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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Nashville, Tenn. — The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum’s successful quarterly program series Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Session Players kicks off its third year on Saturday, February 16, with a salute to legendary producer and guitarist Jerry Kennedy. The 2:00 p.m. program, which will be held in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and is free to Museum members.The interactive program, hosted by Stringed Instrument Curator Bill Lloyd, will include an in-depth, one-on-one interview highlighted by vintage recordings, photos and film clips culled from the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive. Immediately following the program, Kennedy will sign autographs in the Museum Store.

Jerry Kennedy filled multiple roles as a musician, producer, songwriter and record executive in Nashville’s music industry. An accomplished guitarist, his distinctive work graces hit recordings such as Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman,” and Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man.” He has produced classics by Tom T. Hall, Jerry Lee Lewis, Reba McEntire, Roger Miller, Johnny Rodriguez and the Statler Brothers, among many others, and he was chief of the Nashville division of Mercury Records from 1969 to 1984. Working with producer Shelby Singleton, Kennedy was also instrumental in breaking down racial barriers in the early ’60s by recording R&B acts like Brook Benton, Ruth Brown and Clyde McPhatter with Nashville country session musicians.

Born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Jerry Kennedy began playing the guitar as a child and in 1951, at the age of ten, earned acclaim as a finalist in the annual Bob Wills talent hunt. By the time he graduated from Byrd High School in 1958, Kennedy had become a local sensation and was performing on the Louisiana Hayride. He backed rising stars Faron Young and Johnny Horton on the country radio show, all the while traveling the state with friend and producer Shelby Singleton and making blues records with the likes of Jimmy McCracklin and Guitar Junior.

Following the lead of other local musicians, and prompted by Singleton (who now worked for Mercury’s country division in Music City), Kennedy made the move to Nashville in 1961 in search of session work. In 1963 he began work as Singleton’s assistant at Mercury Records. After Singleton moved to New York to head up Mercury’s A&R office, Kennedy was promoted to A&R manager at the label and in 1969 became Mercury’s vice president in charge of country music.

While pushing paper and making executive decisions, Kennedy was still able to forge a remarkable career as a both a record producer and session musician. Known for his easy-going temperament and low-key approach to recording, he produced Roger Miller’s early hits, helping the new artist earn 11 Grammys in 1964 and 1965. Kennedy is also widely known for producing (and playing on) the albums that aided Jerry Lee Lewis’ transition from rock to country.

One of his most distinctive musical contributions can be heard on Jeannie C. Riley’s 1967 hit “Harper Valley P.T.A,” where Kennedy’s playful Dobro licks go tit-for-tat with Riley’s bold vocals. Kennedy played on Bob Dylan’s famous Blonde on Blonde sessions, as well as on Roy Orbison’s hit “Oh, Pretty Woman.” His guitar and Dobro work also graced recordings by Elvis Presley, Ringo Starr and Kris Kristofferson, among others.

Kennedy stepped down from Mercury Records in 1984 to start his own production company, JK Productions, which produced the Statler Brothers, among others. A much beloved member of the Nashville musical community, Kennedy resides in Brentwood, Tennessee, and is enjoying retirement.

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Nashville, Tenn. - The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum will be closed on Tuesdays during January and February to give the museum time to do general maintenance and give the facilities a thorough spring cleaning. The Museum will also be closed on Monday, February 4.

In addition, the Museum Store will be closed February 4 - 12 due to an extensive redesign and remodeling project to expand the its current size.

“Closing the Museum on Tuesdays allows us an opportunity for general maintenance and repair and a thorough spring cleaning,” said Museum Director Kyle Young, “In February, we’ll also be redesigning our Museum Store to accommodate additional merchandise and an increased slate of in-store performances, autograph signings and related events.”

Details on the Museum Store’s grand reopening will be announced in January.

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Louise Scruggs

Nashville, Tenn. - In honor of the late music industry pioneer Louise Scruggs, the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum will host a special interview with Denise Stiff, artist manager for Alison Krauss, on Tuesday, November 13, at 6:00 p.m. The Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, made possible by the Gibson Foundation, will explore issues related to the business side of the music industry and will be presented annually to honor a music industry leader who represents the legacy of pioneer Louise Scruggs. The event, which takes place in the Museum’s Ford Theater, will include an in-depth interview with Stiff, supplemented with photos, film footage and audio recordings culled from the Museum’s collection. A reception will follow the program. Admission is free.

Louise Scruggs’ understanding of music and musical trends, coupled with her formidable business acumen, allowed her to steer her husband Earl Scruggs’ career in the direction of ever-widening audiences. In 1955, she began booking and managing the Flatt & Scruggs show and continued to guide her husband’s career until her passing in February 2006. She was the first woman in country music to assume these roles, and she set new standards for the industry.

“It is altogether fitting that we undertake this annual salute to Louise Scruggs with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” says Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “Louise’s attention to detail and strong commitment to her family’s music is very much in keeping with the Museum’s mission and the Gibson Foundation’s goal of advancing education for music and the arts.”

Like Louise Scruggs, Denise Stiff has forged an unconventional path through the music industry with an open-ended, broad-minded interpretation of country music. By presenting traditional music in fresh, innovative ways, Stiff has helped the music-and her artist clients-find legions of new fans. Stiff is owner of DS Management and manager of twenty-time Grammy winner Alison Krauss. Stiff spotted the young fiddler and singer at an International Bluegrass Music Association showcase in Owensboro, Kentucky. Today, Stiff’s clients include Alison Krauss and Union Station, Jedd Hughes and Dan Tyminski. She was executive producer of music for the feature film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and producer of the subsequent Down from the Mountain Tour. She also was associate producer of the Down from the Mountain album and of the Great High Mountain Tour (2004) featuring music from the movies O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Cold Mountain.

“Denise has done wonderful things for Alison and for traditional music,” said Country Music Hall of Fame member Earl Scruggs. “Louise would be pleased to know that Denise was selected for this first forum in her honor.”

Founded in 2002 as the philanthropic division of Gibson Guitar, the Gibson Foundation is committed to making the world a better place for children worldwide through its own initiatives and by its support of other non-profit organizations that advance music and the arts, health and welfare, education and environmental causes. For more information please visit www.gibsonfoundation.org or www.gibson.com.

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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NASHVILLE, Tenn., October 16, 2007 - The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum brings its celebration of Historic RCA Studio B’s 50th anniversary to a close with two programs on November 10: The panel discussion “The Boys Who Made the Noise: Veteran Studio Musicians Remember RCA Studio B”; and a special performance by Jason Coleman and Meagan Taylor. Both programs are included with Museum admission and are free to Museum members.

“The Boys Who Made the Noise,” which will begin at noon in the Museum’s Ford Theater, will feature four first-call session players whose contributions were essential to Studio B’s reputation as a hit factory: Country Music Hall of Fame member and ace guitarist Harold Bradley; rhythm guitar stalwart Ray Edenton; bass player extraordinaire Bob Moore; and piano master Hargus “Pig” Robbins. Attendees can expect these veterans to share insights about the recording process and the singers, producers, and engineers they teamed with in building Nashville’s fame as Music City U.S.A. Museum Senior Historian John Rumble will moderate the program. Following its conclusion, the panelists will sign autographs in the Museum Store.

At 3 p.m., Jason Coleman, pianist and grandson of Country Music Hall of Fame member Floyd Cramer, and Meagan Taylor, guitarist and great-niece of Hall of Famer Chet Atkins, will take the Ford Theater stage for a special performance. Coleman and Taylor will perform songs from their new album, Legacy, which was recorded at Historic RCA Studio B. The record’s title references their familial musical traditions and the legendary studio that housed the recording session. In this program, Coleman and Taylor will also discuss their heritage and comment on the experience of recording in a renowned studio. Following the performance, they will sign autographs in the Museum Store.

Attendees of either Studio B program will receive a voucher allowing them to tour Studio B for only $5 on any date in 2007 (Museum members will receive a voucher allowing them to tour Studio B at no charge). Visitors will hear recordings created in the studio and tales from the building’s illustrious past. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the daily tours depart from the Museum’s main entrance on the half hour beginning at 10:30 a.m., with the last one departing at 2:30 p.m. During the remainder of the year, Studio B tours are offered hourly between 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and every half hour from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Historic RCA Studio B is the Home of 1,000 Hits, where superstars like Eddy Arnold, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Charley Pride, and many others recorded some of American music’s most enduring songs. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum began operating Studio B as a historic site in 1977, and in 1996 restored the primary studio area to its original look. Beginning in the fall of 2003, facilitated by the philanthropy of the Mike Curb Family Foundation, Belmont University students began using Studio B as a workshop for completing recording projects, a partnership that also supports the Museum’s educational programs. Through the Museum, educational tours and recording opportunities staffed by both organizations are offered to students, arts organizations, educational institutions and visitors.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com.

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