Tennessee Sounds Good to Me, Part I: Nashville

Git-tars, Cadillacs and hillbilly music. Is that what you think of when you think of the Nashville music scene? Well you're kind of right. Guitars are everywhere in Music City and plenty of them are used for creating the down-home style of hill country music that is now proudly (instead of derogatorily) referred to as "hillbilly." And the cars? Take a look at Webb Pierce's tricked-out Pontiac with the silver pistol hood ornaments that now resides in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and just know that they don't make 'em like that anymore! The truth is that Nashville long ago shed its Hee Haw image and today embraces every kind of music while simultaneously remaining the undisputed capital of country and all its sub-genres. More succinctly put, Nashville is a music-lovers dream!
 

If you only have a couple of days to spend in Nashville and you want to use that time to see the basic music-oriented attractions there are a few places that are essential: the Ryman Auditorium, The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and RCA's Studio B. The Ryman Auditorium is a National Historic Landmark and the former home of the famous Grand Ole Opry. The long-running radio program moved to new digs in 1974 but thirty years worth of shows were broadcast from this building at 116 Fifth Avenue North. 

And while the walls can't talk, they are lined with all types of memorabilia from back in the day including items like Roy Acuff's fiddle and one of Minnie Pearl's hats. Backstage tours are available if you'd like to see the dressing rooms where everyone from Johnny Cash to James Brown to Hank Williams got ready for shows or if you'd like to check out the "Ryman Alley" where the Everly Brothers were discovered. Most popular with visitors though is the self-guided tour through the non-backstage areas of the building. The auditorium even features a small recording studio where you can make your own CD live at the Ryman! As for the "real" shows, the Ryman hosts concerts of all kinds including a very popular bluegrass series.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (222 Fifth Avenue South) is without doubt one of the grandest music museums in the world. The museum features three floors of exhibits covering every aspect of country music from its earliest known days to the present. Guitars, mandolins and fiddles galore are on display along with outfits worn by the stars including lots of the "Nudie suits" (Nudie was the designer) favored in the '50s and '60s by singers like Ray Price and Porter Wagoner. Gram Parsons' infamous Nudie suit with its marijuana leaves design is here as are other ostentatious items like one of Elvis Presley's gold Cadillacs. Besides all of the permanent displays the museum also has spotlight displays that change out from time to time; right now a very comprehensive exhibit honors Hank Williams and all his musical kin. Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy runs through the end of 2009. There is so much to see (and hear) here that you will need a couple of hours just to walk through briskly. 

The museum is also the jumping-off place for tours of the historic RCA Studio B. You purchase your Studio B ticket at the museum and then board a coach that takes you to the studio. Studio B earned the nickname "Home of 1000 Hits" because an endless list of chart-toppers were cut here including such notables as "Cathy's Clown" by the Everly Brothers, "Only the Lonely" by Roy Orbison, "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" by Waylon Jennings and multiple hits by Elvis Presley. Elvis Costello, Billy Ray Cyrus, Willie Nelson and Ann Margaret are just a few of the stars that also recorded here. You'll hear stories about all this during the tour as well as see some of the instruments that were used on the records. The tour even points out the spot outside where Dolly Parton had a little fender-bender with the studio's brick wall!

It will come as a surprise to many to find out that Jimi Hendrix was not only a Nashville resident in the early '60s but the city is also where he recorded for the first time. The young guitarist often played in a section of downtown Nashville called Printer's Alley and he is honored with a "star" on the Music City Walk of Fame (located on the "Music Mile" near the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.) 
 

Other downtown attractions that you don't want to miss include the Ernest Tubb Record Shop (417 Broadway) where you'll find almost every country CD and DVD available for purchase and Hatch Show Print (316 Broadway.) Hatch Show Print has been in business for more than a hundred twenty-five years and they've specialized in concert posters since the Grand Ole Opry came to them in the '50s. The company is currently owned by the Country Music Foundation and they stay busy making prints for everyone from Bruce Springsteen to the Rolling Stones to television news network CNN. Many of the shop's most famous designs are available for sale on-site.

Of course any music lover visiting Nashville will want to hear some live music and the best place to do that is in the downtown area where honky-tonks line both sides of Broadway. These places come alive every night and you can pretty much hear whatever style of country music you want, often without walking too far. Robert's, Layla's and the legendary Tootsie's are all within steps of each other and when I visited all three in one evening I heard authentic western-swing being played by John England and the Western Swingers at Robert's, modern country at Tootsie's and alt-bluegrass from the Volunteer String Band at Layla's. If you want to hear rock'n'roll one of the best places to go in Nashville is the vaunted Exit/In (2208 Elliston Place.) The club is just a typical rock bar atmosphere-wise but they are notorious for hosting the hottest bands on tour and the place certainly lived up to that reputation when I stopped in to hear World Inferno.

To plan your visit to Music City, Nashville, Tennessee: www.visitmusiccity.com - www.tnvacation.com

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