New Album Pays Tribute To Country Music's 1927 Bristol Sessions

Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited will release in October, and features Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers and Ashley Monroe. The recording project includes 16 of the original songs from the 1927 Bristol Sessions, or, as Johnny Cash referred to it, “the single most important event in the history of Country music.” Also known as the “Big Bang of Country Music,” the recordings by Ralph Peer in Bristol, produced pioneers of the genre, such as Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.
Grand Ole Opry host Eddie Stubbs, along with Commissioner Susan Whitaker, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, and Chris Canfield of Virginia Tourism Corporation, made the announcement earlier today (June 10) at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The announcement also featured music from Stuart, The Church Sisters, The Shotgun Rubies, The Chuck Wagon Gang and Carl Jackson.
They also unveiled the Aug. 2 opening of The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol. This Smithsonian Institution-affiliated Birthplace of Country Music Museum is dedicated to preserve the legacy of the 1927 Bristol Sessions and their lasting influence on American popular music.
The 24,000 square foot facility, located at 520 Birthplace of Country Music® Way in downtown Bristol, houses 12,000 square feet of exhibit space, a rotating exhibit gallery, music mixing and listening stations, multiple theater experiences, and interactive, technology-infused media. BCMM will also host live, year-round performances and educational programming.
“My dear friend Rusty Morrell approached me with the idea to produce a project honoring the original 1927 Bristol Sessions,” Jackson said. “He was very aware and fond of a couple of other multi-artist ‘tribute’ projects I had produced and felt I was the guy who could bring his vision to life. In my opinion, the importance of those ’27 recordings cannot be overstated, and I am truly honored that Rusty asked me to shine a new and loving light on some of those classic works.”