We use cookies in the following ways: (1) for system administration, (2) to assess the performance of the website, (3) to personalize your experience, content and ads, (4) to provide social media features, and (5) to analyze our traffic. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. Please consult instructions for your web browser to disable or block cookies, or to receive a warning before a cookie is stored on your computer or mobile device. Read our Privacy Policy.

Country Music Hall of Fame logo.
Museum View Cart
Country Music Hall of Fame logo.

OUTLAWS & ARMADILLOS: COUNTRY’S ROARING ’70S

Lesson Materials for Grades 7-12

This interdisciplinary lesson guide allows classrooms to explore the exhibition Outlaws and Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ‘70s on view at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum® from May 25, 2018 – February 14, 2021.

Biographies

Outlaw biographies are referenced and included in the teacher’s guides for classroom instruction.

Images

  • Lesson 1: Outlaws & Armadillos artwork created by Jim Franklin.
  • Lesson 2: Mike Tolleson, co-founded of Armadillo World Headquarters, kept this stuffed armadillo in his office. He named it Arturo.
  • Lesson 2: Bandana worn by Willie Nelson in the 1970s.
  • Lesson 2: Willie Nelson gave Bobby Bare this hat--embellished with a mink skull, gemstone, feathers, and snake skin--in the early 1970s.
  • Lesson 2: This wagon wheel was propped at the front entrance of the Broken Spoke dance hall for many years.
  • Lesson 2: Austin, Texas bootmaker Charlie Dunn made this pair of cowboy boots for Guy Clark.
  • Lesson 2: This painting by Susanna Clark was used as cover art for Willie Nelson's album Stardust in 1978.
  • Lesson 2: Jerry Jeff Walker performed in this sleeveless Lee denim jacket embellished with embroidery and patches.
  • Lesson 2: Backing board from a Bally six-card bingo pinball machine. Tompall Glaser installed a similar model at this Nashville recording studio, Hillbilly Central.
  • Lesson 2: Shel Silverstein used this hard-traveled and weather-worn classical guitar to write many of his songs. He later gave it to his best friend and frequent collaborator, Bobby Bare.
  • Lesson 2: Sneakers worn by Willie Nelson in the 1970s.
  • Lesson 2: Suede blouse and skirt worn by Jessi Colter on the cover of her album, That's the Way a Cowboy Rocks and Rolls (1978).
  • Lesson 2: Austin, Texas radio station poster promoting KOKE-FM.
  • Lesson 2: Souvenir t-shirt from Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic, 1975.
  • Lesson 2: Townes Van Zandt owned this poncho with "…and Lefty" appliqued to the front. Van Zandt wrote and recorded the #1 country hit "Pancho and Lefty."
  • Lesson 2: Army Captain and Airborne Ranger Kris Kristofferson's military jacket. Kristofferson resigned his commission in 1965 and moved to Nashville to become a professional songwriter.
  • Lesson 2: Waylon Jennings's signature black cowboy hat.
  • Lesson 2: Waylon Jennings's folio containing handwritten lyrics.
  • Lesson 4: Willie Nelson performing live in Texas.
  • Lesson 4: Willie Nelson recording in a Nashville studio.

Lyric Sheets

Lyric sheets are referenced and included in the teacher’s guides for classroom instruction.

Recordings

Me and Paul
Willie Nelson

00:00  /  00:00

Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?
Waylon Jennings

00:00  /  00:00

The Pilgrim, Chapter 33
Kris Kristofferson

00:00  /  00:00

Worksheets

Activity sheets are referenced and included in the teacher’s guide for classroom instruction.

Videos

Videos are referenced in the teacher’s guide for classroom instruction.

Lesson 2: Outlaw Defined
Lesson 4: T for Texas, T for Tennessee
Supplemental Video: Willie, Waylon, and the Armadillo World Headquarters