Canadian Country legend Terri Clark joins The Ty Bentli Show to chat about her early days in Nashville, the distinction of being the only Canadian female inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry, and who among the new class of female artists she’s close with. Listen to the episode in-full anytime on-demand here.
Terri Clark Reminisces On The Moment She Was Invited To Join The Opry, and How She Feels About Recent Inductees:
I was doing a regular Opry show. This is how they popped this on you: they invite you to come, just play the show, and then somebody comes out with a big sign. My mom had just been in Nashville visiting me for two or three weeks. And she was already back home, had been home for two weeks, and they flew her back down. They hid her in one of the broom closets backstage at The Opry, because they didn’t want me to run into her backstage or any of that. So after one of my songs, my mom comes walking out and I just looked at her, and I’m like what you doing here?! They were carrying a sign that said the date that they were going to invite me to become a member. I’m still in shock and awe of that whole thing. I can’t believe, I can’t believe I’m an Opry member! The people they’re inducting now, they’re just such big stars that they’re gonna carry the torch. I’m becoming one of that last generation now. You know, I was the new kid for a while there. I’m so happy to see so many women getting inducted too. I think that’s wonderful.
Terri Clark Shares The Importance of Women Supporting Fellow Female Artists:
“There have been a few girls that I’ve become friends with over the last few years, and have had over for dinner or drinks. Ashley McBride and I are are like sisters now at this point. And you know, Ashley, I don’t know that she needs my advice. She’s pretty savvy and she’s so talented, but we’ve definitely sat and commiserated over the industry and music. We were both cut from the same cloth – feel like we’re sisters from other misters. Megan Patrick and I, we’re good friends… if you have experience and success, it needs to be passed on. You can’t just hold that to yourself. You need to be an open book with some of these. It is harder for women. I don’t care what anybody says. We don’t make as much money. We don’t traditionally sell as many tickets, which I don’t understand that, but it’s just been that way. It’s just tougher. A lot of women have to work twice as hard for half of the attention. So yes, we have to be there for each other. I see a real sisterhood with people like Megan [Patrick] and Lainey Wilson. They’re going to each other’s number 1 parties, and they’re so supportive, and I think that’s fantastic. You know, we had some of that back in the nineties, but I sense it’s even a tighter camaraderie now between women than it was even back then.”
