BOOKS
Night Train To Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues 1945-1970 Souvenir Exhibition Book
2004
by the Country Music Foundation
CMF Press
Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues: 1945--1970 focuses on a vibrant, little-known chapter in the affirmation of Nashville's title as Music City USA. This book illuminates an important era in Nashville's music history, when cultural icons such as Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix apprenticed on Nashville bandstands; Etta James recorded her scorching live album Etta James Rocks the House at Nashville's New Era club, and Arthur Gunter recorded the R&B classic "Baby Let's Play House" for the renowned Nashville blues label Excello Records; radio station WLAC blasted R&B across late night airwaves, and station WSOK (later WVOL) became one of the country's first to adopt an all-black format; R&B singer-songwriters such as Jimmy Sweeney collaborated with Music Row musicians such as Hank Garland, Boudleaux Bryant, and Floyd Cramer. Published in conjunction with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's special exhibition, the book features over 80 photos, artifacts, posters, ephemera, and quotes from the authorites of the era.
Reviews
Robert K. Oermann, Music Row Magazine, March 23, 2004
... the museum's first-ever exhibit catalog, 80 pages of rare, beautifully reproduced graphics.
Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene, February 26,2004
They form a portrait of the Nashville that was a half-century ago-and suggests a broader, richer Music City...
