Museum

Brooks & Dunn Benefit Concert Announcement
February 25, 2010

Superstar duo Brooks & Dunn made a special appearance February 25, 2010 during the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville to announce that the final show on their upcoming concert trek, The Last Rodeo Tour, will be Brooks & Dunn and Friends, a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum.  Set to take place at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on August 10, with special guests to be announced, the show will mark the concert culmination of the duo's groundbreaking 20-year career.

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum honored one of American music's most gifted and beloved stars, Brenda Lee, in Brenda Lee: Dynamite, Presented by Great American Country Television Network, a biographical exhibit which ran from August 7, 2009 through June 13, 2010. Born Brenda Mae Tarpley on December 11, 1944, Lee achieved success in numerous genres, decades and continents during her ground-breaking career. Her indelible contributions to American music - from the rockabilly-infused "Dynamite" to the classic ballad "I'm Sorry" and the holiday standard "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - were acknowledged formally with her inductions into both the Country and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.

Artist in Residence: Jerry Douglas
August 19 & 27 and September 16 & 30, 2008 at 7:00 pm

His incomparable resume includes 12 Grammy Awards, appearances on more than 2000 albums and a decade as the featured soloist with Alison Krauss & Union Station. In 2008, this three-time CMA Musician of the Year Jerry Douglas added a new accolade to the list: The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum's 2008 artist-in-residence. Dobro in hand, Douglas hosted four memorable evenings in August and September, each carefully curated by the artist to illustrate different facets of his glittering career. Hailed as "Dobro's matchless contemporary master" by The New York Times, Jerry Douglas has taken a once obscure and relatively unexplored instrument and harnessed it, through the power of his immense skill and creativity, to create some of the most distinctive sounds in American popular music.

Cindy Walker Donation Ceremony
August 12, 2009

At a donation ceremony wreathed with her songs, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum today paid tribute to 1997 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Cindy Walker for an SRO audience of invited guests and Museum visitors.

Museum Director Kyle Young announced that when Walker died on March 23, 2006, she bequeathed the writer's share of her 500-song catalog to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

All for the Hall LA 2009
October 1, 2009 -  Los Angeles

The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum's third annual All for the Hall fundraiser, featuring distinguished talents Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, and Melissa Etheridge, and hosted by Chris Isaak, proved to be an extraordinarily moving experience. Held for the first time in Los Angeles, at Club Nokia at L.A. Live on October 1, the event featured the musicians in a "guitar pull." The relaxed format, a Nashville tradition where songwriters trade off performing new and favorite material, not only brought out some exceptional songs, it afforded each singer a sense of spontaneity and connection with their colleagues that created a unique momentum.

Keith Urban Press Conference
August 31, 2009

In this press conference which took place at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum's Ford Theater, Grammy Award winner Keith Urban, Museum Director Kyle Young and Museum Board President Vince Gill, who created and has led the institution's All for the Hall fundraising initiative since 2005, announced the details of We're All for the Hall, a special concert event benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The concert, which took place on October 13,2009 at Nashville's Sommet Center, featured performances from a virtual who's who of Nashville's best.  They include Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift.

We're All for the Hall: Taylor Swift announcing her guitar donation
October 13, 2009

Taylor Swift surprised a sold-out crowd of supporters and the museum staff when she announced she would donate her guitar for auction to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum. Swift kept her donation a secret until after she performed her hit “Fifteen” at the star-packed We’re All for the Hall benefit hosted by Keith Urban in October 2009.

Online bidding for the signed guitar, which features a large “13” affixed to the body (Taylor’s lucky number) took place February 13-26, 2010.

Kayton Roberts played steel guitar for Hank Snow for thirty years. Roberts has also performed or recorded with the Derailers, Alison Krauss, Riders in the Sky, Billy Joe Shaver, Randy Travis, Hank Williams III, and others.

Instrument Demonstration: Dave Mac Kenzie
January 24, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.

Dave MacKenzie, blues educator and resophonic instrumentalist, has recorded with Jeff Foxworthy and others.

Book Signing: Anne Murray
October 27, 2009 at 2:00 pm

Anne Murray stopped by the Museum Store to sign copies of her new book All of Me on October 27.

2010 CMA Music Festival Highlights

June 7-13 was packed with artist appearances and performances in the Museum Store. Appearances included Diamond Rio, Jake Owen, Trisha Yearwood, Josh Turner, Danny Gokey, Dierks Bentley, Gretchen Wilson, and Cherryholmes. Watch highlights from this year's exciting CMA Music Festival programs in the Museum Store.

Nashville Cats: Weldon Myrick
August 15, 2009 at 1:30 pm

One of country music's most admired and influential steel guitarists, Weldon Myrick was honored as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's ongoing Nashville Cats series, which pays tribute to vetern musicians who have proven integral to the city's role as a leading music center. Interviewed by series host Bill Lloyd, Myrick traced his wide-ranging career in an eighty-minute program before a rapt audience in the museum's Ford Theater.

Nashville Cats: Eddie Bayers
February 13, 2010 at 1:30 pm

One of country music's busiest and most admired drummers over the last thirty years, Eddie Bayers was honored as part of the museum's ongoing Nashville Cats series, a quarterly program that pays tribute to veteran musicians who have proven integral to the city's role as a leading recording center. Interviewed by series host Bill Lloyd, Bayers traced his unusual, wide-ranging career in a ninety-minute program before an attentive audience in the museum's Ford Theater.

Bob McDill doesn't hesitate to use the word "art" when referring to country music songwriting. One of Music Row's most thoughtful and literary songwriters, McDill spoke eloquently and humorously on his career during a March 1 program in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford Theater. Appearing as part of the Museum's ongoing Poets and Prophets series, McDill drew a capacity crowd that listened raptly as he told tales about his best-loved songs and commented about his approach to songwriting.

Poets and Prophets: Curly Putman
March 28, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.

Curly Putman discussed his career high points as the subject of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s quarterly series Poets and Prophets, which pays tribute to songwriters who have made a significant contribution to country music. The sold-out program, held in the museum’s intimate Ford Theater, featured a two-hour interview with Putman, augmented by live performances, video and audio clips, and scores of personal and professional photos. Two previous Poet and Prophet honorees, Bobby Braddock and John Loudermilk, attended the program.

Poets and Prophets: Matraca Berg
July 18, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Matraca Berg was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008 on the strength of #1 hits such as "Wild Angels" (Martina McBride), "You Can Feel Bad" (Patty Loveless), "XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl)" (Trisha Yearwood), and "The Last One to Know" (Reba McEntire). Berg won CMA's Song of the Year honor in 1997 for "Strawberry Wine" (Deana Carter). The Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Gretchen Wilson, and other stars have turned to her catalog for hit material. As a recording artist, the Nashville native charted a handful of singles herself in the 1990s.

Poets and Prophets: Jerry Chesnut
September 26, 2009 at 1:30 pm

One of the most prolific and successful songwriters ever to hit Nashville, Jerry Chesnut is best known for composing classics such as "A Good Year for the Roses," "T-R-O-U-B-L-E," "Another Place Another Time," "It's Four in the Morning," "They Don't Make 'Em Like My Daddy," and "Holding on to Nothin.'" Chesnut grew up in the Harlan County coal mining camps of Eastern Kentucky, and eventually settled in Music City in 1958. He achieved his first songwriting success nine years later with Del Reeves's "A Dime at a Time," and soon provided Reeves with "Looking at the World Through a Windshield," "Good Time Charlie's," and other hits. Chesnut is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. This program included multi-media elements, and a brief performance.

Poets and Prophets: Bill Anderson
December 12, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Bill Anderson, early in his career, absorbed two important points about songwriting. "Number one, if you're going to be a songwriter, you need to have a good imagination," he said. "Number two, you need to realize truth doesn't always rhyme."

Anderson cited these principles during a ninety-minute interview as the subject of Poets and Prophets, a quarterly series sponsored by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum that honors songwriters who have made a significant contribution to country music. Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, and to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975, Anderson is responsible for an impressive list of hits-some he recorded himself, many others that were cut by fellow artists.

Poets and Prophets: Salute to Legendary Country Songwriter Roger Murrah
March 6, 2010 at 1:30 pm

Two recordings of "High Cotton"-Roger Murrah's original demo and the recording by country group Alabama that became a #1 hit in 1989-opened a celebration of Murrah's work at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The song offered an apt example of what makes Murrah's work special: His lyrics repeatedly draw on images and sounds of the Old South while providing philosophical statements about the values of living a simple, loving, spiritual life. At the same time, as a long-running music publishing executive, Murrah often employs the same honest, hard-working ethos found in his songs to his long-running career as a businessman.

Thomas Hart Benton's the Making of The Sources of Country Music

Watch as Thomas Hart Benton creates the painting The Sources of Country Music and discusses his inspiration for the piece. This painting is on display at the museum in the Country Music Hall of Fame Rotunda.

American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print

Preservation through production is the moto of Jim Sherradan, manager of Hatch Show Print. Watch as Jim and his staff carry this moto out on a daily basis and learn more about the importance of this historic letterpress print shop.

Flatt & Scruggs Film Preservation

Watch as museum film archivist Kelli Hix walks through the many steps in preserving a historic film. The film being preserved in this video is a historic performance of Flatt & Scruggs on the Grand Ole Opry. This footage dates between 1955-1956 and it some of the earliest performance footage of Flatt & Scruggs.

Songwriter Session: Gretchen Peters
March 21, 2009 at 11:30 am

Gretchen Peters wrote "The Chill of an Early Fall" (George Strait); "Independence Day" (Martina McBride); "Inside Out" (Trisha Yearwood with Don Henley); "Let That Pony Run" (Pam Tillis); "My Baby Loves Me" (Martina McBride); "The Secret of Life" (Faith Hill); "When You Love Someone" (Bryan Adams); "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" (Patty Loveless); and songs recorded by Emmylou Harris, George Jones, Bonnie Raitt, Lee Ann Womack, and others. Barry Walsh sat in on piano.

Songwriter Session: Rivers Rutherford
March 28, 2009 at 11:30 am

Rivers Rutherford wrote "Aint Nothing 'Bout You" (Brooks & Dunn); "Homewrecker" (Gretchen Wilson); "I Want To Live" (Josh Gracin); "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" (Montgomery Gentry);  "Real Good Man" (Tim McGraw); "She Don't Tell Me To" (Montgomery Gentry); "When I Get To Where I'm Going" (Brad Paisley); "When the Lights Go Down" (Faith Hill); and songs recorded by Gary Allan, Mark Chesnutt, Andy Griggs, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Chely Wright, and others.

Songwriter Session: Mark Selby, Clay Mills, and Sonny LeMaire
June 6, 2009 at 11:30 am

Mark Selby wrote "I Cry" (Tammy Cochran); "That'd Be Alright" (Alan Jackson); and "There's Your Trouble" (Dixie Chicks). Clay Mills wrote "Beautiful Mess" (Diamond Rio); "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" (Darius Rucker); "I Don't" (Danielle Peck); and "One Day You Will" (Lady Antebellum). Sonny LeMaire wrote "Beautiful Mess" (Diamond Rio); "She's Too Good to Be True" (Charley Pride); and "When She Cries" (Restless Heart). A member of Exile, LeMaire wrote their hits "Crazy for Your Love," "Give Me One More Chance," "Hang on to Your Heart," "I Can't Get Close Enough," "It'll Be Me," and others.

Songwriter Session: Kent Blazy & Cory Batten (with Karyn Rochelle)
June 20, 2009 at 11:30 am

Kent Blazy wrote "Ain't Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)" (Garth Brooks); "Beer Run" (George Jones with Garth Brooks); "Can't Get Enough" (Patty Loveless); "If Tomorrow Never Comes" (Garth Brooks); and songs recorded by Kenny Chesney, Terri Clark, Diamond Rio, Chris LeDoux, Kenny Rogers, and many more. Cory Batten wrote "Is the Grass Any Bluer" (Rhonda Vincent); "She Wouldn't Be Gone" (Blake Shelton); and songs recorded by Brooks & Dunn, Blake Shelton, Chris Young, and others. Blazy and Batten co-wrote "Gettin' You Home" (Chris Young), "I Don't Know What She Said" (Blaine Larsen), "If You Had Called Yesterday" (Julie Roberts), "You Can Let Go" (Crystal Shawanda), and others

Songwriter Session: Annie Tate and Sam Tate
Saturday, June 27 at 11:30 a.m.

Songwriter Session: Vince Melamed
July 25, 2009 at 11:30 am

Vince Melamed wrote "I'll Take That as a Yes" (Phil Vassar); "She Ain't the Girl for You" (The Kinleys); "She'd Give Anything" (Boy Howdy); "Tell Me What You Dream" (Restless Heart); "Walkaway Joe" (Trisha Yearwood); "What Mattered Most" (Ty Herndon); and songs recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Rosanne Cash, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Tina Turner, and others.

Songwriter Session: Kelley Lovelace
February 20, 2010 at 11:30 am

Kelley Lovelace wrote "All-American Girl" (Carrie Underwood); "American Saturday Night" (Brad Paisley); "Don't Forget to Remember Me" (Carrie Underwood); "Girls Lie Too" (Terri Clark); "He Didn't Have to Be" (Brad Paisley); "The Impossible" (Joe Nichols); "Ticks" (Brad Paisley); "What's a Guy Gotta Do" (Joe Nichols); "Wrapped Around" (Brad Paisley); and others.

Songwriter Session: Victoria Shaw
February 27, 2010 at 11:30 am

Victoria Shaw wrote "A Good Man" (Emerson Drive); "Home Is Where the Heart Is" (Lady Antebellum); "I Love the Way You Love Me" (John Michael Montgomery); "Long Gone" (Lady Antebellum); "Myself Without You" (Reba McEntire); "Outside My Window" (Sarah Buxton); "She's Every Woman" (Garth Brooks); "The River" (Garth Brooks); and songs recorded by Eric Church, Billy Ray Cyrus, Faith Hill, Olivia Newton-John, Lorrie Morgan, LeAnn Rimes, Tanya Tucker, Trisha Yearwood, and others.

Hank Williams Jr. Interview and Performace
March 29, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.

To mark the opening of the museum's major new exhibit, Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company, Hank Williams Jr. answered questions about his life and career, his father's legacy, and his family's ongoing dedication to creative endeavor. As part of the program, Hank Jr. performed songs from his broad repertoire. Exhibit co-curator Michael McCall conducted the interview.

Interview and Performance: Jett Williams
April 12, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.

With an upbeat style that echoed her father’s winning charisma, Jett Williams entertained museum guests with stories and songs on Saturday, April 12, 2008. Born five days after her father’s death on January 1, 1953, Jett was adopted first by Hank’s mother, Lillian Stone. When Lillian died two years later, Jett was put up for adoption again, and she would not learn of her true lineage until she became an adult.

Lecture: Peter Guralnick Discusses Colonel Tom Parker
April 18, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Was the late Colonel Thomas A. Parker a visionary genius or master of exploitation? Music historian Peter Guralnick argues that the answer is both.

Parker was the mysterious, controversial manager who guided Elvis Presley’s career from 1955 on. Before he ever met Presley, though, he had revolutionized the art of management and promotion, particularly in his long association with Eddy Arnold. In this hundredth-anniversary year of the Colonel’s birth, Guralnick discussed Parker's life and career at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford Theater. The Massachusetts-based author incorporated rare early images and played the only song Parker ever asked Presley to record. Guralnick has written extensively on American music. His books include the prize-winning two-volume biography of Presley, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love.

Concert Fit for a Queen: Laura Cantrell Salutes Kitty Wells
May 9, 2009 at 2:00 pm

Laura Cantrell performed a tribute concert to Kitty Wells in conjunction with the closing of the exhibit Kitty Wells: Queen of Country Music, Presented by Great American Country Television Network.

Holly Williams Interview and Performance
July 3, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Holly Williams combines the sensitivity of a singer-songwriter with the full-tilt swagger of country rock. Granddaughter of the late country music icon Hank Williams, and daughter of influential star Hank Williams Jr., she extends the family tradition by creating bold yet intimately personal songs drawn directly from experience. Her museum performance and interview were presented in connection with the ongoing special exhibition Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company.

Interview and Performance: Loudon Wainwright III on Charlie Poole
August 1, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.

Singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III recorded a double CD, High, Wide & Lonesome: The Charlie Poole Project, examining the life, themes, and repertoire of country music pioneer Charlie Poole. The set contains both songs from Poole's repertoire and original compositions, inspired by North Carolina native Poole, who died in 1931 at age thirty-nine. In the program, Wainwright, accompanied by David Mansfield and Chaim Tannenbaum, performed songs from the new CD and talked about Poole and how the project came about.

Words & Music 2010
April 27, 2010 at 6:30 pm

Young songwriters filled the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum's Ford Theater with songs about unity, Ping-Pong, pets, toast and more on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 during the annual Words & Music Night. This year's event was made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund and the ASCAP Foundation. Middle Tennessee students performed their original songs accompanied by professional songwriters who volunteer their time during the annual event and throughout the year. This year's Words & Music Night was hosted by hit Nashville songsmiths Kent Blazy and Cory Batten. The evening featured songs written by Tennessee students throughout the 2009-10 school year.

Interview: The Statler Brothers
June 03, 2010 at 12:00pm

Country Music Hall of Fame members the Statler Brothers-Phil Balsley, Jimmy Fortune, Don Reid, and Harold Reid- reviewed their career and talked about the artifacts in a new spotlight exhibit. Among the items displayed are the band's humble first PA system; an outfit worn by Harold Reid's alter ego, Lester "Roadhog" Moran; and a box of Statler tissues, the brand that gave the band its name. The Statlers scored more than thirty Top Ten hits beginning with "Flowers on the Wall" (1965-66) and continuing through "More Than a Name on a Wall" (1989). The program also included an audience question-and-answer session.

Alabama - "Old Flame"April 1, 1981
Country Comes Home

Barbara Mandrell - "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed"
Circa 1979
Country Superstars of the Seventies

Bill Anderson - "No One's Gonna Hurt You Anymore"
Circa 1967
The Bill Anderson Show

Bill Monroe - "Blue Moon of Kentucky"
January 22, 1978
50 Years of Country Music

Bob Wills with Cecil Brower - "Fiddle Breakdown"
June 27, 1959
Jubilee U.S.A.

Bobby Bare - "Marie Laveau"
May 23, 1978
Country Night of Stars

Brenda Lee - "Jambalaya"
April 9, 1960
Jubilee U.S.A.

Buck Owens - "Above and Beyond"
April 2, 1960
Jubilee U.S.A.

Carl Smith - "You Are the One"
Jubilee U.S.A.

Chet Atkins - "Black Mountain Rag"
Country Style, U.S.A.

Dolly Parton - "Jolene"
January 22, 1978
50 Years of Country Music

Eddie Rabbitt - "You Don't Love Me Anymore"
Circa 1979
Country Superstars of the Seventies

Eddy Arnold - "The Cattle Call"
August 1, 1959
Jubilee U.S.A.

Gene Autry - "Back In The Saddle Again"
September 10, 1960
Jubilee U.S.A.

George Jones - "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
April 1, 1981
Country Comes Home

George Morgan - "Candy Kisses"
Country Style, U.S.A.

Jeannie C. Riley - "Harper Valley P.T.A."
May 23, 1978
Country Night of Stars

Jim Reeves - "Four Walls"
Country Style, U.S.A.

Johnny Cash - "Big River"
August 8, 1959
Town Hall Party

Johnny Cash - "I Guess Things Happen that Way"
August 8, 1958
Town Hall Party

Johnny Cash - "Man in Black"
May 8, 1980
Johnny Cash: The First 25 Years

Kitty Wells - "Makin' Believe"
Country Style, U.S.A

Kris Kristofferson with Johnny Cash - "Sunday Morning Coming Down"
May 8, 1980
Johnny Cash: The First 25 Years

Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers - "I Just Wish You Were Someone I Love"
January 22, 1978
50 Years of Country Music

Little Jimmy Dickens - "Hannah"
August 1, 1959
Jubilee USA

Little Jimmy Dickens - "Me and My Big Loud Mouth"
August 1, 1959
Jubilee USA

Marty Robbins - "Singing The Blues"
Country Style, U.S.A.

Pee Wee King - "Slow Poke"
Country Style, U.S.A.

Porter Wagoner - "Satisfied Mind"
April 27, 1960
Community Jamboree

Ray Charles with Loretta Lynn - "I'll Fly Away"
April 1, 1981
Country Comes Home

Ray Stevens - "The Streak"
Circa 1979
Country Superstars of the Seventies

Red Foley - "Chattanooga Shoeshine Boy"
June 20, 1959
Jubilee USA

Roy Acuff - "Pins and Needles"
Country Style, U.S.A.

Tammy Wynette - "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad"
September 12, 1976
Johnny Cash & Friends

Tammy Wynette - "Tim I Can Make it On My Own"
Circa 1967
The Bill Anderson Show

Tex Ritter - "These Hands"
August 8, 1959
Town Hall Party

The Statler Brothers - "I'll Go to My Grave Loving You"
January 22, 1978
50 Years of Country Music

Tom T. Hall  - "I Love"
May 23, 1978
Country Night of Stars

Waylon Jennings - "Can't You See"
September 12, 1976
Johnny Cash & Friends

Webb Pierce - "I Don't Care"
Country Style, U.S.A.