Nashville is nicknamed Music City. And it definitely lived up to its name. Everywhere we went we saw some iconic music location or museum, beginning with the Grand Ole Opry.
The Grand Ole Opry started as the WSM Barn Dance in the new fifth-floor radio studio of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in downtown Nashville on November 28, 1925. On June 5, 1943, the Opry moved to Ryman Auditorium. Ryman Auditorium was home to the Opry until 1974. The new Opry venue was the centerpiece of a grand entertainment complex at that location, which later included Opryland USA Theme Park and Opryland Hotel. The theme park opened to the public on June 30, 1972, well ahead of the 4,000-seat Opry House, which debuted nearly two years later, on Saturday, March 16, 1974. Opening night was attended by sitting U.S. President Richard Nixon, who played a few songs on the piano.
Standing in front of the Grand Ole Opry House
Large guitar art piece in front of the Opry House
We bought the ticket and took the tour.
Tickets for a backstage tour
Here are the highlights from our tour:
$90,000 worth of Gibson Guitars on the ceiling
All artists enter through these doors
Just outside the artists’ entrance is this fountain – given to Minnie Pearl by her husband and deeded to the Opry when she died.
Mailboxes for those invited to be a member of the Opry
Members names hang on the wall by the artist’s entrance
Wall of member name tags
Each dressing room has a unique style.
The dressing rooms are each numbered on the floor
Dressing Room #18
Room #7 and #8
There were a lot of great art pieces and old photos on the walls backstage
Some memorabilia found backstage
In May 2010, the Opry House was flooded, along with much of Nashville, when the Cumberland River overflowed its banks.
The red blob at the bottom of this painting is the result of a flood that happened at the Opry. That’s how high the water reached in the building.
One night the curtain wouldn’t rise, so everyone stepped in and held up the curtain for the entire showOur tour took us on to the stageThe inlaid circle of wood from Ryman’s stage
Church pews on stage at the Opry – a tribute to the Ryman Auditorium, which was originally a church.
This year (2019) the Grand Ole Opry celebrates its 94th birthday.
Less than 1 mile from the Grand Ole Opry is another interesting Nashville museum, one that Joel found online…Cooter’s Place!
Cooter’s Museum
The General Lee sits in front of the building
It was actually more of a gift shop with some memorabilia in it than an actual museum…but it was amusing.
Our hotel was right next to Printer’s Alley, a famous alley in downtown Nashville. At the beginning of the 20th century, Printer’s Alley was home to a thriving publishing industry. The area was home to two large newspapers, ten print shops, and thirteen publishers. It is now a thriving nightclub and entertainment district.
Sign in Printers Alley
Our room, right above Printer’s Alley. It was a wee bit noisy at night so we ended up changing rooms our second night.
Printer’s Alley
The Capital State Building
First Baptist Church Sign
First Baptist Church
One of our stops while walking around downtown Nashville was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (CMHoF). ”The museum honors the music of classic and current artists, showcasing one-of-a-kind recordings, instruments, stage wear, and more from country’s most exciting and enduring stars.” – CMHoF
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The four disc-shaped tiers on the Rotunda’s roof represent the evolution of recording technology: the 78, the vinyl LP, the 45, and the compact disc.
The entryway was designed to symbolize the “front porch” origins of country music.
You begin your tour up on the 3rd floor with Sing Me Back Home which shows the history from “Folk Roots” up to the 1960sLate 1920s
Minnie Pearl’s dress and hat with the price tag on it.
More memorabilia – Hank Williams’ jacket and boots, Eddy Arnold’s guitar, and more in this display case. There were so many great display cases here.
Webb Pierce’s Nudie Mobile – lots of bling on this car
Notice the mini saddle in the front, the ornamental guns as the door handles – both inside and out.
Steer horns on the front of the bumper
Guns and horses decorate the front and rear hoods
Porter Wagner’s suit. We saw him wearing this in Ken Burn’s documentary on PBS.
Elvis Presley’s Gold-Plated 1960 Cadillac 75 LimousineNotice the mini TV and cocktail bar in the backseat
The museum included and art gallery on display
The cover of Guy Clark’s classic debut album, Old No. 1 (1973), featured this painting by his wife. I liked this painting.
Another painting that I liked.
Handwritten lyrics for “Me and Bobby McGee” by Kris Kristofferson.
Charley Pride’s suit. Charley Pride enjoyed a twenty-year streak of hits that included such classics as “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone” (1970) and “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” (1971)
George Jones’ suit and guitar
Gram Parsons’ suit and Bob Dylan’s guitar
Trans Am from the movie “Smokey and the Bandit II”
Joel found this “Glossary of Cowboy Words and Phrases“ by Tex Ritter
We saw that Darius Rucker just became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and now we see him here.
Our next stop was just two blocks away, the Johnny Cash Museum. It houses the world’s largest collection of Johnny Cash memorabilia and artifacts.
Sears and Roebuck Silverton Radio, circa 1940’s. – This battery operated radio is the same make and model owned by the Cash family. Young J.R. was allowed to listen to his favorite country music shows for no more than 15 minutes per session…
Million Dollar Quartet Signed Photo
Inside the “House of Cash”
It’s impressive how many albums Cash recordedAnd his music has been covered by so many great artistsThe Cash Family PianoYou can see this shirt worn by Cash in this picture he took with Paul McCartney
Towards the end of the museum is this huge wall of “Interesting Facts” about Johnny Cash. Below are close-up pictures so you can actually read everything.
The last stop on our walking tour was the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum (MHoF&M). “…the one and only museum in the world that honors the talented musicians who actually played on the greatest recordings of all time. Some like Jimi Hendrix are well known, while others like L.A session drummer Hal Blaine are not as well known to the public, but have played on hundreds of hit records from Elvis, Frank and Nancy Sinatra,The Byrds, The Mamas and The Papas and The Beach Boys, just to name a very few. The Musicians Hall Of Fame And Museum has on exhibit the very instruments that these musicians used to record many of these classic hits.“ – MHoF&M
Santana at WoodstockKenny Buttrey’s drum kitRecording Console used for Garth Brooks’ albumsMTV Studios – This Omari Tape Machine was used in the MTV Studios at Nashville at CMT. It was used for recording audio for the music video channel.Al Jackson Jr’s drum setA copy of the Million Dollar Quartet picture we had seen in the Johnny Cash Museum.
There was an area of this museum dedicated to the Grammy Awards.
It was interesting to see the changes of the award. Actually, I had no clue that the gramophone statue had ever changed design…much less that it has changed five times!
Roger Hawkins’ drum setThe Wrecking Crews’ memorabilia, including Glen Campbell’s amplifierThe Chair from the Ed Sullivan TheaterThis museum has a display dedicated to Johnny CashDifferent radios from different eras
Walking back to our hotel we saw two signs that caught our attention.
While this town has so much to see and do, we noticed it is one of the loudest towns we have ever been to. Everywhere we went there was a party going on and music played at a really loud volume.
Who does what here? Honestly, it’s really a good collaboration. We both decide where to go and plan the trip together. Once at our destination, Jeri takes most of the pictures and edits them for our website, though Joel has a much longer arm and is better at taking our selfies. Once the pictures are done then Jeri writes the posts and Joel edits them before they go live. Joel is also the IT guy when things go wrong (but what could possible go wrong when a computer is involved?)
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