If you can only visit one place in Nashville, then I would recommend that the Country Music Hall of Fame be that place. There is nowhere else in Nashville, or anywhere on this planet, where you will find so much information about the past, the present, and the future of country music. "Hear It, See It, Experience It," their brochure claims, and I can’t express it any better. This is a museum that will assault your senses. There is so much to see and hear that it is hard to know where to begin.
"The mission of the Country Music Hall of Fame is to identify and preserve the evolving history and traditions of country music and to educate its audience." - Kyle Young, Director, Country Music Hall of Fame
The museum is organized chronologically. You begin on the third floor and work your way down. This museum is handicapped accessible; there is an elevator. You begin with the roots of country music in the gospel tradition of the old South. What really astounds is that not only do you follow the evolution through the written word, but you also get to hear examples of the music being discussed. You walk into kiosks and can listen to examples of whatever is being shown in that particular area.
Between the kiosks, there are cases filled with musical instruments, memorabilia, and ephemera from all the elements that helped country music become what it is today. Meanwhile, there are videos running that you can stop and watch. I listened to Garth Brooks talking about the first time he performed with George Jones. He was just as star-struck as any of us would have been.
You need to allow 3 or more hours to truly appreciate everything that is offered here. Before you even leave the third floor, you will want to give Elvis’s solid-gold Cadillac a good looking over, sit down and watch an episode of the Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, visit with the costumes from Hee Haw, and walk along the Gold Records Wall. Eight hundred fifty-four gold and platinum records, it starts on the third floor and goes down to the first. The albums are hung chronologically. Some of the albums open and you can listen to a song performed by the artist. I opened Patsy Cline’s Greatest Hits, which sold 8 million copies, and listened to her plaintive voice.
On the second floor, you can immerse yourself in the R&B aspects of country music. You can sit and watch "Night Train to Nashville" or listen to Robert Knight singing "Everlasting Love." As you leave R&B, you will come to a wall of Dolly Parton magazine covers; in a nearby case, there is one of her dresses and a wig. There is a theater which shows The Star Experience with Tim McGraw. Don’t forget to make your own CD—you can select up to 12 songs and then pay at the museum store.
As you wind up the display section on this floor, you will pass through the current flock of country stars: Faith Hill, Alison Krauss, and Alan Jackson, among others. Your last stop on the second floor will be the Hall of Fame Rotunda. Every inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame is represented here. You can see their pictures, their bios, and the years they were elected. Were there any surprises? Well, yes there were. I never knew that the Everly Brothers and Roy Rogers had been inducted.
The cost of entry is $15 and you can get an audio tour. I have only one gripe about this museum. It was Saturday and there was only one person selling tickets. The line was insanely long. This didn’t make any sense to me, and actually, if I hadn’t wanted to see it so badly, I would have walked out. Come on, guys, you can do better than this.