Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum- Free Admission on Saturday, January 24

THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME® AND MUSEUM AGAIN SAYS “THANK YOU” TO MIDDLE TENNESSEE WITH “FORD COMMUNITY DAY,” MADE POSSIBLE BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY FUND

As a not-for-profit educational organization, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is pleased to partner with Ford Motor Company Fund for the second consecutive year to say thank you to the Middle Tennessee community (and all lucky out-of-town visitors to the Museum on this day) by offering free Museum admission on Saturday, January 24, 2009. The Museum will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In addition to touring the exhibit galleries, visitors will be able to enjoy two free Songwriter Sessions. The performances, which will take place in the Museum’s Ford Theater, will feature John Ford Coley (11:30 a.m.) and Wynn Varble (1:30 p.m.). Songwriter Sessions, which are offered every Saturday, are made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund.

About Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services
Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services is committed to creating opportunities that promote corporate citizenship, philanthropy, volunteerism and cultural diversity for those who live in the communities where Ford operates. Established in 1949 and made possible by funding from Ford Motor Company, Ford Motor Company Fund supports initiatives and institutions that foster innovative education, auto-related safety, and American heritage and legacy. National programs include Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies, which provides high school students with academically rigorous 21st century learning experiences, and Driving Skills for Life, a teen-focused auto safety initiative. The Ford Volunteer Corps, established in 2005, continues Ford's legacy of caring worldwide. Through the Volunteer Corps, Ford employees and retirees participate in a wide range of volunteer projects in their communities. For more information on programs made possible by Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services, visit www.community.ford.com.

About the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print. More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.

Montgomery Gentry will headline Sound & Speed in Nashville

Montgomery Gentry will headline the kickoff concert of the Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust at 8:00 p.m. on Jan. 9 at the Sommet Center.

The festival begins the next day at Municipal Auditorium, where racing and country music fans can interact with drivers, team owners and entertainers through autograph and story-telling sessions. NASCAR stars confirmed to attend are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip, Reed Sorensen and David Stremme. Others confirmed for the sessions are Josh Turner, Jason Michael Carroll, members of Diamond Rio and Rick Huckaby.

Concert tickets are $17.50-$35 and will go on sale Dec. 12 through Ticketmaster and http://www.soundandspeed.org/. Festival tickets, which are $20 for adults and $15 for children, are on sale now. A combo ticket for both events will range from $40 to $50.

The fourth annual event benefits the Victory Junction camp and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Nashville Cats, The Jordanaires, to be honored at the Country Music Hall of Fame

"Nashville Cats" with Louis Armstrong (to his left are Willie Ackerman, Henry Strzelecki and Stu Basore)
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The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's successful quarterly program series Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Session Musicians returns on Saturday, October 25, with a salute to Gordon Stoker and Ray Walker, members of the legendary vocal quartet the Jordanaires.The 1:30 p.m. program, which will be held in the Museum's Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and is free to Museum members.
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Jordanaires with Elvis

Just inside the Country Music Hall of Fame

Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy opens at the Country Music Hall of Fame

Few families have had such a major impact on country music as the Williamses. This 5,000 square foot major exhibition examines the personal lives of Hank Williams and Hank Williams Jr. and explores the dynamics that inspired some of the most influential country music ever recorded.

See the connections between these iconic figures and their creative heirs and discover how American music continues to be measured by the standards they set. To tell the story, Hank Williams Jr., Jett Williams and members of the Williams family have offered over 200 rare artifacts never seen by the public, enabling the Museum to create an unforgettably compelling saga of love, heartache and redemption. The voices and music of all family members are heard throughout the exhibit. This major exhibition will present an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait of a great American musical dynasty. Come learn more about the family at the foundation of country music.

Learn more at the Country Music Hall of Fame website.

Free Admission at the Country Music Hall of Fame Today- January 12

222 5th Avenue South
416-2001
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Free admission to all visitors on this community appreciation day sponsored by Ford Motor Company Fund.

Songwriter sessions with Steve Leslie and Jim Ferguson at noon and with Georgia Middleman and Dave Berg at 2 pm.

Blues Plate Special: Renaissance Nashville Hotel Offers Premier Country Music Hall of Fame Package for a Limited Time

Music lovers will delight in this exclusive vacation package offered by the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. With prices starting as low as $299 per night from now until December 29, 2007, guests won't want to miss this legendary experience.

Learn about the roots of Country music as well as the history of the Blues with this unforgettable Nashville, TN vacation package. The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum is now showcasing the "I Can't Stop Loving You" exhibit which features the life of Ray Charles. Meander through the exhibit by day and then make your way to B.B. King's for a fabulous Creole-inspired dinner at night. With hand-painted table art, two stages for live music, four full-service bars, 12 televisions and a retail store, B.B. King's Blues Club & Restaurant is an empire of all things blues.

"Eat Drink & Dance Your Blues Away" at the famous B.B. Kings Blues Club & Restaurant. From now until December 29th, the legendary downtown Nashville restaurant is featuring B.B. King's All Stars, which will be performing the best of the King's music including fabulous funk, speakeasy blues, motown and classic R&B.

The Country Music Hall of Fame Downtown Nashville Hotel Package includes:

• Luxury accommodations for one night
• Two tickets to the Ray Charles "I Can't Stop Loving You" exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame
• Dinner and show for two at B.B. Kings* (up to $50)

Please visit PRWeb for more information on this offer.

Country Music Hall of Famer Hank Thompson Moves to Hospice Care

County music Hall of Fame star Hank Thompson's lung cancer has gotten worse, a family representative said Saturday night.

Officials said Thompson has been moved into hospice care.

Thompson was recently released from the hospital earlier this week, and he is being kept as comfortable as possible at his Texas home, officials said.



This comes from WSMV Channel 4 in Nashville

New Members for the Country Music Hall of Fame

In a time when many bemoan the current state of country music, Sunday's night's Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony represented everything that's right with the beloved genre.

Dierks Bentley called the medallion event honoring inductees Mel Tillis, Ralph Emery and Vince Gill "the last link to the good stuff." True musical visionaries including Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Kenny Rogers, Michael McDonald and Bill Gaither got a deserving welcome on this red carpet, where even the arrival of noted guitarist Jimmy Capps was announced to the crowd by Bill Cody.


Mel Tillis


Vince Gill

Amy Grant was by husband Vince's side, but just barely. She had been booked for months to perform out of town, but was able to change the show from evening to afternoon. She slipped into her black dress in an airport bathroom. The night was also special for Vince because it was the 82nd birthday of his mother, who was there to witness his big night. "She's the same age as the Grand Ole Opry," Amy said. "You would think she was 60. He gets all of his good looks from his Mama."


Ralph Emery

Ralph put the finishing touches in his speech about four hours before the ceremony, but Vince and Mel decided to wing it.

"I have personally been flooded with an awful lot of years of memories," Vince said. "Every garage band I was in that got me here, every record I got somebody to buy got me here, every song I wrote with somebody else got me here. The thing that gives me great peace is knowing I did this with an enormous amount of help along the way."

Mel's thoughts turned to his train trip from Florida to Nashville 52 years ago. "I knocked on a few doors," said Mel, as his wife, Kathy DeMonaco stood nearby. "I wanted to be a singer and they said, 'We don't want any stuttering singers.' I said, 'Oh boy, what do you want?' They said, 'We need songs.' I said, 'I've never written a song in my life,' so I started writing songs."

Mel's "Stick With Me Baby" is included on the new Robert Plant/Alison Krauss album.

Little Richard has recorded Mel's "I Ain't Never" for an upcoming album benefitting Don Imus' ranch for sick children. Dierks said his version of the song delivered Sunday was a different than Little Richard's.

"I'm not going to dance on top of the piano!" Dierks said. "Mel's original version is pretty good, so it's hard to beat that, so that is what I'm going to do — same key, same everything."

Martina was delighted to honor Ralph, who was instrumental in promoting her career early on. I asked if she dared to dream that one day she might join him in that legendary circle.

"No," she said. "That is one of those things that seems so far out of your reach. It is the pinnacle."

Visit Beverly Keel's colum in the Tennessean to read more.

Porter Wagoner Has Lung Cancer

Country Music Hall of Famer Porter Wagoner has been diagnosed with lung cancer, says a statement issued by the publicity firm that represents the Grand Ole Opry.



On Friday, Wagoner’s former duet partner Dolly Parton sent a letter to Grand Ole Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher. The letter said she had visited Wagoner that day and that he was “in good spirits… weak and not feeling great, but feeling much better he said. He wanted to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers. He’s looking forward to getting better and getting back to the Grand Ole Opry. I promised him I’d sing with him his first night back!”

Read the full article in the Tennessean newspaper.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Bill Monroe and Mother Maybelle Carter

By NAOMI SNYDER

A face-off in U.S. Bankruptcy Court over two of the most-prized string instruments in music history has legions of country fans on edge, while investors duped by a high-profile donor to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum hope to get some of their millions back.

Hanging in the balance are Mother Maybelle Carter's famed 1928 Gibson guitar, which helped provide the foundation of country music, and the 1923 mandolin of Bill Monroe, who is considered the father of bluegrass.

The instruments, or at least the money that the late Robert W. McLean of Murfreesboro used to help the hall of fame acquire them, have become the focal points of this case of victim against victim, apparent suicide and long-shot causes.

On one side are dozens of people hoodwinked out of $40 million by a free-spending McLean, and on the other side sits the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which acquired Mother Maybelle's famed Gibson L-5 guitar and Monroe's Gibson mandolin with some of McLean's cash.

Bob Waldschmidt, the bankruptcy trustee tracing McLean's history, says the law allows him to recover McLean's gifts to the hall of fame on behalf of investors and other creditors.

To read the entire story, visit the Tennessean newspaper.

Nashville's got more than a country twang

Diverse music scene the mecca of dreams

Even as I stood on the dated linoleum floor and gazed at the tired walls, I knew that in this small room I was in the presence of greatness.

That's a common feeling for visitors to RCA's Studio B on this city's historic Music Row, where many of the greats of popular music recorded some of the world's biggest sellers. Coined the "Home of 1,000 hits," this venerated recording icon is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.
If you're a baby boomer like me, you don't leave here without a sharp stab of nostalgia.

Built in 1957, Studio B is in a non-descript single-storey building. However, its sound stage has heard the likes of Jim Reeves, Roy Orbison, Charley Pride, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson as they laid down their chart-toppers.

Now operated by Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Studio B is open for tours that provide a perspective on how this city became the dream catcher for singers, musicians and songwriters. It was designated a historic site in 1977, and in 1996 was restored to its original character.

My own visit to this place where global mega-hits were made was almost a spiritual experience. No wonder. Hits came to life here: the sweet sounds of Roy Orbison's Only the Lonely, the Everly Brothers' Dream, Dolly Parton's Jolene and dozens of hits by Elvis Presley including Are You Lonesome Tonight?


Read Peter Wilson's full article at Canada.com

Travis Tritt and Ray Charles

We went to see "Crossroads" from 2002 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. This one featured Ray Charles and Travis Tritt and although they were both in fine form, I would have preferred to have seen Ray turned loose but Travis did shine through with his performances. Perhaps that was because he knew he couldn't give less than all he had since he was on the stage with a legend who lived up to the legend of his talent.

Very nice way to spend 40 minutes on a Sunday afternoon.