Marty Stuart Marks 50th Birthday With Opry Special

What do Marty Stuart, Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson all have in common? Each of them is turning 50 this year. But only one of them will be marking the occasion with a live, star-studded special live on stage at the Grand Ole Opry.

Marty Stuart will be joined by his band, the Fabulous Superlatives, along with Keith Urban, the Carolina Chocolate Drops string band, and his wife Connie Smith for GAC's 'Opry Live' telecast, Saturday, September 27 at 9 PM ET. Expect a few surprise guests to also stop by and offer birthday wishes to Stuart during the show.

Stuart, who joined the Grand Ole Opry cast in 1992, is also set to mark his personal re-commitment to the venerable institution by revitalizing Opry dressing room No. 14. Previously belonging to Opry legend Porter Wagoner, the room will be transformed into Stuart's home away from home, and will also serve as a tribute to the life of his longtime friend, who died in 2007. The designs for the room's renovation were done by Stuart himself. He also handpicked the furniture, fabric and memorabilia for the space, including a selection of photographs from one-time Opry photographer Les Leverett, and rhinestone-festooned tapestries designed by Nudie and Manuel protégé, Jaime Custom Tailor of North Hollywood, Calif.

Marty Stuart has been playing music professionally for 38 of his 50 years. At age 13, he went on the road to play with legendary bluegrass duo Flatt and Scruggs, and later toured with his one-time father in law, Johnny Cash.

"I love that old gospel song that says, 'When you're trying to make a hundred, ninety nine and a half won't do,'" said Stuart. "In the light of that, 50 means that I'm just getting warmed up. I've heard that saying, 'Fabulous at 50' and I'm going to try to live up to that."

In Novenber, 'The Marty Stuart Show' begins airing Sunday nights on RFD-TV. An avid collector, historian, and photographer, Stuart will also release his second photography book, 'Country Music: The Masters,' on November 11. Also upcoming: the largest private music memorabilia collection in the country, "Sparkle and Twang: Marty Stuart's American Odyssey," takes up residency at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, beginning October 30.