The Country Music Hall of Fame
Nashville, TN

~The Home of America's Music~

FROM THE WEB: In 1961 the Country Music Association (CMA) announced the creation of the Country Music Hall of Fame and chose its first three inductees - Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Fred Rose. The Hall of Fame members' plaques, with facial likenesses and thumbnail biographies cast in bas-relief, were unveiled on the Grand Ole Opry by Ernest Tubb. Until 1967, these plaques and those for subsequent Hall of Fame inductees were displayed in the Tennessee State Museum in downtown Nashville.

The original Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum opened on Music Row (Sixteenth and Division) on April 1, 1967, and closed December 31, 2000. The new Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum celebrated its grand opening on May 17, 2001. The new facility features the Hall of Fame Rotunda, where the bronze plaques are displayed for future generations to honor and enjoy.

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum has been the home of America's music since 1967.

Inside, the Museum presents the crown jewels of its vast collection to illustrate country music's story as told through the turns of two centuries. A treasure trove of historic country video clips and recorded music, dynamic exhibits and state-of-the-art design, regular menu of live performances and public programs, museum store, live satellite radio broadcasts, on-site dining and fabulous public spaces all contribute to an unforgettable museum experience.

"Country music is still devoted to the lyric and to the telling of stories, which people love and people need. Country music artists took what they heard around them, material that was in the air and that was common currency, and they made something entirely new. This is a museum that preserves their memory so that they can continue to inspire creators in the future. It's also a museum that honors the people who their music was made for. Those people are all of us, people who've ever been lost or confused or sad or felt excluded. This museum helps to preserve these tributes to our condition."

- Garrison Keillor -

NOTE: These photos were taken without flash of museum artifacts encased behind protective glass using a professional digital NIKON SLR (D300)







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