Old Nashville Cowboys

A Nashville cowboy himself, Hank Williams, Jr. sang “...old Nashville cowboys will sing for a dime… and hard times are cheap at the end of the line.” As we later learned at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Williams family did, indeed, encounter many hard times.

Following in Elvis’ footsteps, today we traveled from Memphis (where Elvis recorded his first hit at Sun Studio) to Nashville (where Elvis recorded more than 250 songs after his contract was sold to RCA for about $40,000) along the “Music Highway” (i.e., Interstate 40).

Arriving in Nashville (a.k.a. “The Music City”) in the early afternoon, we headed over to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which is across the street from our hotel. Our visit to the Hall of Fame began with a bus ride down Music Row over to RCA Studio B for a one-hour guided tour. Studio B was the recording studio of choice for many country (and rock) stars after opening in 1957.  In addition to Elvis, artists recording at Studio B included Chet Atkins, Eddy Arnold, the Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton, and Roy Orbison.

Following the tour of Studio B, we returned to the museum and viewed the various exhibits which track the roots of country music from its early days to the present. A special exhibit reflects on the hard-luck story and the lasting legacy of the Williams family, while listening booths throughout the museum play a variety of country songs. The Hall of Fame rotunda contains plaques for each inductee of the Hall.

After dinner, we walked over to Broadway, Nashville’s somewhat tamer version of Memphis’ Beale Street. Similar to Beale Street, this strip of Broadway consists primarily of restaurants/bars with musicians performing in most of these venues.

On the weather front, the heat wave continues as temperatures have remained in the 90’s since we were in St. Louis, and the humidity has continued to be uncomfortable. As a result, we have focused on finding attractions that are primarily indoors and air-conditioned.

Tomorrow will be our final day in Nashville, with our current plans being to visit a few sites outside of downtown Nashville, including Belle Meade Plantation and the Opryland Resort.

Updated fuel facts: Through our 8th stop for gas…

Total gallons purchased…. 62.815
Total cost…………………….. $265.25
Average cost per gallon….  $4.223
Total distance traveled…..   2891.9 miles
Average miles per gallon..   46.0 mpg

Stay tuned,

Stu