Museum - Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee

December 13 marks the ninetieth birthday of Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Buck White, the patriarch of Grand Ole Opry group The Whites and a key contributor to numerous important country music recordings by Guy Clark, Ricky Skaggs, Rosanne Cash, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and many others. The album pictured, originally released in 1977, features his family band's early moniker (and a cover designed by Nashville's Hatch Show Print). Buck White & the Downhome Folks beca...me The Whites in the early eighties to underline the band's family ties, as the core lineup solidified as Buck White and his daughters Sharon and Cheryl. He’s got a swing to his playing, said Jerry Douglas, who has worked with White for decades. Every mandolin player worth his salt has taken something from Buck White. Douglas recalled one night when he was playing with Buck, Sharon, and Cheryl, and an audience member was called into question for moving to the music. When asked about her gyrations, the woman explained, I was just dancing the way he was playing. Explore more of country music's story inside our galleries. The Museum's doors are open, and timed tickets are available here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

In the 1960s, Charley Frank Pride became country music’s first Black superstar, lending his honeyed baritone to songs that captivated audiences, broke racial and cultural barriers, and led him to a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Pride’s hit-making heyday lasted from 1966 through the 1980s, but his impact is perpetual. A 2020 recipient of the Country Music Association’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, Pride is an inspiration to generations of performers, a ...Continue reading

An incomparable singer with a distinctive southern baritone, Charley Pride has landed decades of hits, with songs including "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone" and "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'." Visit the Museum to learn more about Country Music Hall of Fame member Pride's groundbreaking career, and about the evolving story of country music. Our doors are open, and time tickets are available in advance here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

Ray Benson, leader of the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, stepped away from his usual emphasis on Texas dancehall rhythms on the poignant Sundown, a song so new that Benson had to refer to a lyric sheet during his Songwriter Session at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on October 6. The song came to Benson after his recovery from the coronavirus, which the sixty-nine-year-old bandleader contracted last March. Benson fully recovered from the illness after bat...tling extreme fatigue and other symptoms during a two-week convalescence at home in Austin, Texas. I was very, very fortunate, he said, adding a little later, I was surprised my immune system was so good. Watch Sundown here, and stream Benson's full Songwriter Session on our Watch & Listen page: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/videos/

Carly Pearce's latest single, "Show Me Around," pays tribute to her collaborator and friend busbee, who produced her albums "Every Little Thing" and "Carly Pearce," and co-wrote songs that appeared on both. In 2019, the two visited Historic RCA Studio B together, and with just piano and vocals, offered an intimate, somber take on Dolly Parton's "Jolene." Months after the recording, busbee died from an aggressive form of brain cancer. "We don't know what's gonna become history...," he said that day in Studio B, remarking on the many moments that had been captured through the decades inside that building, becoming hits, becoming classics, and becoming treasured musical moments. Watch and listen to Pearce and busbee's "Jolene" collaboration here (and find more footage of the two of them in our "Unbroken Circle" series, at YouTube.com/CountryMusicHOF). Pearce's new tribute to busbee is available at carlypearce.com.

This year, wrap a present that delivers into the future: membership at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Along with unlimited admission to our galleries, Museum memberships include a slew of year-round perks, including discounts in our retail shops and restaurants and invites to members-only events. Through December 31, you can save on the gift of membership toowe're taking 10% off the annual price.... Give the gift of Museum membership here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/membership

Miranda Lambert plays a song from her hero John Prine’s songbook, on a gorgeous guitar that was custom-made for him by luthier David Russell Young. Lambert, the most-awarded vocalist in CMA history, grew up listening to Prine, and she recorded his That’s the Way the World Goes ‘Round on her third album, Revolution. On this Big Night at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Miranda communes with Handsome Johnny once more. To watch more performances of treasured instruments in the hands of modern masters, view BIG NIGHT in its entirety on the Museum’s YouTube Channel - www.countrymusichalloffame.org/Youtube.

In November, singer-songwriter Erin Enderlin visited the Museum for a Songwriter Session, sharing a mix of live songs and songwriting insights. During the Session, Enderlin talked about how The Queen of Marina del Rey a track from her 2019 album, "Faulkner County" ended up in the hands of two artists she namedrops in its lyrics, Rosanne Cash and Elton John. Hear that back story here, along with her performance of The Queen of Marina del Rey. For Enderlin's full Songwriter Session, visit the Watch & Listen section of our website: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/videos/

On Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, the Museum will honor active-duty and retired armed services members with free admission (including up to three immediate family members), and a 10 percent discount at Circa: The Museum Store and the Hatch Show Print retail store. We'll also be recognizing Veterans Day with a special Songwriter Session on Tuesday, November 10, featuring Bob Regan and Mike Byer of Operation Song, an organization that pairs professional songwriters with veterans, active-duty military and their families. The session will be streamed live here on our Facebook page and on our website. Learn more about our Veterans Day offer and programming here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/press-r/veteransday2020/

Maren Morris shared this sentiment in a social media post in 2017, reflecting on her song "Dear Hate," a duet with Vince Gill that she wrote in response to one deadly mass shooting, and released in response to another. Morris and Gill offered an emotional performance of the song their first time singing it together live during All for the Hall New York in 2018, a fundraiser for the Museum. In the years since "My Church" and "I Could Use a Love Song" pushed Morris to the t...op of the charts, has emerged as a leading voice in country music, through and beyond her songs. In 2019, Morris became part of the acclaimed and outspoken group The Highwomen, alongside Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, and Amanda Shires. They're featured together in the Museum's exhibition "American Currents," open now. Visit our galleries to learn more about Morris, the Highwomen, and the ever-evolving history of country music. Timed tickets are available in advance here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

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Born in Texas on November 6, 1941, gravel-voiced troubadour Guy Clark was one of Nashville’s most revered songwriters. His emotionally charged, intricately detailed songs, including Desperados Waiting for a Train, L.A. Freeway, The Randall Knife, and My Favorite Picture of You, have been recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, and a slew of others. To many admirers of songwriting and songcraft, Clark became an emblem of artistic inte...grity, quiet dignity, and simple truth, as music journalist Robert K. Oermann characterized him. Much of Clark's creativity, from songwriting to guitar building, came to life inside a workshop in the Nashville-area home he shared with his wife, Susanna (a songwriter and painter). Clark passed away in 2016, after a long illness, and in early 2020, that workshop with its cassette wall, handmade workbench, and bevy of other wonders was meticulously reconstructed inside the Museum. It's now on view as part of the major exhibition "Outlaws & Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ‘70s," offering an intimate peek into a space that produced many musical moments, and became a welcoming gathering place for kindred spirits. Take a video tour here, and visit us in downtown Nashville to see the workshop in person the Museum's doors are open, and tickets are available here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

Songwriter Session: Victoria Banks: Victoria Banks co-wrote Mickey Guyton’s songs Sister and What Are You Gonna Tell Her? Banks also wrote Come on Over (Jessica Simpson), Dance with Me (Johnny Reid), It’s a Girl Thing (Jesse Lee), Queen of Hearts (Lauren Alaina), Saints & Angels (Sara Evans), Wrecking Ball (Terri Clark), and songs recorded by Carly Pearce, Cassadee Pope, the Shires, and Trick Pony. In 2010, Banks was named the Canadian Country Music Association’s Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Earlier this year, Banks released Uncovered, a collection of her songs that other artists have recorded. She produced, arranged, engineered, and played all instruments on Uncovered, except for a guest appearance by fiddle player Larry Franklin.

Loretta Lynn's musical candor took a new direction in the seventies, when she started singing about social issues from a woman’s point of view. She reached #1 with Rated ‘X’, an original song lamenting society’s views toward divorced women. She created more controversy with The Pill, which included a frank discussion of birth control. Lynn's label knew the song might cause a stir she recorded it in 1972, but Decca Records waited until 1975 to release The Pill. Despite... the inevitable blowback, the song became a #5 hit. We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby, a 1978 hit, drew criticism for promoting a phrase associated with feminism and with a cigarette brand marketed to women. Lynn responded, frank and undeterred, with the quote shown here. Explore more of country music's story in our galleries. The Museum's doors are open, and tickets are available here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

Voting is a right, a privilege, and a duty. We hope you'll go out and make your voice heard. The Museum will reopen on Wednesday. You can reserve timed tickets for November 4 and beyond here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

In a career filled with highlights, Dolly Parton attained a couple of her biggest milestones in the month of November. In November 1970, she released Joshua, about an orphaned young mountain girl and a reclusive mountain man. It became her first solo #1 on the country charts. In November of 1980, her song 9 to 5, written for the film of the same name in which Parton co-starred, was released as a single. The song became the future Country Music Hall of Fame member's first ... #1 hit on the all-genre Billboard 100 chart and a #1 hit on the country singles and adult contemporary charts, and it earned two Grammy Awards and an Academy Award nomination. Experience more of country music's story inside our doors tickets are available here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

Bill and Earl Bolick, popularly known as the Blue Sky Boys, exemplified one of country music’s greatest vocal traditions that of the brother duet. From 1936 to 1951, they made some of the most soulful country harmony ever heard, along with the Monroe Brothers, the Delmore Brothers, the Bailes Brothers, and other sibling teams of the era. One of the best documents of the Blue Sky Boys’ career survives in this handwritten journal, made from a school tablet, by Ruth Walker of ...Greensboro, Georgia. Maintained from May 9, 1939 to May 9, 1940, the journal covers the last seven months of the Blue Sky Boys’ radio stint on WGST (Atlanta) and the first five months of their tenure at WPTF (Raleigh, North Carolina). Each day, Walker tuned in and wrote down the titles of songs and comedy skits performed by the Blue Sky Boys. Walker then sent the booklet emblazoned with her handmade cover to the Bolicks. This has been a great pleasure to me and a favorite pastime, faithful fan Walker inscribed. I’ve enjoyed every one of your programs and still enjoy you. Explore country music history inside our galleries the Museum's doors are open, and timed tickets are available here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

Born November 1, 1937, Bill Anderson launched his career in 1957 when he recorded City Lights, a song he wrote while overlooking the streets of Commerce, Georgia which contained only a couple of stoplights and a neon sign for a small pharmacy. My dad told me that if I could look at the streets in Commerce, Georgia, and write about the bright array of city lights, he should’ve known I had the imagination to be a songwriter, Anderson said during a 2016 Songwriter Session ...in the Museum’s Ford Theater. City Lights became Anderson’s first hit as a songwriter when Ray Price recorded and released it in 1958, sending the single to #1 on the country charts. Watch a clip of Anderson performing City Lights at the Museum here, and to explore more of country music's story, come visit our galleries in downtown Nashville. The Museum's doors are open, and tickets are available here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

The coronavirus pandemic continues to have significant financial implications for our nonprofit Museum. This #GivingTuesday, we need your help. A donation to our Coronavirus Relief Fund will make a critical difference as we navigate the challenging months ahead. Here, watch a message of encouragement from Country Music Hall of Fame member and friend of the Museum Emmylou Harris, who took part in our recent fundraising event and musical celebration BIG NIGHT (At the Museum), which is available on demand on YouTube now. If you'd like to support the Museum and its mission, text Donate to (833) 977-2643, or visit this link: https://secure.countrymusichalloffame.org//donate-relief-f

One of country music history’s most colorful and important forces, Country Music Hall of Fame member Cowboy Jack Clement built a long, eclectic career that was underpinned by unfettered creativity, and by fun. Explore more of country music's story inside our galleries. The Museum's doors are open, and timed tickets are available here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/ Photo: J. Clark Thomas

We're grateful to the artists, our partner YouTube, and to the music fans who tuned in Wednesday to help make our musical celebration and digital fundraising event, BIG NIGHT (At the Museum), a success. More than $743,000 was raised for the Museum’s Coronavirus Relief Fund during the premiere, and all of those donations help sustain the Museum and its mission of preserving and protecting country music history. The entire program, as well as individual performances from the fi...lm, are now available to view on demand on the Museum’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/CountryMusicHOF Anyone who'd like to contribute to our fundraiser can still make a donation via YouTube Giving, or by texting Donate to (833) 977-2643.

In the fall of 1964, Buck Owens, singer Jan Howard, and her husband at the time, songwriter Harlan Howard, were driving through West Texas when Owens spotted an advertising slogan, put a tiger in your tank, outside an Esso gas station. Owens ran the words through his mind, and asked his songwriting partner what he thought of the line tiger by the tail. About thirty minutes later, Howard handed Owens twelve lines on a sheet of paper. Recorded on December 1, 1964, and relea...sed later that month, I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail reached #1 in February 1965, making it Owens’s sixth #1 hit in less than two years, and his fourth Top Ten hit with fellow Country Music Hall of Fame member Howard as writer or co-writer. Learn more about country music's ever-evolving story inside our galleries. The Museum's doors are open, and tickets are available here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

TONIGHT! Enjoy the magic of the holidays on #CMAchristmas hosted by Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akinsat 9|8c ABC Television Network. See performances by Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Lady A, Little Big Town, Tim McGraw, Thomas Rhett and Darius Rucker with Lindsey Stirling!

Did you miss the #BigNightAtTheMuseum premiere? You can still watch this unprecedented fundraising event, and support the Museum by donating to our Coronavirus Relief Fund. Watch on demand on our YouTube channel, and subscribe so you can keep up with our latest videos:

During BIG NIGHT (At the Museum), Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs, and Alison Brown gathered for a Bluegrass Summit, featuring Lester Flatt’s custom-appointed Martin guitar, Earl Scruggs’s favorite Gibson banjo, and Bill Monroe’s genre-shifting Gibson F-5 mandolin. Watch their performance here, and stream the full program on demand (and, if you'd like, support the Museum's mission by donating to our Coronavirus Relief Fund) on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/CountryMusicHOF

#BigNightAtTheMuseum is rolling on YouTube are you tuned in? Join us now:

Thanks so much to everyone who's already donated during #BigNightAtTheMuseum. Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell just performed, and there's lots more to come, right here on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/dCKUUSntqWQ If you'd like to help the Museum: (1) Donate using the blue donate button on YouTube, or text DONATE to (833) 977-2643. ... (2) Visit https://shop.hatchshowprint.com/collections/bignight to buy a limited-edition, commemorative Hatch Show Print poster or bid to win a Gibson SJ-200 guitar signed by all the artists performing tonight. Thank you for your generosity and support!

An appropriately appreciative Thanksgiving soundtrack from #BigNightAtTheMuseum performer Tim McGraw: "Gravy," from this year's "Here on Earth." (Two of the songwriters who co-penned the 2020 ode to gratitude, Allen Shamblin and Tom Douglas, have taken part in the Museum's in-depth "Poets And Prophets" interview series, and both are available to view on our website, in the Watch & Listen section.) If you haven't seen McGraw's BIG NIGHT performance yet, you can follow "Gravy" with "Don't Close Your Eyes," here: https://youtu.be/RnrQ7mkErZw

The song might've been a lovelorn lament, but this image and the title of Ernest Tubb's "Thanks a Lot" still fit our seasonal sentiment. In a tough year, we're still thankful for many things music, memories, family, friends, and the support of our community included. We hope you're celebrating safely, and finding a lot to feel thankful for too.

Tonight's the BIG NIGHT (At the Museum)! We hope you'll join us for an unforgettable fundraising event, featuring a cast of country music's modern masters playing timeless songs on priceless instruments from our collection. We kick off at 7:30 PM CT with Countdown to BIG NIGHT (At the Museum), a live pre-show (with livestream support from Bulldog DM) hosted by Tenille Townes, with special guest Carly Pearce. At 8:00, BIG NIGHT premieres exclusively on our YouTube channel st...ream it on your smart TV, in your browser, or on YouTube's mobile app, wherever you are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCKUUSntqWQ The program is free to watch, and donations are welcomed, using the blue DONATE button on YouTube or by texting DONATE to (833) 977-2643. #BigNightAtTheMuseum

#BigNightAtTheMuseum is rolling on YouTube are you tuned in? Join us now:

Revered singer-songwriter Billy Joe Shaver passed away on Wednesday, October 28, at age eighty-one, in Waco, Texas. A message from Kyle Young, CEO, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: Billy Joe Shaver is among the greatest troubadours in American music history. He spoke in poetry, and he lived his life like he wrote his songs, with poignant hilarity, chuckling sadness, and the wisdom of a dust-bitten sage. Most every line he wrote rings with truth and beauty, but the one I’m thinking of today is, ‘You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.’ Here, a clip from Shaver's 2018 "Poets and Prophets" program at the Museum, which includes memories of his original trip to Nashville, and a performance of "Honky Tonk Heroes."

For our BIG NIGHT (At the Museum), country singer Kane Brown offered his take on the Randy Travis hit Three Wooden Crosses, accompanied by the koa Gibson J-185 guitar that Travis favored in his performances. Taped to the back of that Gibson is an image of Randy’s hero, George Jones. Watch Brown's performance here, and to see the full BIG NIGHT program on demand (and, if you'd like, support the Museum's mission with a donation), visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/CountryMusicHOF

The Steinway at RCA Studio B has seen a whole lot of country music history. Thanks for sharing yours and encouraging folks to tune in for #BigNightAtTheMuseum, Laine Hardy.