Nashville, The Country Music Holiday Destination
Why No Tennessee Vacation is Complete Without Visiting Nashville
Oct 19, 2009
A Tennessee ‘must see’, Nashville is best known for country music, and with good reason. In the 1950s, the southern city earned a spot in music history when it started to turn country music into a multi million dollar industry.
Nashville’s country music alchemy has been credited with bringing the genre to the masses, and introducing the world to the likes of Dolly Parton, Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, and many, many more.
Dolly Parton moved to Nashville to become a singer and songwriter immediately after her graduation in 1964. She told Country Music Television she’ll never forget the excitement she felt on her first day.
“I thought, ‘I'm here. I'm really here. I'm really here forever. I'm here to live and to be part of it.’ … It was home and has been ever since '64.”
To this day, aspiring country music stars dream of having the chance to record in Nashville, and established artists return to the Tennessee studios to record their latest works.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
For more than thirty years, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, has been collecting hundreds of thousands of pieces of Country Music History.
More than 800,000 items can be found in the Nashville Museum. There are stage costumes including Jim Reeves’ tuxedo jacket, and Hank Williams’ Nudie suit; country stars’ cars, such as Elvis Presley’s 1960 ‘Solid Gold’ Cadillac limousine and Webb Pierce’s striking 1962 Pontiac Bonneville with seven feet of steer horns across the front grill; and then there are the instruments.
From Elvis’ gold leaf piano, to Ralph Stanley’s banjo, six of Chet Atkins’ most prized guitars, Bob Wills’ fiddle, and dozens of other pieces, museum visitors are able to look at the instruments that played an important part in some of their favourite songs.
Museum a Tribute to Country Music Fans as Well as Country Music Legends
Describing itself as “the closest thing country music has to a Smithsonian Institution or a Library of Congress” the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1967, and became accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1987.
Garrison Keillor is the host of A Prairie Home Companion and honorary chairman of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Capital Campaign. On the Hall of Fame's website, Keillor explains that the museum goes beyond simply preserving the memory of the people who made the music.
“It’s also a museum that honors the people who their music was made for. Those people are all of us, people who’ve ever been lost or confused or sad or felt excluded. This museum helps us preserve these tributes to our condition.”
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is found at 222 Fifth Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee and is open from 9:00 to 5:00 every day from March through December, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. In January and February it is closed on Tuesdays. Adult admission is $19.99, children $11.99 and children under six are free.
Tours of Historic Studio B in Nashville Popular With Visitors
After visiting the Hall of Fame, many tourists continue their historic trip down Country Music lane by hopping on one of the designated Studio B buses and travelling to the legendary studios.
Hundreds of country music songs were recorded in RCA Studio B, by artists such as Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Chet Atkins and many more. Some of Elvis’ best known songs came to life in the famous studio, including Are You Lonesome Tonight, It’s Now Or Never, and You’re The Devil in Disguise.
Studio B may be larger than Tennessee’s other famous recording home, Sun Studio in Memphis, but it still has an intimacy that leaves visitors feeling they have visited somewhere truly special.
Country Music Magic Felt in Downtown Nashville Tennessee
The Country Music museums may be on the must see list, but visitors should also take time to enjoy some live country music in Nashville.
The most famous live music venue in Nashville is the Grand Ole Opry, where country music legends can be found playing alongside newcomers. The Opry complex is about 15 minutes from downtown, and it’s worth checking ahead to see who might be playing when you are in town on the official Grand Ole Opry site.
Back in downtown Nashville, country music cravings from bluegrass to classic or contemporary can be satisfied in the many bars on Broadway. Other appetites can be quenched with Nashville’s hearty Southern cooking and ice cold drinks of every kind.
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