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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The Time Jumpers

Nashville, Tenn. — 650AM, WSM in Nashville, and its primo deejay Eddie Stubbs are holding a special contest for visitors of the radio station’s Web site, WSMOnline.com.

Web surfers will have the chance to win tickets to Stubb’s next show in his monthly “An Intimate Evening With …” series on March 6.

In the spotlight that night will be the Grammy-nominated The Time Jumpers, the 11-piece swing band that holds weekly show’s at Nashville’s famous Bluegrass Mecca, The Station Inn

The evening show takes place inside the newly expanded Museum Store at The Country Music Hall of Fame. Entries can be made at wsmonline.com/contests/contests1.shtml.

The Time Jumpers consists of some of Music City’s top-notch pickers and vocalists. Included are Kenny Sears (fiddle/vocal), Joe Spivey (fiddle), Aubrey Haynie (fiddle), Dennis Crouch (bass), Andy Reiss (guitar), Rick Vanaugh (drums), Jeff Taylor (accordion), Carolyn Martin (vocals), Dawn Sears (vocals), Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar) and “Ranger Doug” Green (rhythm guitarist/vocalist of “Riders in the Sky” fame).

John Hughey, a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, had been a long-time member of the group until his unexpected death in November.

The band states its purpose on its Web site, www.thetimejumpers.com, “The Time Jumpers’ goal is to keep the spirit of Western swing and traditional country alive and well through the performance of timeless music – classic songs and brand new original works – imbued with our own unique creative energy.”

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Ned Luberecki

February 23, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Charlie Louvin - Performance and Autograph Signing

Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Louvin will perform songs from his Grammy nominated, self-titled CD, and sign autographs as part of the Museum Store Grand re-opening.

Free

February 23, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Jim Lauderdale - Performance and Autograph Signing

Lauderdale was awarded the Bluegrass Album of the Year Grammy® for “The Bluegrass Diaries” earlier this month and is set to release his next Yep Roc project “Honey Songs” tomorrow Feb. 19th.

Free.

March 1, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters with Bob McDill

March 1, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Autograph Signing w/ Bob McDill

March 2, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Bob Grant and Ned Luberecki - Mandolin and Banjo Demonstration

Bob Grant, mandolin player who has appeared with alternative country band the Bad Livers, Gail Davies, and others. Ned Luberecki, banjo player for Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, who has appeared with Paul Adkins & the Boarderline Band, the Rarely Herd, and Tony Trischka. Luberecki hosts SIRIUS Newsgrass on Sirius Satallite Radio’s Bluegrass channel.

Included with museum admission. Free to museum members.

March 9, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Ramona Jones and Alisa Jones-Wall - Instrument Demonstration

Ramona Jones, fiddle and mandolin player who performed and recorded with Grandpa Jones. Alisa Jones-Wall, hammered dulcimer player who has recorded with Davide Ball, Johnny Cash, and Michael Martin Murphey.

Ramona is the widow of Country Music Hall of Fame member Grandpa Jones, and Alisa is the daughter of Grandpa and Ramona Jones.

Included with museum admission. Free to museum members.

March 23, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Al Goll and Tim May - Dobro and Flatpick Guitar Demonstration

Al Goll, dobro player for PlaidGrass, who has performed or recorded with Hayseed Dixie, Leftover Salmon, and others. Tim May, flatpick guitar player who has recorded or performed with Charlie Daniels, Patty Loveless, Moody Bluegrass, and Eddie Rabbitt.

Included with museum admission. Free to museum members.

The educational programs of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum are funded in part by grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, through an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Grand Ole Opry stars and husband and wife, Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, attend an event in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater Wednesday. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame

Nashville, Tenn. — Country music icons Marty Stuart and Connie Smith held a “Gift of Love” ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum’s Ford Theater on Wed. February 13th. The cause, a sweetheart gift to the museum of instruments, stage costumes, photographs and other artifacts from the couple’s famed career.

Other items included in the gift to the museum included items once owned by some of Country and Bluegrass music’s biggest stars including, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Roy Nichols. All culled from an extensive collection of Country Music artifacts and mementos Stuart has collected through out the years.

Among the gifts was Lester Flatt’s 1950 Martin D-28 “Lester” guitar.

Known as “the holy grail of bluegrass guitars,” this instrument was purchased by Flatt for $115 at a Charleston, West Virginia, pawnshop in 1956. Home to Flatt’s world renowned G-run for nearly 25 years, the Martin was used on most of Flatt & Scruggs’s classic recordings and live performances, including Grand Ole Opry broadcasts and their appearances on the national television show Beverly Hillbillies and the Martha White-sponsored Flatt & Scruggs Grand Ole Opry.

The pearl inlay and snowflake patterns on the fingerboard were not Martin factory issue. When the guitar was entrusted for repair to independent Chattanooga luthier Mike Longworth, the fledgling craftsman also added the pearl inlay and glued his business card into the guitar. It was Longworth’s fifth job and the “L-5″ inlay stands for Longworth’s fifth, which made both him and the guitar famous.

In 1998, the Martin Company issued a Lester Flatt Limited Edition Signature guitar, which included a perfectly duplicated “L-5″ inlay. A series of 50 were made and sold.

In 1972, Flatt loaned the long-retired iconic instrument to Stuart, the young bluegrass prodigy who had joined his band that year and who was also living in the Flatt home. Stuart fell in love with the guitar’s familiar “rich and full million-dollar sound” and adopted it for live performances and recordings until the early 1980s. After that, Stuart continued to use the instrument on some recordings, but did not take it on the road. “It’s possibly one of the greatest rhythm instruments ever made,” Stuart said.

When Flatt retired and disbanded his bluegrass band, Stuart sadly returned the instrument thinking he would never see it again. Some time after Flatt’s death in May 1979, Stuart purchased the instrument from Flatt’s daughter, Brenda. Flatt & Scruggs were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.Country Music Hall Of Fame^® and Museum

An extensive breakdown of Marty Stuart and Connie Smith’s generous gift to the community is below.

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Nashville, Tenn. - Legendary songwriter Bob McDill will make a rare public appearance at the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum on Saturday, March 1, as the latest subject of the quarterly programming series Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters. The 2:00 p.m. program, which will be held in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and free to Museum members.

Below is a select list of McDill’s biggest hit songs recorded by artists such as Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, Dan Seals and Alan Jackson along with many others.

• Amanda
• (Turn Out The lights) And Love Me Tonight
• Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On
• Big Wheels In The Moonlight
• Don’t Close Your Eyes
• Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)
• Gone Country
• Good Ole Boys Like Me
• If Hollywood Don’t Need You (Honey I Still Do)
• Louisiana Saturday Night
• My Old Yellow Car
• Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer
• Song of the South

Museum Editor Michael Gray will conduct an in-depth, one-on-one interview with McDill, illustrated with audiovisual elements from the Museum’s collection, including recordings, photos and film clips. McDill will perform briefly during the program, and immediately following he will sign autographs in the Museum Store.

Bob McDill elevated country music for nearly three decades with artfully crafted songs of substance and insight. He managed to gain commercial success with a body of work that runs the gamut from clever ditties to poignant love songs to literary works of art. McDill is best known for penning classics such as “Carolyn At The Broken Wheel Inn” (The Seldom Scene, Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time), “Catfish John” (Charlie Waller, Mac Wiseman, The Country Gentlemen, The Keel Brothers), “I’m Not That Good at Goodbye” (The Osborne Brothers, Larry Cordle and LST), “Come Early Morning” (The Seldom Scene, Marty Raybon) and many more contemporary country hits covered by artists such as Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, Sammy Kershaw and Alan Jackson to name a few.

Growing up in Beaumont, Texas, Robert Lee McDill was influenced by his mother’s piano playing and family singing. Like the main character in his hit song “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” McDill’s childhood was colored by Thomas Wolfe’s writing and records spun by John Richbourg (WLAC-Nashville) and Wolfman Jack (WXLR-Del Rio, Texas). McDill was a product of pop radio’s diversity and gravitated toward songwriters like Johnny Mercer and Paul Simon. By age 15 he was writing songs, and a few years later, playing in the folk group the Newcomers.

While at Lamar University (1962-1966), he wrote “The Happy Man,” which was recorded in 1967 by Perry Como. McDill was serving a two-year stint in the U.S. Navy when the song was recorded. The following year his second hit, “Black Sheep,” was cut by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs. Memphis songwriter and song publisher Allen Reynolds had helped McDill place the tunes, and in 1970, McDill and Reynolds went to work for Jack Clement’s publishing company, Jack Music, in Nashville.

McDill had been composing folk, rock and pop tunes, but had an epiphany while listening to George Jones’ hit “A Good Year for the Roses” in the backseat of a car. After hearing an unsettling emotion brewing behind the song’s theme, he was able to truly understand the depth of country music. McDill’s first country success came with Johnny Russell’s 1972 recording of “Catfish John,” co-written with Reynolds. McDill began a rigorous schedule of completing one song a week for the next three decades and would go on to score dozens of Billboard #1 hits. He supplied several country artists with career-defining singles, and found success with recordings by artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Anne Murray, Lefty Frizzell and Joe Cocker.

McDill was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985. In 1997, he supplied Pam Tillis with the Grammy-nominated hit “All the Good Ones Are Gone,” co-written by Dean Dillon. McDill is currently enjoying retirement and still resides in Nashville.

Visitors are encouraged to ask questions at the interactive Poets and Prophets programs, which are dedicated to songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music history. Previous Poets and Prophets honorees include Hank Cochran, John D. Loudermilk, Bobby Braddock and Craig Wiseman.

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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