Eddie & Martha Adcock onstage at Ichibankan, a converted ancient sake manufacturer in Fukuoka. Photo by Hiromi ChidaEddie & Martha Adcock, Tom Gray and Japanese country radio personality Hiromi Chida backstage at IchibankanTom Gray onstage at Ichibankan in Fukuoka. Photo by Hiromi Chida.Eddie & Martha Adcock with Hiroshi Asada (The Tourmaster) onstage at Fukuoka during the last stop on the Adcocks’ sold-out seven-city tour of Japan. Photo by Hiromi Chida.

Eddie and Martha Adcock closed out 2007 with their very first tour of Japan — and discovered that their high standing in the bluegrass realm, along with their songs, vinyl albums, tapes and CDs, had preceded them long ago to the Orient.

“Absolutely, our reception in that country couldn’t have been more warm and enthusiastic,” Martha says in a lengthy discourse of the trip that’s part of the Adcocks’ latest e-mail newsletter. “Japan has been a hotbed of bluegrass music activity for decades, and one of the main catalysts was the recordings of the ‘classic’ Country Gentlemen (Eddie Adcock, John Duffey, Charlie Waller and Tom Gray), who are still revered and whose music and personalities have quite a large number of fans. Among many bluegrass musicians, there remains a love for — and adherence to — the sound and repertoire of the classic-period Gents.”

Martha said the Japanese tour, which included several sold-out concerts spanning many corners of the country, was a long-awaited dream for Eddie.

“… this trip was the realization of a dream held over the years, ever since he, John Duffey and Charlie Waller with Ed Ferris had been invited to play Japan in the mid-late 1960s,” Martha said. “But they never went. The twist to that story is that Eddie, reaching far back under the front seat of the Gents’ tour vehicle one day, found an expired contract to play Japan. According to Eddie, ‘In those days, Duffey was so afraid of flying that he
simply hid the contract. I was really disappointed to miss that opportunity. Of course, later with the Scene, Duffey decided he loved to fly! Well, for years after the contract incident I still wanted very much to go to Japan, and although opportunities arose many times, for different reasons it never worked out…until this trip. I had such a fabulous time there that I guess it was worth the wait.’”

Martha was astounded at the many avid fans who knew not only the Country Gentlemen’s material, but also the songs she and Eddie have recorded as a duo over the years. “We all autographed large numbers of career-spanning CD’s and collectors’ albums as well as pictures, magazines, instruments, t-shirts, et cetera. Would you believe that we even had a few squealing, sobbing young groupies? It’s hard not to enjoy being treated like bluegrass demigods,” beamed Martha. The trip, which took place in December, was the climax of the Country Gentlemen’s 50-year anniversary. Eddie and Martha were accompanied by bass player Tom Gray and his wife Sally. According to Martha, they “toured the length and breadth of that lovely country for nearly two weeks, playing to sold-out houses each night.”

Gray and the Adcocks were joined on stages throughout the country by several Japanese musicians who they have met over the years, including longtime friend Akira Otsuka who played mandolin on several shows. The Adcocks and Gray also played several concerts with “The Gentlemen” a Japanese band that performs Country Gentlemen classics.

One show in Kobe featured a reunion of the legendary Bluegrass 45, which includes Akira Otsuka. Bluegrass 45 was the first Japanese bluegrass band to tour America.

“It was surely a high point of our musical careers,” Martha says as she reflects on the trip. “And, as an appropriate cap on the 50th-anniversary year of the Country Gentlemen, it would be hard to beat.”

Eddie & Martha will be playing a March 15th show at the Rivervalley Community Center in Moscow, OH.

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The Steeldrivers

The Steeldrivers self-titled debut keeps garnering much deserved attention and accolades. Amazon.com has them listed at #13 on their “Best Sellers in Music” chart and American Songwriter magazine named The Steeldrivers their #1 “Band to Watch in 2008.”

As reported earlier this week, The Steeldrivers are also sitting at #4 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums’ Chart.

“The SteelDrivers earn their name not only with Chris Stapleton’s hard, hoarse shout but also with the relentless attack of Tammy Rogers’ fiddle and Mike Henderson’s mandolin…the group has galvanized into a force in bluegrass and beyond.” Brian Mansfield, USA Today

The Steeldrivers on CMT

The SteelDrivers were recently featured on CMT’s Unplugged at Studio 330. The performance includes the songs “Blue Side of the Mountain,” “If It Hadn’t Been For Love,” “Heaven Sent” and “Midnight Train to Memphis.” The show also features several interview segments with The Steeldrivers that are available online. Watch The Steeldrivers on CMT’s “Unplugged at Studio 330.”

The Steeldrivers Current Performance Schedule:

• Mar 27 Bama Theatre - Tuscaloosa, AL
• Mar 29 Station Inn - Nashville, TN
• Apr 11 Return to Roots Festival - Owensboro, KY
• Apr 25 Station Inn - Nashville, TN
• May 24 Jammin’ at Hippy Jack’s Americana Festival - Crawford, TN

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Nashville, Tenn., February 28, 2008 -The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will present an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait of a great American musical dynasty in “Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy,” Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company, a more than 5,000-square-foot exhibition opening on Friday, March 28, 2008, and closing on December 31, 2009.

With the stark realism of a Hank Williams song, the exhibit will depict the relationships that inspired Williams and his progeny to create songs that stand among the greatest, most influential country music ever recorded.

“The Williams family story may seem familiar. However, this exhibit will take the visitor inside the family to revisit the life and impact of Hank Williams, examine the struggles and musical successes of his only son, Randall Hank Williams, and study the direct descendants, who are now striving within a new generation of artists, all measuring themselves by the example of Hank Williams.” Kyle Young - Museum Director

The exhibition has benefited enormously from the blessing and cooperation of the family, including Randall Hank Williams, now known as singer-songwriter Hank Williams Jr.; Lycrecia Williams Hoover, Hank Jr.’s older sister and the only member of the family with clear personal memories of Hank Williams; and singer-songwriter Jett Williams, who discovered her Williams parentage in the 1980s. Lending their own stories and family mementoes are Hank Jr.’s eldest children, singer-songwriters Shelton Williams, now Hank III, and Hilary and Holly Williams.

“Independently of each other,” Young said, “they each agreed to sit for lengthy oral history interviews that have allowed us to tell a new story in their voices. Now, 55 years after Hank Williams’ death, Lycrecia Hoover joins her brother, his children and Jett Williams to help them collectively address their legacy for the first time. They have opened their hearts and their archives to facilitate a fascinating story told from their perspectives and with their personal heirlooms.

“These are ordinary lives made extraordinary by an alignment of talent and bedrock values, and by the quests for personal and professional identity that continue to move each generation through the earthly joy and sorrow of the times they live in,” he said. “We fully expect that Family Tradition will be recognized as a story that will preserve country music history and bring it home to thousands of visitors in search of community, family entertainment, intellectual diversity and cultural competence.”

Co-curated by the institution’s Vice President for Museum Services Carolyn Tate and staff Writer-Editor Michael McCall, the exhibit includes more than 200 artifacts and a Fort Knox of audiovisual treasure. An aggressive schedule of accompanying public programs will enhance a unique and panoramic story that stands as the most ambitious temporary exhibition in the institution’s 40-year history. The voices and music of all family members are heard throughout the exhibit.

Festivities on grand opening weekend will include an appearance on March 29 by Hank Williams Jr., who will answer questions about his life and career, his father’s legacy, and his family’s ongoing dedication to creative endeavor. Moderated by McCall, and including audiovisuals from the Museum’s archive and from the family, the program will include Williams’ live performance of several songs from his from broad repertoire.

On April 12, Jett Williams will take the Ford Theater stage to share her story. The program, which will include audiovisual elements and a performance by Williams, will be hosted by McCall. Other family members will be among those invited to participate in programs accompanying the exhibit throughout the run.

Exhibit Summary

Family Tradition is prefaced by a glimpse inside the family home and personal lives of Hank and Audrey Williams and their children, Lycrecia and Randall Hank, from the late 1940s through the late 1950s.

The ranch-style home, purchased on the heels of Williams’ 1949 rise to stardom, was the epitome of the most ordinary American dreams and values. From the blond wood of Williams’ liquor cabinet to the family’s black-and-white console television, from the simple elegance of a hand-tooled saddle to the chichi fashion of a Chinese figurine lamp, and from classic photos of the two sweethearts and charming baby pictures to silent home movies of family birthdays, vacations and times at play together, we see the promise within a loving family’s happy times before and after the patriarch’s death, at age 29, on January l, 1953.

In six short years, Hank Williams lodged almost 40 chart hits, including the country chart toppers “Lovesick Blues,” “Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” “Why Don’t You Love Me,” “Moanin’ the Blues,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” “Hey, Good Lookin’,” “Jambalaya” and “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.”

Though his body rests in Alabama, Hank Williams lives on as country music’s greatest exemplar. His legacy reaches into every facet of popular and vernacular music. His deceptively simple songs of truth and home are the gold standard by which both his creative biological and musical heirs must measure themselves. With a central focus on Williams’ children and grandchildren, this is the premise for the Museum’s Family Tradition story.

The saga begins with Williams’ birth, looks back at his death and examines the way the nation mourned, recounts the life and career of his only son, and ends with the contented and philosophical voice of Hank Williams Jr. - legatee, father, megastar, collector, outdoorsman and legator.

Chapter by chapter, the robust epic is layered and made whole by various elements including:

• Text panels recounting the Williams family’s life passages, lifestyles, important collaborators, career crossroads and professional milestones.
• Exhibit cases holding lovingly preserved family heirlooms ranging from Hank Williams’ fiddle and cinnamon-orange silk pajamas to Hank Jr.’s toddler-size Nudie suits, teen-idol stage wear and big-game taxidermy; from Hank and Audrey Williams’ romantic wedding invitation to Audrey’s desk, typewriter, and jewelry and accessories from her dressing table; from the flower cards and condolence notes saved from Williams’ funeral to the communion veil of the young Jett Williams and a photo of toddlers Hank III, Hilary and Holly Williams in the family bathtub.
• Vintage audio and video clips strategically placed throughout the exhibit.
  • The visitor will see clips of Hank Williams from March and April 1952 appearances on the Kate Smith Evening Hour, hear him singing and bantering with the Drifting Cowboys on the Mother’s Best radio show and get a rare glimpse of him offstage at a time when his Nashville home was an Arcadian retreat.
  • Young equestrienne Lycrecia Williams is seen with her pony during birthday festivities, Audrey is seen at work and at play, and the kids are seen with their grandmother, Lillie Stone.
  • More audiovisual riches document Hank Jr.’s early life, his rise from struggling country singer to his late ’80s arrival as one of the most successful country singers of his generation, and his current iconic status as musical spokesman for new generations of factory workers, war veterans, nurses, teachers, cowboys, carpenters, the unemployed, outdoor sportsmen and football fans, among others.
• Touch screen interactives that allow visitors to page through private family scrapbooks. Icons on selected pages facilitate closer looks at the content.
• Monitors throughout the exhibit which allow visitors to see members of the Williams family speaking their truths about the public and private lives of their ancestors and addressing their own voyages of identity and creative discovery.

Family Tradition Program Schedule

Throughout its 21-month run, Family Tradition: The William Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company will be accompanied by related public programs including live performances, films, panel discussions and opportunities to converse with individuals important to the lives and careers of the Williams family. The schedule will be regularly updated at www.countrymusichalloffame.com.

With the purchase of a Museum membership ($25/adults and $10/youth), visitors can attend most public programs free of charge for one year, including all programming related to Family Tradition. Museum memberships also include one year of unlimited admission to the Museum, discounts in the Museum Store, SoBro Grill and Hatch Show Print, and more.

Upcoming Family Tradition Programs

Saturday, March 29 2:00 p.m.
Interview and Performance: Hank Williams Jr.
To mark the opening of the museum’s major new exhibit, Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, Co-Presented by SunTrust and Ford Motor Company, Hank Williams Jr. will be on hand to answer questions about his life and career, his father’s legacy, and his family’s ongoing dedication to creative endeavor. As part of the program, Hank Jr. will perform songs from his broad repertoire. Exhibit co-curator Michael McCall will conduct the interview. Reservations required in advance beginning Tuesday, March 25th (9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) by calling (615) 416-2001. Limited seating is available. Maximum of two tickets per sale. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.

Sunday, March 30 2:00 p.m.
Film Screening: In the Hank Williams Tradition (1990)
“A country singer’s role is as an interpreter. [The songs are] stories that people can relate to because the songs are about their lives. Hank Williams was one of the first to do it-and he did it the best,” explains Randy Travis in In the Hank Williams Tradition. In this 1990 documentary, Travis and fellow artists Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, members of the Drifting Cowboys and more discuss the lasting influence of Hank Williams. Hank Williams Jr. also shares memories from his childhood. Free.

Saturday, April 12 2:00 p.m.
Interview and Performance: Jett Williams
Jett Williams, daughter of Hank Williams and Bobbie Jett, left the Williams family fold at age two, after the death of her adoptive parent, Lillian Stone, Hank’s mother. Jett rediscovered her heritage in the 1980s and wrote about it in a book, Ain’t Nothin’ as Sweet as My Baby: The Story of Hank Williams’ Lost Daughter. She has since emerged as a performer in her own right. In this program, Jett shares her astonishing life story with Family Tradition exhibit co-curator Michael McCall and performs songs from her father’s repertoire. Jett will do a signing immediately following in the Museum Store. Limited seating. Included with Museum admission. Free to Museum members.

Additional promotional support is being provided by the Museum’s official Family Tradition media partners: Great American Country Television Network, Cumulus Broadcasting and The Tennessean.

Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.

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Charlie Sizemore photo by Señor McGuire

Charlie Sizemore may be sizzling on the bluegrass charts for the moment, but he must have ice cold blood running through his veins. Blame it on geography and his itinerary, not the singer’s mood.

Sizemore earlier this month participated in a 3-day Lonely Pines Concert Series, held in the upper stretches of Minnesota, including one gig in Bedmidji, generally regarded as the coldest spot in the continental United States.

The Upper Midwest will get more opportunities to see more of Sizemore and his band next month.

They will appear March 8 in Tawas City, Mich., as part of the Corsair Concert Series. His concert, to start at 8 p.m., will be held in the Tawas United Methodist Church Family Center.

Sizemore is back in the northlands the following week when he presents a 7:30 p.m. concert Thursday, March 13, at Two Rivers High School in Two Rivers, Wis.

The following day, Sizemore heads a bit farther south for an 8 p.m. show at the Evanston, Ill., American Legion Hall as part of the ongoing Bluegrass Legends Concert Series.

On Saturday March 15, Sizemore and band will perform in the heart of Illinois, at The Iron Post in Urbana, home of the University of Illinois. His show starts at 6 p.m.

Sizemore’s latest CD, meanwhile, continues to be much hotter than Bedmidji, Minn., ever dreamt about.
“Good News,” a Rounder Records release, remains at the top of Bluegrass Unlimited’s National Bluegrass Top 15 Album Chart this month and is spending its third month as No. 1 on XM Radio’s Bluegrass Junction Top 40 CDs.

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Grasstowne

The 14th annual Naperville, Ill., Bluegrass Festival will feature several top acts during its March 28-30 run at the Holiday Inn Select.

Performers will include Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Grasstowne, the Dailey-Vincent Band, James King Band, Monroe Crossing, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike featuring Becky Buller, Art Stevenson & High Water, Ashton Gap, The King Family and Alison Coyer.

Concerts will be held Friday evening, Saturday morning, afternoon and evening and Sunday morning, when Art Stevenson’s band and The King Family will present a gospel show.

Keith Yoder will present instrument workshops on guitar, mandolin and banjo Saturday afternoon, and at 4 p.m. Rob Anderlik will present a dobro workshop.

Special jamming areas will be set up during the weekend. Admission to the jam rooms is free to concert ticket holders and $5 for those without tickets.

Festival promoters are Terry and Jan Lease of the Jacksonville, Ill., -based Midwest Bluegrass Festivals.

Information about tickets and reserving hotel rooms at a special bluegrass weekend rate is on their Web site, www.bluegrassmidwest.com.

The performance schedule follows:

March 28, Friday

• 7 PM Alison Coyer
• 7:20 PM James King Band
• 8:05 PM Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike
• 8:55 PM Grasstowne
• 9:40 PM Ashton Gap

March 29, Saturday

• 10:30 AM Open Stage- Talent Showcase
• 1 PM Art Stevenson & High Water
• 1:50 PM Dailey & Vincent
• 2:45 PM Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
• 3:35 PM Monroe Crossing
• 7 PM The King Family
• 7:30 PM Art Stevenson & High Water
• 8:10 PM Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
• 9:05 PM Dailey & Vincent
• 9:50 PM Monroe Crossing

March 30, Sunday

• 10 AM The King Family
• 10:30 AM Art Stevenson & High Water

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