Since the Grand Ole Opry is 100 years old this week, I thought I’d dip into the archives (well what is currently on YouTube anyway) to find five stand out performances from women who have stepped into the iconic golden circle.
In no particular order here are my choices – share any classics you’ve found in the comments!:
- Loretta Lynn – You Ain’t Woman Enough to Take My Man 1968 https://youtu.be/0UF9K1MsRqc?si=IEPzZ7hi3futX4sC
There is some brilliant old footage out there and this video of Loretta singing on the Opry from 1968 is so perfect and crystal clear it almost looks fake. What a song, what a woman.
Another treat on YouTube is her full performance from 1985 including her signature song ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’.
https://youtu.be/6A2RwRXa_TY?si=u3-oIzEGjPL_zCkg
2 . Dolly Parton – I Will Always Love You (2007)
https://youtu.be/UePIAKmF8S4?si=E7yMqbky643PjU4t
When Dolly parted ways with Porter Wagoner in the 1970s she was famously inspired to write I Will Always Love You. Here then is an unforgettably awkward moment decades later at the Opry with Dolly ‘honouring’ Porter by singing the song that signalled the bittersweet end to their partnership. Dolly belts it out better than you’ve ever heard her sing it.
Porter sits, looking so pensive and pained it’s like he wants to be anywhere else than sitting there listening to that damn song again. You can see he knew all too well that whatever achievements he had in his own life, he would be best remembered as a footnote in this icon’s career.
There’s a gritty, unsentimental movie about these two’s relationship if anyone is brave enough to write it. And this performance could make a brilliant final scene, taking place only weeks before Porter’s death.
3. Rhiannon Giddens – She’s Got You
https://youtu.be/AdYjB41zipc?si=fiX8UwLDXFTcXXHB
On her debut solo album ‘Tomorrow is My Turn’ Rhiannon covered Patsy Cline’s ‘She’s Got You’ and on this live version at the Opry she proves herself to be a worthy successor to that epic singer. The crowd’s awestruck response tells you all you need to know about the quality of this performance. To hear Rhiannon do a full album of classic country covers would really be something.
4) Ashley McBryde – Girl Goin’ Nowhere (2017)
https://youtu.be/-RhdqUFRUS8?si=8wEAsUDbwibgHbFl
Some songs are all timers from the start and ‘Girl Goin’ Nowhere’ sounded like a modern classic to me from the first listen. Somehow even that didn’t prepare me for how perfect Ashley’s debut performance of the song at the Opry would be. The only people not crying by the end of this song are probably those people who told her she’d never make it. You feel she was probably invited to join the Opry on the strength of this performance alone.
5) Kaitlin Butts – You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me) (2025)
https://youtu.be/db3n3xz0Qf8?si=IOKWWXGr2jeql5qM
I feel its only right to finish the top 5 with a performance from this year and here we have the utterly delightful Kaitlin Butts with her viral smash ‘You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead to Me)’ bringing a little comedy and charm to the stage. The Opry always feels like a perfect place for someone like Kaitlin to connect since she brings so much personality and pizzazz to her performances. You hope she dazzles in the golden circle for many years to come!
Highway Queens 
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