• ABOUT
    • Contact
    • The Team
    • FAQ
    • Use & Privacy Policy
  • ADVERTISE
  • JOB LISTINGS
MusicRow.com
  • CALENDARS
    • Album Releases
    • Single Releases
    • Industry Events
  • EVENTS
  • OBITS
  • REVIEWS
  • CHARTS
    • CountryBreakout Radio Chart
      • Current CountryBreakout Chart
      • CountryBreakout Chart Archives
    • No. 1 Challenge Coin
    • Top Songwriter Chart
      • Current Top Songwriter Chart
      • Top Songwriter Chart Archive
  • ROWFAX
  • NEWSLETTER
  • SIGN UP
  • STORE
  • Search
  • Menu

Hall of Fame Revamps Exhibit, Plans Ray Stevens Salute

April 6, 2010/0 Comments/in Featured /by Sarah Skates

Ray Stevens

Staffers at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum have been busy preparing for big events this month featuring Ray Stevens and songwriters Kent Blazy and Cory Batten—all in the midst of an exciting revamp of its permanent exhibit.

The Hall will salute Ray Stevens on Saturday, April 24, as part of its Nashville Cats series focusing on musicians. Although best known for comedic hits like “The Streak,” and country/pop standards such as “Everything Is Beautiful,” Stevens is also a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer who has contributed to recordings by Patti Page, Dolly Parton, and Elvis Presley. Hosted by Bill Lloyd, the tribute to Stevens will include a brief performance and in-depth interview illustrated with vintage recordings, photos and film clips. It will also be streamed live. Details here.

The Hall’s annual Words & Music Night, which pairs local students with professional songwriters to help perform their original compositions, is set for April 27. Songsmiths Kent Blazy and Cory Batten, writers of tons of hits including Garth Brooks’ “Ain’t Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up),” Chris Young’s “Gettin’ You Home (the Black Dress Song),” and Blake Shelton’s “She Wouldn’t Be Gone,” will perform and host.

Words & Music Night is the culmination of the yearlong Words & Music program about songwriting, which had more than 4,300 student participants this school year, who wrote songs which were put to music by professional songwriters.

Justine Gregory, director of education and public programming for the Museum, explains, “When the students perform their songs on the Ford Theater stage with professional songwriters, it is not only a proud moment for the audience of parents, teachers and Museum staff, but also an evening of first-rate entertainment.”

Meanwhile, additions and revisions to the Museum’s core exhibition, Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music, are expected to be completed next month. The updates focus on country music’s last five decades, highlighting country-rock, pop-country, southern rock, full-strength classic country, and the “Urban Cowboy” craze.

The transformation includes new oversized portraits, video clips and artifacts such as Dolly Parton’s handwritten lyrics to “Jolene,” Tom T. Hall’s acoustic guitar he purchased from songwriter Merle Kilgore, and items from Ronnie Milsap, Kenny Rogers, Mel Tillis, and Tanya Tucker.

Other updates focus on the mid-1980s arrival of artists like Dwight Yoakam, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Randy Travis and Steve Earle, and the ’90s boom when Garth Brooks, Faith Hill and Alan Jackson ruled the charts. New cases show the contributions of hitmakers like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban, and celebrate contemporary bluegrass and Americana artists, ranging from Alison Krauss and Del McCoury to Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Sarah Skates
Sarah Skates has worked in the music business for more than a decade and is a longtime contributor to MusicRow.
Latest posts by Sarah Skates (see all)
  • Carrie Underwood’s ‘My Gift’ Continues Reign Atop Charts - December 16, 2020
  • Bruce Kalmick’s WHY&HOW Staffs Up - December 16, 2020
  • ‘Opry Live’ Notches No. 1 on Year-End Livestreamers Chart - December 16, 2020
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png 0 0 Sarah Skates https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png Sarah Skates2010-04-06 08:48:242010-04-06 08:48:24Hall of Fame Revamps Exhibit, Plans Ray Stevens Salute
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

RECENT NEWS

  • Off The Record: Is It Time To Cut The Net? January 22, 2021
  • Americana Meets Eastern Europe On David Olney’s Final Album January 22, 2021
  • Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe’ Returns To 2021 Virtual Festival With New Talent Added January 22, 2021
  • Thomas Rhett Reigns On ‘MusicRow’ CountryBreakout Radio Chart January 22, 2021
  • Lainey Wilson Readies Studio Album, ‘Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’’ January 22, 2021
  • Adam Sanders Celebrates Milestones With New Live Album January 22, 2021
  • JUST IN: Lady A Invited To Become Members of Grand Ole Opry January 21, 2021
  • DISClaimer Single Reviews: Marty Stuart, Blake Shelton, Tiera, Caitlyn Smith, Old Dominion January 21, 2021
  • Darryl Worley Returns To The Road For Country Rewind Tour January 21, 2021
  • CMA’s Sarah Trahern, Rascal Flatts To Receive CRB Honors at CRS 2021: The Virtual Experience January 21, 2021
  • JUST IN: Eric Church To Release Three-Album Project: Heart & Soul January 21, 2021
  • ASCAP Kicks Off 2021 Master Class Virtually January 21, 2021
  • ‘Dark Horse’ Devin Dawson Brings Out His Lighter Side With ‘The Pink Slip’ [Interview] January 21, 2021
  • New Concert Venue The Factory Opening In St. Louis January 21, 2021
  • Walker Montgomery Talks Heroes In New Digital Series ‘Influenced By’ January 21, 2021

Likes us on Facebook

Recently on Twitter

Tweets by MusicRow
© 2020 Music Row Enterprises, LLC – All rights reserved.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Scroll to top