Nashville, Tenn. — The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum will unveil a special spotlight exhibit dedicated to global music icon Johnny Cash on Tuesday, September 30, 2008. Johnny Cash: Man in Black, will be located on the third floor in the heart of the Museum’s core exhibition. The following week, the Museum will shine a light on legendary country balladeer Gene Watson with Gene Watson: Fourteen Carat Voice, beginning Tuesday, October 7, 2008. Both exhibits will run through Spring 2009.

Johnny Cash: Man in Black

In Johnny Cash’s 1971 hit “Man in Black,” Cash claimed he wore black to symbolize compassion for “the poor and the beaten down … the prisoner … the sick and lonely old.” With stage costumes and personal items on display, Johnny Cash: Man in Black examines Cash’s understated style in an otherwise rhinestone-studded era of country couture.

“There was a certain complexity behind Johnny Cash’s simple, black-clad image,” said Mick Buck, the Museum’s curator of collections. “The items on display echo Cash’s rebellious spirit and political awareness, and more importantly, his transcendent ability to connect with people.”

Both an astute song sculptor and interpreter, Johnny Cash became a larger-than-life international sensation and an ambassador of American music. The Country Music Hall of Fame member achieved success on both the country and pop charts, furthering the scope of country music through his commanding persona, stirring voice, inventive performances and fearless exploration of themes. His song styles ran the gamut, including cowboy songs, gospel and traditional spirituals, songs of social conscience and protest and adaptations of folk material. Cash’s music continues to resonate with new generations of music fans, many of whose interest was sparked by Cash’s American label recordings with producer Rick Rubin (five albums released from 1994 to 2006). Cash passed away in September 2003.

Among the artifacts on display in Johnny Cash: Man in Black are:

• A black gabardine suit with chain-stitched blue stars and brass buttons, designed by Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors. Cash performed in the suit in his 1977 televised Christmas special.
• A black leather duster, designed by western couturier Manuel Cuevas.
• A leather briefcase, bearing Cash’s initials, “JRC.” Cash traded the briefcase to musician Marty Stuart for Stuart’s black briefcase in the early 1980s.

Gene Watson: Fourteen Carat Voice

On October 7, the Museum will bow a special spotlight exhibit dedicated to Gene Watson, one of country music’s greatest voices and song stylists. Gene Watson: Fourteen Carat Voice explores Watson’s career as a soulful vocalist rooted in the classic country tradition, beginning with his steamy 1975 hit “Love in the Hot Afternoon.” In the exhibit, Watson’s musical consistency is juxtaposed with his wardrobe’s evolution. Stage costumes on display trace his 1970s clean-cut persona and attention-grabbing stage wear to a more relaxed look through the 1980s.

Watson scored a string of honky-tonk-styled hits throughout the late ’70s and into the ’80s that included “Farewell Party,” “Fourteen Carat Mind” and “Memories to Burn,” among others. Since winning his battle with cancer in 2001, Watson continues to showcase his smooth, clear tenor voice on albums such as In a Perfect World (2007).

Among the artifacts on display in Gene Watson: Fourteen Carat Voice are:

• a 1970s green suit with rhinestones and musical-note embroidery, designed by Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors.
• a suede cowboy hat with decorative pins.
• a floral-print western shirt from the early 1980s.

Spotlight exhibits are narratives that supplement themes or aspects of the Museum’s core exhibition, Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music. These short-term, informal displays either provide a closer look at a particular person or aspect of country music, or spotlight recently donated items or special anniversaries. Rotated often, spotlight exhibits also offer a glimpse into the Museum’s unique collection, which includes recorded discs, historical photographs, films and videotapes; thousands of posters, books, songbooks, periodicals and sheet music; personal artifacts such as performers’ instruments, costumes and accessories; and more.

Other current spotlight exhibits focus on Big & Rich, George Strait and Porter Wagoner.

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.