‘Rocky Top’ | The song of a lifetime
Bobby Osborne, 91, is the voice behind the University of Tennessee’s unofficial fight song and state song “Rocky Top.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - For more than half a century, the song “Rocky Top” has continued to live on in the hearts and minds of people across the state of Tennessee. However, many people aren’t familiar with the man behind the song.
Bobby Osborne, 91, is the lead singer of the bluegrass music group The Osborne Brothers, which recorded the song more than 55 years ago.
“We got in touch with Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, they were writers,” Osborne told WVLT news reporter Richard Mason. “Boudleaux, he was singing slow time and I thought to myself ‘boy if we speeded that up that make a good song.’”
The song climbed the Billboard Country Singles chart, peaking at No. 33 and selling more than 85,000 copies within the first ten days.
It eventually got the attention of Tennessee state leaders and on Feb. 15, 1982, “Rocky Top” became an official Tennessee state song.
“We had no idea that anything like that would ever happen; I mean nobody did. For you to have a song or something like that, that becomes a state song, that’s forever,” Osborne said.
Bobby went on to win numerous accolades: a Country Music Award, being inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry and inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame. But he wants fans to remember him for his voice.
“I’d just like to be remembered as one of the top singers of bluegrass and country music,” Osborne said.
He now focuses on enjoying his time on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, performing a few times a year, reminding audiences that his voice gave life to the song “Rocky Top.”
A song that he said changed his life.
“It means everything,” Osborne said.
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