Locals, Pay What You Want
Murals like this one—coming soon to a Nashville neighborhood near you with the help of Bryan Deese—invite you to come to the Museum soon and pay-what-you-want.
Now through January 31, 2024, residents of Davidson and bordering counties (Cheatham, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson) will receive daily pay-what-you-want admission rates to the Museum.
Wait, there’s more—the Museum will stay open until 8:00 PM on Tuesdays January 9, 16, and 23, for special programming. Complimentary parking is available across the river at Nissan Stadium, with optional two-way shuttle service to the Museum (5-7 minutes).
Start your new year off right with live music and hands-on activities when you reserve your pay-what-you-want tickets today.
LEARN MORE: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/locals-pay-what-you-want
Sixty-Five Years of Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
Sixty-five years ago, on October 19, 1958, thirteen-year-old Brenda Lee stepped into her producer Owen Bradley’s studio and recorded a Christmas classic: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” When it was first released in November of that year, it didn’t make the charts and initially sold only about 5,000 copies. But two years later, Decca Records re-released the Christmas song as a follow-up to Lee’s #1 pop hit with “I’m Sorry.” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” broke into the Top Ten, and it has been a perennial holiday favorite ever since. (Lee’s performance here is from a syndicated TV show in 1984.)
This year, “Rockin’” (as Lee likes to call it) did something amazing: it went to #1 for the first time on the all-genre “Billboard Hot 100” chart, knocking Mariah Carey’s ever-popular 1994 hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” off the #1 pedestal. No one could have predicted such an enduring hit sixty-five years ago.
The song’s writer, Johnny Marks, was something of a specialist in Christmas songs. He also wrote “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Silver and Gold,” and other holiday tunes. Having heard Brenda Lee’s records, Marks sent several songs to producer Owen Bradley in 1958 hoping that Lee would record some. She and Bradley picked “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as the most promising of the bunch. It was the only Christmas song Marks sent, and Lee liked it the best.
To get her into the yuletide spirit, Bradley had the air conditioning turned to the max and decorated his Quonset Hut studio with colored lights and a Christmas tree. The A-Team musicians on board for the session wore Santa hats. The session pros for the 5:00 PM session were Hank Garland on lead guitar, Harold Bradley on electric bass, Bob Moore on string bass, Doug Kirkham on drums, Floyd Cramer on piano, Boots Randolph on saxophone, and a chorus comprising leader Anita Kerr with Dottie Dillard, Mil
In the mid-1970s, record sales skyrocketed to new heights, with Los Angeles established as the center of the booming music industry. The L.A. sound made inroads into mainstream country music: Eagles, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt registered hits on the country charts.
The Sho-Bud Pro-II pedal steel guitar pictured here was played by Dan Dugmore onstage and in the studio with Linda Ronstadt, including on her 1977 country and pop hit "Blue Bayou.” Dugmore, a renowned session player and Pasadena native, also used it on James Taylor's "Carolina in My Mind," Deana Carter's "Strawberry Wine," and hundreds of other recordings made in Los Angeles and Nashville.
L.A.-based steel players represented diverse styles and backgrounds. All shared a common vision: to move pedal steel beyond traditional country music into genres like rock, pop, and folk. These players introduced new techniques to steel guitar, helped expand its popularity, and dispelled any notion that all roads for steel guitar led to Nashville.
To learn more about the steel-influenced sound of the L.A. country-rock scene, make plans to visit "Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock," presented by City National Bank.
Witness history. Reserve today: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/western-edge-exhibit
Lorianne Crook on Pursuing a Career in Entertainment
Earlier this year, the Museum celebrated the career of Lorianne Crook at its fifteenth Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum. The television and radio host shared stories from her life and work, including her role as co-host and executive producer of the “Crook & Chase: Nashville Chats” on IHeartMedia Nashville/Premiere Networks. The Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum honors a music industry leader who has continued in Scruggs’s legacy as a formidable businesswoman.
In this clip from the forum, Crook describes her unconventional path pursuing a career in entertainment, including turning down work from the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency.
Watch the full recording here: https://watch.countrymusichalloffame.org/videos/louise-scruggs-memorial-forum-lorianne-crook-2023
These prints—created by Hatch Show Print, local printers since 1879—are posted in local businesses to spread an important announcement: residents of Davidson and bordering counties (Cheatham, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson) pay-what-they-want to visit the Museum now through January 31, 2024.
And there’s more—the Museum will stay open until 8:00 PM on Tuesdays January 2, 9, 16, and 23, for special programming. Patrons receive complimentary parking across the river at Nissan Stadium with optional two-way shuttle service to the Museum (5-7 minutes).
Click here to learn more or reserve pay-what-you-want tickets: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/locals-pay-what-you-want
Sam Williams Performs "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"
In September, the Museum hosted a concert in celebration of Country Music Hall of Fame member Hank Williams, one of three people inducted into the first Hall of Fame class in 1961. Marking the 100th anniversary of his birth, the event showcased a wide variety of country and Americana artists influenced by Williams's music.
The cast includes Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie McCoy, Suzy Bogguss, Laura Cantrell, Della Mae, Rodney Crowell, S.G. Goodman, Jeff Hanna, Brennen Leigh, Lyle Lovett, Delbert McClinton, Chuck Mead, Wendy Moten, and Williams’s grandchildren Hilary Williams, Holly Williams, and Sam Williams. In this clip from the program, Sam Williams discusses his grandfather's impact and performs his newly released rendition of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."
For the first time, the program, presented by Spotify in partnership with the Americana Music Association, is available to watch in full: https://watch.countrymusichalloffame.org/videos/hank-s-100th-a-concert-in-celebration-of-hank-williams-presented-by-spotify
In 1952, twenty-two-year-old Dick Curless was drafted into the Army and sent to Korea. Though the war was winding down, Curless had no way of knowing how long he would be gone as he said goodbye to his pregnant wife, Pauline, to report for duty.
Curless had already been performing for five years by the time he was drafted, and soon, he had his own radio program over the Armed Forces Korea Network, performing and playing records as the Rice Paddy Ranger. The show became so popular that soon it was broadcast throughout the Far East.
His theme song was “Sunny Side of the Mountain,” the hallmark of one of his heroes, country music star Hawkshaw Hawkins, with whom he had performed both on the radio and in person one summer in Maine.
When he was discharged in 1954, Curless intended to go back to the life he had led, but like so many other veterans, he found it difficult to return to a normal life. “I came home a different person,” he said. “I wanted to settle down with my family. I was just so tickled to be home. But I got here and I couldn’t fit in.”
Though music gradually restored Curless to something closer to equilibrium, the sense of displacement would never altogether leave him. Still, the Baron of Country Music continued to make music for the rest of his life, releasing his last record, “Traveling Through” in 1995, just months before his death.
Make plans to visit "Dick Curless: Hard Traveling Man from Maine" to learn more.
Reserve tickets: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/dick-curless-exhibit
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris grew up in North Carolina and Virginia; she later lived in New York and Los Angeles before settling in Nashville. Initially drawn to folk music, she credits Gram Parsons, with whom she had recorded and toured, with introducing her to the emotional power of country music.
Following Parsons's tragic death in 1973, Harris was devastated but pushed ahead as a solo act. Through her first four albums for Reprise/Warner Bros. following his passing, "Pieces of the Sky," "Elite Hotel," "Luxury Liner," and "Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town," all recorded chiefly in Los Angeles—Harris almost single-handedly created a new template for progressive country music. She found a way to honor tradition and celebrate innovation simultaneously. She became the first artist to cross the divide from Los Angeles country-rock to mainstream Nashville success.
Pictured below is the Nudie's Rodeo Tailors cowgirl outfit Harris wore onstage with Parsons as well as during her solo career. Designed for actress Gail Davis, star of the 1950s TV series "Annie Oakley," the costume was never retrieved from Nudie's Rodeo Tailors, where Harris purchased it in the early 1970s.
To learn more about Emmylou Harris and her impact as a country-rock trailblazer, make plans to visit "Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock," presented by City National Bank.
Witness history. Reserve today: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/western-edge-exhibit
In Conversation With the Black Country Music Association and the Black Opry
Earlier this year, Black Opry founder Holly G and her co-director, Tanner Davenport, along with singer-songwriter Frankie Staton—who led the Black Country Music Association (BCMA) from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s—visited the Museum to discuss their organizations’ histories and impact, as well as their future goals for representation and expanding diversity and inclusion within the country music industry.
In this clip from the program, Frankie Staton recalls performing alongside members of the BCMA at fairs around the state of Tennessee. "What we drew at our showcases was right down the middle—generally, it was half Black, half white," she says. "And that made me know that people who want to support you will support you."
The BCMA is featured in this year’s installment of "American Currents: State of the Music" alongside the Black Opry, which continues the work of the BCMA. "American Currents," the annual Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibition designed to offer perspective on country music's latest chapter, is open now through February 2024.
Watch the full program: https://watch.countrymusichalloffame.org/videos/the-black-country-music-association-and-the-black-opry-2023
Troubadour Membership
Unique experiences, exclusive invites, and a chance to connect with like-minded community—Troubadour Membership offers so much.
Troubadour Members get access to quarterly networking events for young professionals ages 21-45, invites to exclusive after-hours events like “Nightfall at the Hall,” year-round access to Museum galleries and programs, pre-sale opportunities, retail and dining discounts, and more—all while directly supporting the Museum’s Community Counts initiative which provides free admission for youth in Davidson and bordering counties.
Don’t miss a beat—learn how to become a member at: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/support/membership/troubadour-membership.
In 2011, Eric Church released his third studio album, "Chief." All five singles from the album reached the country radio Top Twenty. The blue-collar drinking song "Drink in My Hand" and the nostalgic "Springsteen" became Church's first #1 singles.
Pictured here is the outfit Church wore in the 2012 music video for "Springsteen." The American flag-printed scarf, Rogue leather jacket, and gold necklace given to Church by Country Music Hall of Fame member Hank Williams Jr. are currently on display in the Museum exhibition "Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul," presented by Gibson.
The exhibit, which traces Church’s life and career, also features a reproduction of a note from Bruce Springsteen to Church. The note, written on the back of a Springsteen concert setlist, reads: "Hey Eric, my family got a big kick out of 'Springsteen' (and a good song too!) I'm so glad it was such a success for you. Very heartfelt and it touched all of us. I hope we cross paths along the way. Come onstage with us anytime! Safe travels and much luck, Bruce Springsteen."
About the note, Church said, "It means the world to me—and the setlist is three hours and thirty-seven minutes. That impressed me, too."
Witness history. Make plans to visit "Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul," presented by Gibson, to learn more about Church's influences and the path he took to becoming a musical hero in his own right: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/eric-church-country-heart-restless-soul
Rhiannon Giddens Pays Tribute to Old-Time Fiddler Joe Thompson
Earlier this year, Grammy-winning singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens visited the Museum to discuss her musical career, which often explores the contributions Black musicians have made to country music and other American roots-music traditions. In this clip, Giddens recalls learning traditional tunes from Black old-time fiddler and fellow North Carolinian Joe Thompson. Giddens performs “Georgia Buck,” a song she picked up from Thompson.
This program was presented in support of the exhibition "American Currents: State of the Music," which explores musical developments, artist achievements, and notable events of the previous year.
Watch the full recording here: https://watch.countrymusichalloffame.org/videos/conversation-with-rhiannon-giddens-2023
Country Music Hall of Fame Induction 2023
Singer Patty Loveless, songwriter Bob McDill, and singer Tanya Tucker officially joined the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, October 22, in a star-studded Medallion Ceremony at the Museum’s CMA Theater. It was an evening filled with once-in-a-lifetime musical performances and heartfelt, and at times tearful, testimonials.
Those presenting musical highlights from the inductees’ careers included Country Music Hall of Fame members Dean Dillon, Vince Gill, Charlie McCoy, and Wynonna Judd. They were joined by Brandi Carlile, Jessi Colter, Charley Crockett, Jamey Johnson, Margo Price, Bob Seger, and Sister Sadie. Country Music Hall of Fame member Wynonna Judd led the audience in the ceremonial closing song, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”
Following longstanding custom, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, chosen by the inductee, welcomed each new member. Don Schlitz inducted Bob McDill, Vince Gill inducted Patty Loveless, and Brenda Lee and Connie Smith inducted Tanya Tucker.
Filled with soaring musical performances and moving tributes, the Medallion Ceremony showcased the camaraderie and the broad range of talent—from legends to newcomers—that define the country music community.
Watch the video and experience some of the special tributes that members of the music community shared in honoring these newest inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Patty Loveless: The Country Music Hall of Fame
With a powerful, expressive voice, Patty Loveless blended influences of bluegrass, honky-tonk, and West Coast country-rock. In the process, she created a distinctive, tradition-based sound updated with a modern lyrical perspective on relationships, families, and other real-life concerns. The convincing, lived-in sincerity of her mountain-bred voice helped her songs ring true, whether conveying heartbreak or humor.
Born Patty Lee Ramey on January 4, 1957, Loveless lists her birthplace as Pikeville, Kentucky, which had the hospital closest to her family’s home in Elkhorn City (population: 1,085 in 1960). Like her distant cousin Loretta Lynn, Loveless is a Kentucky coal miner’s daughter. While still in high school, she took Lynn’s place in the Wilburn Brothers’ road show. Following a brief detour singing rock songs in bar bands, Loveless pursued her true calling as a country recording artist starting in the mid-1980s.
Her self-titled first album, released in January 1987, drew acclaim from the press and from veteran country artists, including George Jones and Willie Nelson, both of whom took her on tour and invited her to join them onstage. Loveless’s second album, “If My Heart Had Windows” (1988), provided her commercial breakthrough. The title song, a cover of a 1967 George Jones classic written by Dallas Frazier, became her first Top Ten hit.
Between 1988 and 2003, Loveless achieved thirty-one Top Twenty country hits. Among them were five #1s, including “Blame It on Your Heart,” “Timber I’m Falling in Love,” and “Lonely Too Long.” Her forays into bluegrass and mountain music, on “Mountain Soul” (2001) and “Mountain Soul II” (2009), received widespread acclaim. She has been honored with two Grammys and five Country Music Association awards, including 1995 Album of the Year for “When Fallen Angels Fly” and 1996 Female Vocalist of the Year.
Loveless’s influence continues to grow, as emerging country and Americana artis
Highlights from the Country Music Hall of Fame Induction Coming Soon • 2023
Patty Loveless, Bob McDill, and Tanya Tucker were awarded country music's highest honor in a special ceremony on Sunday, October 22. Catch exclusive highlights from the invitation-only ceremony—recap video coming soon.
Patty Loveless • Interview and Performance • 2023
On Sunday, Patty Loveless will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Celebrate by watching this special interview and performance filmed earlier this year as part of the Museum's "Live at the Hall" series.
During the program, Loveless performs "Blame It on Your Heart," "Don't Toss Us Away," "Too Many Memories," and "You Don't Even Know Who I Am," along with band members Jedd Hughes, Carmella Ramsey, and Deanie Richardson. Loveless also talks about growing up in Elkhorn City, Kentucky, and her early musical memories; how her brother and manager, Roger Ramey, helped her get a foot in the door in Nashville; working with her producer and husband, Emory Gordy Jr.; and how it felt winning Album of the Year at the 1995 Country Music Association Awards.
This program was presented in support of the exhibition "Patty Loveless: No Trouble with the Truth," open now at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Learn more: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/patty-loveless-no-trouble-with-the-truth
San Antonio-born singer, guitarist, and songwriter Rosie Flores moved to San Diego at age twelve and formed her first band in high school. Relocating to Los Angeles, she joined the all-female group the Screamin' Sirens. Flores used the 1985 Fender Telecaster pictured below with the band and in her subsequent solo career.
The Screamin' Sirens brought punk-rock unruliness to country and rockabilly, a form of musical genre blending that Flores would explore throughout her career. The band's campy, theatrical shows became a sensation in the L.A. rock clubs; their version of "Ugly & Slouchy," a song first recorded by the Maddox Brothers in 1957, appeared on the 1983 various artists compilation album "The Sound of Hollywood Girls."
In 1987, Flores launched her solo career with her self-titled debut album on Reprise Records, which received airplay on country radio and led to a long-running career with an international following. Her 1995 recordings with rockabilly pioneers Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin helped revive their careers, and in 1997, Flores won two ACM - Academy of Country Music Awards while a member of the western swing band Asleep at the Wheel.
To learn more about Flores and L.A.'s boundary-pushing country-rock scene, make plans to visit "Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock," presented by City National Bank.
Witness history. Reserve today: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/western-edge-exhibit
Luke Laird on Writing "Give Me Back My Hometown" with Eric Church
Earlier this year, songwriters Luke Laird and Jeremy Spillman visited the Museum to share songs they have written with Eric Church and the stories behind them. In this clip, Laird recalls traveling to North Carolina to write with Church, an endeavor that resulted in a new truck and a hit song, in that order.
This program was hosted in support of the exhibition "Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul," presented by Gibson.
Find the full program here: https://watch.countrymusichalloffame.org/videos/songs-of-eric-church-luke-laird-and-jeremy-spillman-2023
Hank Williams’s “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)”
This version of Hank Williams’s “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” was performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum last week during “Hank’s 100th: A Concert in Celebration of Hank Williams Presented by Spotify,” a special concert in honor of what would’ve been Hank Williams’s 100th birthday presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association and part of Americana Fest.
The concert also featured performances by Suzy Bogguss, Laura Cantrell, Della Mae, Rodney Crowell, Brennen Leigh, Delbert McClinton, Charlie McCoy, Chuck Mead, Wendy Moten, Sam Williams, and more sharing interpretations of Williams’s classics.
Sunny Sweeney on Loretta Lynn and Being Included in "American Currents"
In 2022, Houston-born singer-songwriter Sunny Sweeney released her fifth studio album, "Married Alone," which reflects her creative ties to both Texas and Tennessee. Sweeney co-wrote the songs with ace Nashville songwriters Kendell Marvel, Lori McKenna, and Caitlyn Smith, among others, singing with Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill on the title track and enlisting Texas musicians
Paul Cauthen and Beau Bedford to co-produce the album.
Sweeney is a featured artist in this year's installment of "American Currents: State of the Music" alongside Charley Crockett, Cody Johnson, and Parker McCollum in the Texas Country portion of the exhibit. In this clip from the exhibit's opening celebration, Sweeney discusses her guitar currently on display. "American Currents" is open now through February 2024 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Plan your visit: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/american-currents-state-of-the-music
