invitation. McCoy hugged Rozene and kissed her head, and he cried; the moment was overwhelming, he said.
“She did a great job of keeping it from me,” McCoy said. “I think she felt as good about it as I did because she had known how hard in the early years that her and Charley had worked to try to get me a record deal.
“It was almost like it came around full circle because we were there honoring Charley Pride.”
The Opry is celebrating a century of making music, and the greatest names in the country genre — from Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton to Carrie Underwood and Garth Brooks — have sung on its stage. Having accepted his invitation, McCoy is the Opry’s newest member, but he’ll be formally inducted during an upcoming ceremony, with a date to be determined. It’ll be a true family affair, McCoy said, as he’ll bring his family on stage.
McCoy will perform at the Opry several times per year from now on; all Opry members have a certain number of performances to make, coming from near and far to croon the country music lovers who fill the sprawling venue in Music City.
That means McCoy and his fans will get to say the Pledge of Allegiance together in Nashville a little more often.
McCoy is known not only for his music, but also for his patriotism. He’s said the Pledge of Allegiance on his Facebook page live every day since Jan. 7, 2016. Fans tune in to say the pledge with him and hear him talk about daily life. He said the pledge at the White House in January.
McCoy previously told the News-Journal that he was raised on American values. His father, Pete, served in the Army Corps of Engineers in the Philippines, where he met Virginia, Neal’s mother. Virginia raised her children to love God and country, McCoy said. From a young age, the fact that people in other countries have tougher lives and less freedom was impressed upon them.
McCoy is known for his charitable endeavors as well, and his annual East Texas Angel Network benefit concert will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at the LeTourneau University Belcher Center. The concert raises funds for the nonprofit network, which pays living and travel expenses for families of children with severe or terminal medical issues. The organization serves families within a 75-mile radius of Longview. McCoy established the organization with his wife in 1994.
McCoy will sing with two fellow ‘90s country singers Saturday: Larry Stewart, former lead singer of Restless Heart, and Tim Rushlow, former lead singer of Little Texas. A third singer — Richie McDonald, former lead singer of Lonestar — previously committed to attend the event but had to change plans to attend his son’s wedding, McCoy said.
“We’re just trying to help children with life-threatening, life-challenging illnesses, and a lot of people, they want to help also,” McCoy said. “We’re trying to make it easier for them.”
McCoy, Stewart and Rushlow have sold millions of records and had dozens of hits. They’ll perform tunes by Restless Heart such as “The Bluest Eyes in Texas,” “That Rock Won’t Roll,” “I’ll Still Be Loving You” and “Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right)”; and Little Texas hits including “God Blessed Texas,” “Amy’s Back in Austin” and “What Might Have Been.”
To purchase tickets, visit belchercenter.com or call 903-233-3080. To learn more about the East Texas Angel Network, visit easttexasangelnetwork.com.
As McCoy rolled westward to Longview Tuesday night — he has to get back in time to get ready for Saturday’s big show here — he was still ebullient from his big night at the Opry.
“The thrill of getting invited now, at 68 years old, it just makes you feel like you’ve earned it. You’ve put your time in,” he said.
That wouldn’t be possible without the support of his fans and family and a commitment to giving people a great show.
“I’m not in this business to get awards or get recognized,” he said. “That old adage, ‘It’s not where you get to, it’s how you get there,’ I think we’ve done that, too. I think we’ve gotten there the right way.”