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Country star Crystal Gayle being inducted in Grand Ole Opry

AP PHOTO In this Oct. 21, 2012 file photo, Crystal Gayle performs at the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductions in Nashville, Tenn. Country music legend Gayle is being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country music legend Crystal Gayle is being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, nearly a half-century after she first walked onto its stage to perform as a teenager.

Gayle’s sister, country luminary Loretta Lynn, will induct her into the country music institution during a Saturday night ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Ole Opry announced.

The honor comes almost 50 years after Gayle made her Grand Ole Opry debut, singing “Rhttp://www.timesrepublican.com/wp-admin/post-new.php#edit_timestampibbon of Darkness” at the Ryman when she was just 16. The Ryman hosted the radio show from 1943 to 1974.

“I was very nervous, and I probably stood there and held on really tight and sang my song,” Gayle recalled during an interview backstage on Saturday, a few hours before the ceremony.

She brought along with her the shiny silver dress she wore during that very first performance, the one her mother made for her. She planned to bring it out on stage to show the audience, she said.

It was Lynn coming down with a cold that day, as Gayle remembers, that offered the opportunity for her to perform since her sister wasn’t feeling well.

After she signed her first recording contract, her debut single, “I’ve Cried the Blue Right Out of My Eyes” was written by Lynn.

Today, Gayle has fond memories of the Ryman Auditorium when it hosted the Opry — not only when she performed there, but also attending Lynn’s performances.

“I got to just roam the halls,” she said while flashing a bright smile. She even crawled across the catwalk high above the stage lights, she recalled.

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