Exhibits

All hail the queen! Pioneering vocalist Kitty Wells made the transition from “girl singer” to bonafide country music star, blazing a trail followed by artists such as Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Reba McEntire.

A Nashville native, Wells first performed with her husband, Johnnie Wright. Her breakthrough hit, “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,” gave voice to a woman’s perspective and launched Wells on a course that would earn her membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

This special exhibition will offer an in-depth examination of Wells’s life and musical career, drawing on the museum’s rich collection of artifacts, vintage film footage, photos, costumes, sheet music, concert posters, sound recordings, musical instruments, and personal mementos to tell the story.