Chris Young Makes Granddad’s Dream Come True

Chris Young is "dress"-ed for success these days, as his single, 'Gettin' You Home' (aka 'The Black Dress Song') continues to climb the Top 10, helping his album, 'The Man I Want to Be,' bow as the highest-charting new country album of the week recently.

The 2006 'Nashville Star' champ, who's a native of Murfreesboro, Tenn., just southeast of Nashville, has had a number of musical influences throughout his life, and recalls an early Vince Gill concert which helped him decide his career path.

"He did one song where he just told his band to lay off. He stepped up -- him and his guitar -- and just destroyed whatever he was singing," Chris tells CMT. "I remember sitting there in the audience as a kid going, 'I want to do that.'"

Not surprisingly, his family also influenced his musical aspirations. While Chris recently revealed that his grandmother is a unlikely fan of the provocative 'Gettin' You Home,' it was his grandfather who shared his love of hardcore traditional country with the youngster.

"He kind of grew me up listening to Marty Robbins and Lefty Frizzell," says Chris. "Then I found Keith Whitley, Randy Travis and guys like that on my own."

Chris has played the venerable Grand Ole Opry stage 40 times, taking his grandfather along when he made his Opry debut. "It sounds horribly morbid when I talk about it," he recalls. "But my grandfather would always say, 'Before I die, I want to see you play on the Opry.' I actually got to take him the first night I played the Opry. He brought his guitar, and we sat backstage and played Marty Robbins songs together, and he got to go stand on the side of the stage and watch me play. I went back to my dressing room. At some point, it was just me and my granddad sitting there. It got kind of quiet, and he leaned over, and he goes, 'Before I die, I want to see you become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.' And I was like, 'No! You can't do that. We've just got past the other goal. Can you give me 24 hours?'"

Chris duets with Willie Nelson on 'Rose in Paradise,' also featured on 'The Man I Want to Be.'