Collections

Since opening in 1967, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has been collecting objects and archival materials. The museum has built the world’s largest and most significant collection of materials documenting country music and its culture, from its folk roots to the present. These collections are vital for study and research and are the foundation of the museum’s exhibitions, online digital archive, educational programs, and publications.

Objects Collection

The Museum’s extensive Objects Collection includes nearly 500 musical instruments, more than 1,900 items of stage wear, personal clothing, and accessories, and thousands of other three-dimensional objects—from microphones to automobiles—documenting the history and culture of country music.

Hank Thompson Nudie suit

Frist Library and Archive

photograph of man playing a guitar

The Photograph Collection contains over 500,000 images related to the history of country music, from the 1920s to the present. The collection includes prints, negatives, and transparencies from professional photographers, publishers, talent agencies, and collectors.

bob pinson

Spanning the history of recorded sound, the Bob Pinson Recorded Sound Collection embraces nearly 250,000 recordings, including live performances, radio broadcasts, interviews, and ninety-eight percent of all pre-World War II country music recordings released commercially.

old video screenshot

The Moving Image Collection contains over 40,000 moving images on a variety of film, video, and digital formats that provide a unique visual history of country music from the 1920s to the present. The collection includes country music television shows, country music-related feature films, music videos, performances, awards shows, interviews, documentaries, and a strong collection of original home movies and amateur films.

Printed Collections Posters composit

The Print Material Collection comprises 5,000 linear feet and includes over 1,000,000 clippings and media press releases, covering over 4,500 country music performers and music-related topics. Holdings include a large collection of sheet music, periodicals, books, fan club newsletters, and pamphlets, from the 1800s to the present.

lyrics and other printed material with an audio tape

Officially launched in 1974, the museum’s ongoing Oral History Project collects interviews with performers, recording artists, songwriters, and a wide variety of business personnel involved in the country music industry. Search and Browse the Oral History Collection Listings.

Hatch Show Print Collection of Posters

Founded in 1879, Hatch Show Print is a letterpress print shop owned and operated by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Using its collection of antique wood and metal type and hand-carved imagery, the print shop continues to operate as it has for over 140 years, creating limited-run posters designed and printed in-house.

Search the Digital Archive

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum has in its holdings numerous cataloged photographs, moving images, sound recordings, printed materials, and objects related to the history of country and American folk music.

Patsy Cline singing in studio

Use the Collections

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