In 1961, the Country Music Association announced the first inductees, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Fred Rose, into the Country Music Hall of Fame for their outstanding contribution to country music. Inductee plaques were displayed at the Tennessee State Museum until 1967 when the Country Music Hall of Fame opened a building on Music Row in Nashville, Tenn. For 33 years, the establishment expanded to include music education programs, the Country Music Foundation Library (1968) and historical sites such as RCA Studio B (1977) and the Hatch Show Print (1986). In 2001, the museum opened a new structure featuring a Hall of Fame Rotunda.
Visitors should plan to spend about two hours viewing current exhibits such as American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print, Family Tradition: the Williams Family Legacy, and Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music, and taking a stroll through the famous Hall of Fame Rotunda to see bronzed plaques honoring legendary country music-makers. The museum is open daily and the Nashville KOA, which is big-rig friendly, is only a few miles away.
For more information, call 615-416-2001 or go to www.countrymusichalloffame.org.
