On Saturday November 14th I hopped the shuttle bus to downtown. Why drive and pay for parking when $10 covers round trip. I spent the afternoon seeing the sights:
- I started with the Johnny Cash Museum, it was nice but no big deal. Just a lot of memorabilia, historical stories and videos, and gold records.
- On the other-hand the Country Music Hall of Fame was incredible. I only allowed 2 hours and wish I’d had 4 hours. There are special displays that change around the year focusing on specific entertainers and then there was a huge room that covered the mixing of country and rock. Great history of Bob Dylan’s recordings made in Nashville. I especially like the section that focused on the session musicians. It is tradition in the music business to use musicians who focus on working at the recording studios when an album is cut, and not the actual star’s road band. I’ve always thought this was insane as it could create an entirely different sound than the road band. But this display really emphasized want the session musicians have brought to the mix.
- I then went on the tour of the RCA Studio B which is one of the greatest studios in music history. Elvis loved this studio and recorded many of his greats here. It is still an active studio used most evenings. Sorry I’ve taken so long with this post as I’m not doing it justice.
- Back at the Hall of Fame I snapped this shot of a street sign, I think it will be one of my all-time favorites.
I had a quick drink in a bar before heading to the Ryman Auditorium backstage tour. On Broadway the bars generally have a band on each floor and the music starts at noon and runs into the late hours with groups performing 4 hour sets.
The Ryman Auditorium was the home of the Grand Ole Opry for many years and at this time of the year they move the Opry back here so the new, larger, auditorium can be used for large seasonal shows. There is so much history here it is just incredible.
After the tour I stopped into Tootsies which is a very famous bar whose back door is across the alley from the Ryman back door. I grabbed a beer and a stool behind the drummer on the 2nd floor stage.
That evening I attended the first session of the Grand Ole Opry. I suspect I’ll be a regular fan via the WWW on Saturday nights.
After the show I crossed the alley and took up residence at Tootsies. I didn’t close the place but I sure came close.
I had planned ahead and stayed downtown in a hotel for convenience and at an astronomical price (big weekend in Nashville so prices were higher and availability almost non-existent). For a RVer a hotel means an actual bathtub. I haven’t been able to score an oversized one or with Jacuzzi jets but still worth the stay. Not to mention multi-ply toilet paper — the holy grail of RVing.
Sunday I hopped the shuttle back to the RV park and started preparing for departure.
Retirement Escape 