A Visit to Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

If you live in Nashville long enough, you are bound to have a brush with a country music star. Years ago I did some freelance photography work for the now defunct In Review newspaper's Music Row beat. During that short time I succeeded in: drinking with Keith Urban at Jack's Guitar Bar after a gig, hacking off Emmylou Harris for taking a picture of her eating a sandwich on her tour bus, and convincing Tom T. Hall and Brenda Lee that I was conceived while my parents listened to Watermelon Wine. I also found out that it's not a good idea to ask Bill Monroe to play rival Osborn Brother's Big Spike Hammer. Even with a lifetime of calling Music City my home and these short brushes with greatness, I have never visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

I know it sounds as heretical as a Parisian never having worn a beret, but I made up for that deficiency in my Nashville experience on Saturday. The Ford Motor Company was kind enough to give the citizens of Nashville a free look into the hallowed corridors of the music born of hard times, stiff drinking and lost love.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum moved from its digs on Music Row in 2001. The new building on 5th Avenue incorporates the Hall of Fame, exhibits on country stars of note, and an archive of country music's history in a symbolically laced modern architecture building. The spire at the top of the Hall of Fame is a replica of the WSM radio tower. Inside the Hall of Fame itself, the radio tower is inverted and points to the center of the Hall of Fame room. Round disks are incorporated on the outside of the Hall of Fame room to represent different sized records and the compact disk. When viewed from a Google Earth perspective, the entire building is shaped like a bass clef. Along the outside of the building are also engravings of quotes from country's royalty.

Inside the museum takes a common start from the top floor and work your way down approach presenting country's history. Featured prominently on this floor are replicas of old posters for gigs created by Hatch's Show Prints. In the days before digital printing, Hatch's was the place to go to promote your show. Along the display cases filled with instruments and over the top wardrobes are several listening centers. Visitors can experience tunes from by gone ages lit by drop down lighting that cast the shadow of microphones.

The majority of the Museum is dedicated to those early years of country music; the days when WSM and the Grand Old Opry gave the good old rural folks a musical touchstone. While the likes of Uncle Dave Macon and Bob Wills might be forgotten by Carrie Underwood's fans, the Museum has not forgotten to dance with who brought you. It would be easy for the staff to turn the museum into a love fest for current artists and capitalize on current country trends. It would be a shame for Nashville if Garth Brooks had more of a historical presence than Chet Adkins.

Even with all the memorabilia the Country Music Hall of Fame has to offer, I was still a bit underwhelmed. In walking through the static exhibits, I never once got a feel for the soul of country music. My grandfather chopping wood while singing Bob Wills' Roly Poly was what this genera was all about. Then again there's nothing that can convey listening to the Grand Old Opry on a Saturday night because WSM was the clearest signal you could get; or playing Patsy Cline's Crazy over and over again after getting dumped.

If you're looking for a visual history of country music, the museum does present that flawlessly. If you're looking for the soul of country, have one too many at Tootsies and walk down the back alley. If it was good enough preparation for Hank Williams appearing at the Ryman Auditorium, it will give you a better favor for what country music is all about than the Hall of Fame.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 222 5th Avenue South in downtown Nashville. Hours of operation, current exhibits, and ticket prices can be found at the Museum's website http://www.countrymusichalloffame.org