Hank Williams object of Country Music Hall of Fame exhibition
Sunday, September 16, 2007 – Hank Williams will be the subject of a nearly two-year exhibition at the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
"Family Tradition: The Hank Williams Legacy." presented by SunTrust, opens on Friday, March 28, 2008, will explore the connections between Williams and his creative heirs - both biological and musical - and examine the ways in which American music continues to be measured by the standards Hank Williams set.
Presented with the full cooperation and assistance of the Williams family,
the exhibition will use artifacts, instruments, song manuscripts, costumes,
photographs, computer interactives, moving images and more to explore the
connections between Hank Williams and his progeny, and his enduring impact
on popular music.
Additional support is being provided by the Museum's official Family
Tradition media partners: Great American Country Television Network,
Cumulus Broadcasting and The Tennessean.
"In past years, the Museum has examined the life and music of Hank Williams
through a major biographical exhibit and a two-CD collection of his demo
recordings," said Museum Director Kyle Young. "As his heirs speak frankly
about their ancestor's legacy and his impact on their lives, the Family
Tradition story will take our visitors on a voyage to the spiritual and
emotional core of the Williams family."
"This exhibition would not be possible without the blessing and
participation of the family," he said. "They have opened their hearts to us
and shared their stories and their journeys. They have also opened their
homes and personal archives and shared a wealth of precious artifacts, many
of which will be exhibited for the first time in Family Tradition."
Among the items never or rarely seen by the public until now are Williams
family scrapbooks and correspondence; and awards, instruments and costumes
belonging to Hank Williams and Hank Williams Jr., including some of the
latter's first toddler-size stage costumes designed by Nudie the Rodeo
Tailor.
Family Tradition will be accompanied by an ongoing series of school and
family programs, including live performances, panel discussions, films,
instrument demonstrations and more. The exhibit will close on Dec. 31,
2009.
The 5,000-square-foot exhibit will follow the museum's exhibition I Can't
Stop Loving You: Ray Charles and Country Music, which closes on Dec. 31 after a 21-month run.
More news for Hank Williams
CD reviews for Hank Williams
Revealed The Unreleased Recordings
After his death in 1953, Hank Williams, became less a performer than a post-mortem brand name wherein his basic personality as an artist was increasingly downplayed and diminished. This remarkably enjoyable three-CD set, drawn from warmly remastered acetates - featuring occasional surface noise - of the old Mother's Best radio show, showcases much of that nearly lost essence.
Supported by his regular collaborators the Drifting Cowboys, Williams brings surprising drive to live renditions his »»» |
The Unreleased Hank Williams
Today it would be unthinkable that one of country music's current superstars would make live recordings to be aired on one commercial radio station on an almost daily basis. But the world of Hank Williams in 1951 was quite different than anything in the genre today. Fortunately through some legal battles Hank's daughter Jett came into possession of recordings made by her father for WSM in that year, and the highlights are in this three-disc set. The programs were aired at 7:15 a.m. »»» |
Alone With His Guitar
Hank Williams didn't live long enough to make any bad recordings, so the usual question one asks of an album - is it good? - is irrelevant with his "new" releases. The real question is whether there's anything here that someone really needs. This album consists of solo demo and radio broadcast recordings otherwise available only on "The Complete Hank Williams Box Set." As powerful and riveting as Hank can be on these stark recordings, anyone interested enough to feel compelled to hear them needs »»» |
Editorial: American Idol's Carrie Underwood can sing –
If anyone saw the Super Bowl – what a great great game that was – they would have heard American Idol winner and country superstar Carrie Underwood sing the National Anthem. Underwood did with her voice what Kelly Clarkson did last week with her written words – give it to Scott Borchetta, the head of Big Machine Records,, who tried defending Taylor Swift by knocking American Idol performers. »»»
Concert Review: McBride, Adkins shine sometimes –
As Martina McBride pointed out, the pairing of the country singer with Trace Adkins on their current jaunt was surprising. After all, she's of diva-quality voice, petite, non-controversial unless you call singing songs that empower women controversial. Adkins, on the other hand, has not been afraid to speak his mind with a kick butt attitude.... »»»
Concert Review: Eilen Jewell wears her musical hats well –
Eilen Jewell wears a lot of musical hats. The Idaho native, who now lives in Boston, fronts the Eilen (ee-lin) Jewell Band, a pretty much traditional country band. She's a member the Sacred Shakers, an octet doing gospel country with a country beat. And she has yet another project, Butcher Holler, covering Loretta Lynn songs.... »»»
|
|
Country News Digest
 CST
 CST
Elsewhere in the news
Currently at the CST blogs
Blue Highway's banjo player Jason Burleson acknowledges that their 1995 debut album "It's A Long, Long Road" turned out to be prophetic. It has been quite a journey for the Tennessee-based band that has become one of the "gold standards" of bluegrass, with 8 more "signpost" albums along the way, the latest being their newly-released 15th Anniversary collection on Rounder, "Some Day."... »»»
Elvis Aron Presley, had he not collapsed face first into a shag carpet in his Graceland bathroom on Aug. 16, 1977, would have been 75-years-old Friday. Yet, somehow, his birthday seems all the more important because he is not actually here while others feast at his table. Graceland - a greater cultural icon and more milkable cash cow than even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - is being remodeled for future generations to come, gawk and breathe in a few scant molecules of the King's essence. Do the new overseers really care about Elvis?... »»»
Here it is the top 30 for 2009. This isn't authoritative in case you thought otherwise. It's just one man's opinion about his favorite CDs of the year, which seemed a cut above everything else. It was incredibly hard figuring out a number one CD for the year between the Avett Brothers, Brad Paisley and George Strait. All three were great albums from different perspectives of country and roots music, and at any one time over the past few days, each was my favorite. Come back in a few days, and who knows? Maybe the order will change.... »»»
Haywire
There are two versions of Josh Turner's fourth CD - standard and deluxe. The deluxe has the same 11 tracks as the standard, plus (among other goodies) live versions of previously released songs Long Black Train and Your Man . But don't spend more money than you have to; if it's redundancy you're looking for, there's plenty to be had on the standard version. »»» |
Somewhere in Time
If Rascal Flatts is country music's clean cut, commercially palatable Beatles, then Reckless Kelly is the genre's Rolling Stones; grittier, more authentically influenced, rawer at the core even when their output is every bit as polished. The brainchild of Idaho brothers Willy and Cody Braun, Reckless Kelly was crowned Austin's Best Country Band in the city's 2008 music awards, an incredible honor. »»» |
As He Wanders
Fans of country - and we're using a definition starting just west of real country and stopping a bit south of alt.-country - who aren't sold on Austin's Texas Sapphires four songs in can be suspected of unnecessary stubbornness. Just look what that first third offers. You get both male and female voices: Billy Brent Malkus' is handsome yet tough and wiry enough for a bar fight, and Rebecca Lucille Cannon's is lovely yet, well, tough and wiry enough for a bar fight. »»» |
Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers
In the 60's through '80's, the Statler Brothers, Don and Harold Reid, Phil Balsley, Jimmy Fortune and the late Lew Dewitt, were the hottest thing going. They set the standard for modern country vocal groups. Bluegrassers Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent do a great job of honoring their idols, covering classics like "Flowers On The Wall," "Bed of Roses," "Thank You World" and "Class of '57." »»» |
|
