CMHOF Shines Light On Nashville’s Music Row In New Virtual Exhibit

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The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has launched a new online exhibit exploring the history of Music Row in Nashville called Historic Music Row: Nashville’s Creative Crossroads.

The new immersive website uses curated archival materials from the museum’s collection to explore the history of Music Row and its creative community of artists, songwriters, studio musicians, producers, record companies, publishers and other music business professionals.

Funded through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission’s Access to Historical Records: Major Initiatives grant program, Historic Music Row: Nashville’s Creative Crossroads highlights 15 landmark businesses and organizations as representatives of the hundreds that have contributed to the area’s cultural significance. Online visitors can also follow the footsteps of six Country Music Hall of Fame members, including Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Charley Pride, to understand how Music Row played an important role in their music careers.

Through the interactive website, visitors can explore a map of select locations on Music Row and learn about each through historic video and film clips, music recordings, interview excerpts, photographs, correspondence and more.

Featured locations include ASCAP, Bradley’s Studios/Columbia Studios, BMI, Capitol Records, Cedarwood Publishing, the original Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Decca Records, Jack’s Tracks/Allentown Studios, Monument Records, Nashville Association of Musicians, RCA Studios A & B, Tree Publishing/Sony Music Publishing, Quadraphonic Studios/Sienna Studios and the Wil-Helm Agency and Sure-Fire Music/Charley Pride offices.

The historic hub of Nashville’s music industry, Music Row was established in the mid-1950s, and by 1979, over 600 music-centric businesses were located within a few blocks of each other in the former residential neighborhood.

In 2015, the National Park Service’s National Trust for Historic Preservation designated Music Row as a National Treasure. In 2019, the neighborhood, rapidly losing music-centric businesses and buildings to new development, was placed on the organization’s annual list of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.”

Lorie Hollabaugh
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