Music City Walk of Fame Presents New Stars for Old Dominion

There’s some new bling on the streets of Nashville. The Music City Walk of Fame just got a little shinier as Old Dominion, Charley Pride, and Liz Rose each earned their well-deserved stars. It’s the kind of lineup that proves Nashville knows how to honor its icons and their contributions to the country music industry.  

On Tuesday, the Music City Walk of Fame honored CMA’s Vocal Group of the Year Old Dominion, the genre’s first Black superstar Charley Pride, and songwriter Liz Rose. According to Ellen Pryor, Chair of Music City Inc., the foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, and Director of Communications at Frist Art Museum, “These inductees represent the heart of Nashville’s music story. From Old Dominion’s rise from songwriters to stars, to Charley Pride’s trailblazing legacy, to Liz Rose’s timeless storytelling that defined an era — each has left an unforgettable mark on music and on Nashville,” per Country Now.  

Vince Gill inducted the hit-making group. Lead singer Matthew Ramsey shared, “It’s such a humbling experience, especially for a bunch of guys that consider themselves underdogs. At times that was very true, and other times not so true. But still, we have that spirit about us. I think even now receiving this, there’s that nagging voice in our heads that’s telling us we’re still underdogs.”  

Ramsey shared from the stage that they had to believe in their dreams, even when it felt like they were the only ones who did. “The thing about chasing this crazy kind of dream is the voice that’s telling you that you believe in yourself can very quickly turn on you and convince you that you were crazy forever believing in the first place.”  

Neal McCoy posthumously inducted Charley Pride, with Pride’s wife, Rozene, accepting the award on his behalf. Pride passed away on December 12, 2020. She said, “Pride always said that his mother believed that the dead knew what the living was doing. If that is true, I know Pride had a big smile on his face today as well as he’ll probably break into a big song and dance. I want to thank the committee for choosing him. He would be so happy.”  

During her speech, Rose reflected on her career and the pivotal move to Nashville: “I remember the first time we came here in the very early nineties for the CMA awards, and I looked down from the plane, and I’m going to try not to get emotional, but I looked in and saw nothing but green and beauty. And after a couple of days of being here, we decided this is where we wanted to live and raise our family. So we moved here. Within a year, we built a life here. I found an amazing career.”