Monday, December 14, 2020

SCOTTY McCREERY PRESENTS DOUBLE PLATINUM PLAQUE FOR “FIVE MORE MINUTES” TO GRAND OLE OPRY


Gina Keltner (Director of Opry Talent Scheduling and Logistics), Dan Rogers (Grand Ole Opry Vice President and Executive Producer) receive a plaque commemorating RIAA-certified Double Platinum sales of the single “Five More Minutes” from Scotty McCreery on December 12, 2020. 
Credit: Scott Stem

Scotty McCreery presented a plaque commemorating the RIAA-certified Double Platinum sales of his first No.1 hit “Five More Minutes” to the Grand Ole Opry backstage this past Saturday, December 12, 2020 prior to his performance. The Opry was represented by Dan Rogers, Grand Ole Opry Vice President and Executive Producer, and Gina Keltner, Director of Opry Talent Scheduling and Logistics. “Five More Minutes” was written by McCreery, Frank Rogers (who also produced the song), and Monty Criswell. It was the first single from his Gold-certified album Seasons Change. “Five More Minutes” was certified Double Platinum in January 2020, but due to the pandemic McCreery had not had an opportunity to return to the Opry until this past weekend.

“I debuted ‘Five More Minutes’ nationally on the Grand Ole Opry back in June 2016,” said McCreery. “I wasn’t on a record label at the time, but I believed in this song and wanted to share it.  A few weeks later, I saw that I was trending on social media and wondered ‘what did I do?’  I learned quickly that the Opry had released a video of that performance on their YouTube Channel and it was attracting thousands of viewers by the hour. The Opry played a major role in the success of that song, and I will always be thankful to them for that.”

Sadly, country music legend Charley Pride passed away on Saturday as well, and Scotty dedicated his performance of “Five More Minutes” to him at the Grand Ole Opry that night. 

“We lost a great entertainer and an even greater man,” said McCreery. “That night in June 2016 when I debuted ‘Five More Minutes,’ I had just hung out with Charley and Bill Anderson backstage where we talked baseball.  Charley was always kind to me. Whenever we saw each other, we’d talk baseball, music, and more, and he treated me like he had known me forever. Country Music lost a giant this weekend.”


Charley Pride, Scotty McCreery, and Bill Anderson hang backstage at the Grand Ole Opry on June 10, 2016.
Credit: Scott Stem



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