Hall of Fame HNT

A month or so ago, my wife and I took a trip to Nashville. Semi-complimentary thanks to a local radio station contest. And we all know how well I do at contests. One after another, it's just something that I'm usually good at. I kick ass at Wheel of Fortune.

One of the primary reasons for going was to visit the Grand Ole Opry. Mainly because that was what the prize was for winning the contest, two tickets to an Opry show. This is the front of the "new" Opry House. The "old" Opry venue was at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville.

While there, we saw performances by "Whispering Bill" Anderson, Lorrie Morgan (still a hottie), Barbara Mandrell, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Chely Wright, Blaine Larson, Rodney Akins, Randy Owen, Riders in the Sky, Mike Snider and a couple of others that I can't remember at the moment. It was a great night at the Opry. We really enjoyed the show and plan on going back again.

We also went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. This was high on my "to do" list. And it was pouring rain that day so not much else to do but find an indoor activity and make the best of it.

This is the view from outside the Hall of Fame.

We learned that the building was not just some abstract design but instead was purposely built to simulate certain objects associated with country music. The upswept curve of the roofline is a replica of the tailfin of a 1957 Cadillac, Elvis Presley's car of choice. The window placement is patterned after the keys on a piano. The stack of discs on the far left represents the progression of music media through the years. The largest being a vinyl album, or 33 1/3RPM. With the other 3 being, respectively, a 78RPM, a 45RPM and a compact disc.

Inside the Hall of Fame was about as interesting a tour as I have ever been on. Memorabilia from the music of the mountain families in the hills of Tennessee to the modern-day greats that anyone in America, and possibly the world over, would recognize as a country music artist.

ne particular exhibit was a series of huge plasma screens broadcastiong interview loops with various country music stars recounting the trials and triumphs during their struggles to make it onto the country music scene. On one of the screens, I noticed Garth Brooks talking and gesturing. The audio is amazingly designed so that you can only hear the interview by standing directly in front of the screen. I had barely stepped into the "sound field" and heard him telling about leaving it all behind in Oklahoma hoping to make it to Nashville and blah blah Sandy yadda yadda we had each other yak yak yak met so & so that gave me a chance....and I thought, "He's fixing to cry. Money says he wells up and has to stop for a second."

Did I lie? Typical Garth.

Blogger started acting up so I had to use ImageShack to host this one. Click it to big it.


I chose this pic this week for two reasons. First, the artist is the most recent of the all-time greats to pass away, Johnny Cash. This is the Martin guitar that he played for many, many years.

Secondly, looking a little closer, you can see me taking a picture not only "of me" but "by me" as well.

Happy HNT!

And remember to go tell Os if you did the deed this week.