What a day! Little did we know, as we rode the number 26 bus into downtown Nashville, that our day would include spending time with a Hall of Fame musician. For the past few weeks, we have been tracing the roots of the Blues, Rock-n-Roll, and BlueGrass in Memphis and Nashville. Just about every attraction in both cities has a music connection. Our exploration of Nashville's "Musicians Hall of Fame" began with an unexpected and pleasant meeting. During our visit to this "...only museum in the world..." dedicated to the talents of the musicians behind the stars, we ran into Jay McDowell, the multimedia curator. After learning of our adventures, Jay invited us to join him while he showed some of the behind-the-scenes venues to a 2007 Hall of Fame inductee, drummer Gene Chrisman. Gene's career encompassed the heydays of such notables as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin and many others. Chrisman was a long-time member of the American Sound Studio's house band, originally known as the 827 Thomas Street Band, and later as the Memphis Boys, and performed in over 120 hit songs. What a great guy he is! Gene regaled us with stories of some of his memorable moments in his musical career, as if we had been friends forever. He was very comfortable talking with us as we walked around the museum. This chance meeting is the type of experience that has made our whole adventure wonderful. We loved every minute!
RSS Feed
