Calendar

October 22, 2011
D.J. Fontana accumulated a variety of experiences as a drummer before Elvis Presley asked him to join his band, the Blue Moon Boys, in August 1955. Fontana's decision to join them resulted in his becoming one of the most celebrated musicians in American music history.

October 13, 2011
The Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum hosted a reunion of musicians, producers, songwriters, and performers who helped pioneer and popularize the Muscle Shoals, Alabama, music industry on October 13, 2011. The panel discussion, Land of 1,000 Dances: The Groundbreaking Sounds of Muscle Shoals, featured David Briggs, Donnie Fritts, Rick Hall, Jimmy Johnson, Dan Penn, Norbert Putnam, Spooner Oldham, and Candi Staton. Music historian and author Holly George-Warren moderated the discussion. The panel was presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association.

October 1, 2011
Young guitar phenom Joe Robinson ripped through an eight-song set Oct. 1 in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford Theater, in support of the exhibit Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player. Pat Bergeson, who toured with Atkins for a number of years, joined Robinson on the program. Robinson and Bergeson talked about Atkins and their respective arrivals in Nashville during a mid-set interview. Robinson came with his mother from Australia at age fifteen, to appear at an annual meeting of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society. After knocking on lots of doors, Robinson caught the ear of Brad Paisley producer Frank Rogers, who agreed to work with him. When Bergeson, from Batavia, Ill., met Robinson, it was Robinson's compositions that impressed Bergeson the most. Robinson told the audience he gets his musical ideas from Tommy Emmanuel, Atkins, Jerry Reed, and Bergeson. Indeed, one of his compositions is titled "Bergeson Fries." The guitarists traded solos on songs such as Bergeson's "Bullwinkle Goes to Mars" and "The Mountains of Illinois" (dedicated to longtime Atkins sideman Paul Yandell, who is convalescing), and their co-composition "Uli's Jump." Bergeson played harmonica on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and the duo finished the afternoon concert with Robinson's "Daddy Longlicks." The stellar rhythm section included drummer Marcus Hill and bassist Snoopy Clark.

Club Nokia
September 13, 2011
Zac Brown looked across at the two Country Music Hall of Famers and two veteran rock stars who shared the Club Nokia stage with him as part of the All for the Hall Los Angeles fundraising concert. He then modestly suggested that he didn't belong in such esteemed company.

September 12, 2011
Connie Smith shared the stage with some of her favorite female country artists during her third and final show as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's 2011 artist-in-residence.

September 10, 2011
Their songwriting prowess has prompted comparisons to powerhouse creative teams such as Rodgers and Hammerstein or Leiber and Stoller, but Jerry Foster and Bill Rice worked in country music, their fame spread through recordings by the likes of Charley Pride, Jerry Lee Lewis, Nat Stuckey, Hank Williams Jr., and Ferlin Husky. Though not as well known as those other songwriting collaborators, Foster and Rice were elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994.  Watch the complete program video here.

For tickets to the final Connie Smith Artist-in-Residence show on September 12, click here.
August 29, 2011
Connie Smith highlighted her close relationship with songwriters during the second of three concerts as the 2011 artist-in-residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The program highlighted Smith's knack for finding outstanding country songs while emphasizing her enthusiastic support for those who write them.

August 27, 2011
Watch the complete video from this program.

For tickets and information on all of the Connie Smith Artist in Residence shows click here.
August 22, 2011
On the first show of her 2011 artist-in-residence series at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, singer Connie Smith displayed her devotion to the pedal steel guitar through words and performances that illuminated the instrument's significance to her straight-ahead, hard-country sound.