Notable Grand Ole Opry Performers, 9-11

In this segment of our list of notable Grand Ole Opry performers, you will find Johnny Cash and the Carter Family.

9. Johnny Cash

The people on this list are all titans of the country music world, but few are as well known as Johnny Cash, who has a place in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The "Man in Black" joined the Opry in 1956 following the success of his hit single "I Walk the Line." But he only stuck around for two years.

Though Cash would battle addiction, a bitter divorce, and several career missteps, his popularity surged in the 1960s and again in the 1990s before his death in 2003.

10. Willie Nelson

Rabble-rouser, political activist, gifted musician, and chart-topper Willie Nelson is probably one of the more controversial figures to grace the Opry stage and the country music scene. But his outspoken nature doesn't eclipse his musical ambition or talent. Between 1962 and 1993, Nelson racked up 20 number-one hits, and 114 singles made it to the country and/or pop charts.

A tireless advocate for the American farmer, the seventy-something Nelson has performed all over the world and recorded countless songs both on his own and with a dazzling lineup of collaborators, including Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings.

11. The Carter Family

Known as the First Family of Country Music, the Carter Family recorded more than 300 classic country songs that embodied the simple lyrics and harmonies that continue to define the genre. Various members of the family came and went in several incarnations of the group, and by the time the Carters got to the Opry around 1946, the now all-female group was billed as Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.

June Carter later married Johnny Cash and co-wrote some of his biggest hits, including "Ring of Fire." Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan have all cited the Carter Family as influences in their careers and have covered Carter Family tunes.

On the next page, you will find our final three notable Grand Ole Opry performers, including Elvis Presley.