When it comes to country music, the scarred oak flooring that makes up the 6-foot-diameter "Opry Circle" is as near to being sacred ground as you're likely to find.
For more than 30 years, starting in 1943, legendary singers such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette and George Jones had stood on those scuffed boards when it was center stage at the Ryman Auditorium. When the Grand Ole Opry moved to its present location in 1974, someone had the forethought to cut the relic ring out, and have it reinstalled center stage in the new venue.
On Feb. 26, Tom Johnston, founding member of the internationally acclaimed Doobie Brothers band had the honor of standing on the celebrated circle while singing his iconic song, "Listen To The Music."
"Playing the Grand Ole Opry wasn't something we had ever planned to do, but I got to tell you it was mind-blowing to go do it," Johnston said recently via telephone from his home in California. "It was a trip, and it made me nervous, and I'm not joking.
"When you think about some of the folks who have stood on those boards where I was standing, you're going, `Jeez, this is unbelievable.' It was such a treat. We played with Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and 90-year-old `Little' Jimmy Dickens, of all people, introduced us.
"The most interesting thing of all, other than me hoping we went over, was that the crowd got up and sang along with us.
It was unbelievable. It was likeareligious moment, I swear to God.
"They were the nicest people you would ever want to meet."
The Doobie Brothers are kicking off their 40th anniversary celebration this month, and have chosen Charlottesville as one of the towns they're going to rock. The band will be performing Thursday evening at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion on the east end of Charlottesville's Downtown Mall.
Listeners can expect to hear the classic Doobie Brothers hits that have helped them sell more than 40 million records worldwide. And there will be new songs as well from their latest album, "World Gone Crazy."
"We're really happy with this CD, and we took our time doing it," said Johnston, who along with Patrick Simmons, John McFee and Michael Hossack make up the group. "We did it on our own, and then we went out and did [the selling] routine, which I think was the way to go.
"All the songs got the attention they needed to get to get where they needed to go. What's really fascinating is that everybody I talk to about it says it's better the more you listen to it."
Simmons penned a beautifully poignant ballad for the new release titled, "Far From Home," which will be on the playlist Thursday. And Johnston is at his rock 'n' rolling best with his new song, "Young Man's Game."
"I think `Young Man's Game' is an overview of what it has been like," Johnston said. "I'm praising the guys I grew up with and listened to, and who affected me, my playing and where I was headed musically.
"At the same time I'm making the observation of what's going on around me now without getting real picky about it. I just tried to get across the fact that it's not just a bunch of kids out there playing music these days.
"Everyone in our band still loves playing live, and that is what this band has always been about. We've put out a lot of records, but it's really a joy to get up there in front of an audience and play.
"We're putting on one hell of a great live show, and we're playing better now than we ever did in the old days. We just got off a tour of Australia, New Zealand and a couple dates in Hawaii and people have really been responding." Johnston was 9 years old in the late 1950s when he was transformed by the music his older brother started bringing into their Visalia, Calif., home.
"I started listening to Elvis, Bo Diddley, Little Richard and those kind of guys," Johnston said. "To me it was like sticking my finger in a wall socket.
"It was mind-blowing. I hated playing the clarinet, absolutely loathed it, so I took up the guitar when I was 12. That was my rebellion instrument.
"My first guitar was a broken down Harmony acoustic with three strings missing. I finally got all the strings on it and started figuring stuff out. I didn't take lessons or do any of that.
"I just started woodshedding, and listening and trying to figure out what I was listening to and where it went."
Johnston figured it out better than most, and after cofounding the Doobie Brothers in 1970, went on to write many of their biggest hits. These include "Rockin' Down the Highway," "China Grove," and "Long Train Runnin.'" Johnston's masterpiece, "Listen To The Music," got things really rolling.
"I remember distinctly what I was doing when I first heard `Listen To The Music,' on the radio," said Johnston, who along with his band mates was inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004. "I was driving along in my Volkswagen when it came on.
"I pulled over to the side of the road and went, `Wow. What a trip." Hearing myself on the radio and getting regular airplay on the major stations was a big thrill.
"The song was kind of a utopian idea of getting the world leaders together in some nice grassy place where the sun is shining, and instead of throwing missiles at each other they would sit down and talk. It seemed like a great idea -that the music would heal, that it could be used as a healing tool.
"I still believe that. I believe music can be a great healer and a great way to communicate.
When other kinds of communications fail, music succeeds."
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