NASHVILLE, Tenn., – Sept. 19, 2023 – Today, Grammy-winning artist Rosanne Cash donated four historic artifacts from her career to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s collection. The donation was announced during a special conversation and performance in the museum’s Ford Theater with Cash and her longtime collaborator, the Grammy-winning songwriter and producer John Leventhal. The program was presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association.

Michael Gray, vice president of museum services, joined Cash onstage to accept the artifacts and thank her for her donation to the nonprofit museum’s educational mission. Artifacts donated include:

• A custom-built acoustic guitar made for Rosanne Cash by luthier Danny Ferrington in 1979. Commissioned by Johnny Cash as a birthday gift for Rosanne, the instrument has maple sides and back, a spruce top and her name inlaid in mother-of-pearl on the fretboard.
• Three bomber-style tour jackets made for Rosanne, Johnny and June Carter Cash to commemorate Rosanne’s Seven Year Ache tour in 1981. Each jacket is personalized with the wearer’s name, along with a Cherry Bombs patch. The Cherry Bombs —consisting of Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill and other members of Emmylou Harris’s Hot Band — backed Rosanne on the tour.

During the program, Cash and Leventhal performed some songs and explored their creative collaborations, including their inspiration to form their new label, RumbleStrip Records; the 30th anniversary reissue of Cash’s 1993 album, The Wheel; and Leventhal’s upcoming debut solo album. Leventhal and Cash have been collaborating for more than 30 years, performing live, co-writing, co-producing and winning praise and awards for albums such as The Wheel, Black Cadillac, The List and The River and the Thread. Cash served as the museum’s 2015 artist-in-residence, which also featured Leventhal.

The program was filmed and will premiere at a later date as part of the museum’s Live at the Hall digital programs series, available to stream on the museum’s website. Read more about the museum’s collections.