Alan Stoker Retires From Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Pictured (L-R): Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; Alan Stoker; Michael Gray; Vice President of Museum Services; and Kevin Fleming, Museum Director of Library and Archival Collections. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum celebrated the retirement of longtime staffer Alan Stoker, Curator of Recorded Sound Collections, last week after more than 50 years of service to the organization.

Stoker’s last day with the museum was May 1, exactly 51 years from the day he began, and he is the museum’s longest-serving employee and has been a major contributor to the nonprofit since joining the staff in 1974. He has led the museum’s audio preservation and digitization efforts, as well as audio remastering for many historical reissue albums released by the museum’s CMF Records label, ranging from Hank Williams’ demo recordings and The Bristol Sessions to box sets on Patsy Cline, Bill Monroe, Merle Haggard and Williams. Stoker has won two Grammy’s The Complete Hank Williams box set and another for Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues 1945-1970.

As the son of Country Music Hall of Fame member Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires, in 2022 Stoker and journalist Michael Kosser published the first book about the group with Backbeat Books: The Jordanaires: The Story of the World’s Greatest Backup Vocal Group as Told by Gordon Stoker. Additionally, Stoker is a vocalist and musician himself who plays drums, guitar, bass and piano and has performed and recorded with many bands through the years, including opening for Ray Charles, Rick Nelson, Crystal Gayle and others. He has also represented the museum for over 20 years at the annual National Recording Preservation Board meeting at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

“As the museum’s ‘audio czar,’ Alan has pursued a lifelong dedication to recorded sound,” says Kyle Young, CEO for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “His passion and expertise helped elevate the museum’s audio restoration lab to a premier destination for preserving rare recordings, while helping build the museum’s extensive digital archive for future generations to access. We wish him the best in his retirement, and we’re grateful for his many contributions and tireless work to conserve and share this important cultural artform.”

Stoker started at the museum as a part-time delivery person at its former location on Music Row and quickly moved up to working at the front desk and in the museum’s store. In 1977, the museum began operating Historic RCA Studio B and he became the first on-site manager, creating the first visitor tour and training tour guides. He also served as the museum’s first Grants Program Director, securing audio and moving image grants for preservation efforts in its archives. In 1980, the museum set up an audio restoration lab, and Stoker was tapped to run the facility and serve as its audio engineer. He also worked as the museum’s Archival Video Engineer for more than 25 years, ensuring the museum captured and preserved key film and TV productions featuring country music. In 2015, after Jack White purchased Elvis Presley’s first-ever recording (which he made for his mother), White brought the record to Stoker to transfer it for him.

“I never dreamed that a summer job I started between my freshman and sophomore years in college would turn into a career for a lifetime, lasting over 50 years,” says Stoker. “I’m extremely proud of the audio and moving image acquisitions and preservation work that we’ve done here. I have every confidence this important work will continue at the high standard that I hope I’ve been a part of helping establish. I will miss the day to day and my friends on staff, but I’m happy that the museum, the Frist Library and Archive and the collection are in such great hands.”