Nashville and the Country Music Hall of Fame

Last weekend we ventured out into downtown Nashville (not that it's a very far venture, but it's at least several blocks) to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame with one of G's CS friends. It was my first time walking around downtown, which may be a little bit sad considering how long I've been here and how close it is, but I'm generally disinclined to pay for parking.

Anyhow, they had a special Marty Robbins exibit, and while I wasn't familiar with his music, he definately seemed like a fun kind of guy and had a pretty fantastic collection of way over the top costumes and boots. This was my first introduction to the Nudie Suit, which was a recurring theme throughout the museum. Unfortunately I hadn't yet remembered that I had brought a camera with me so I didn't get any pictures, but that's the official website above. This guy was the official outfitter of the rhinestone cowboy.

I did, however, manage to document some of the other relics of eccentric Hall of Famers, such as this car:

This is Web Pierce's Silver Dollar Convertible. Unfortunately for Web Pierce, I don't know anything about his music, so this is all I know about him. It may be hard to make out, but, yes, that is a pistol hood ornament that is awkwardly propped up there, and a rearing stallion over to the left. It was hard to get a picture of the whole thing, but there's another view below. That would be a rifle propped up there on the back and another on it's flank. What you can't see is the horse's head as the handle for the gas cap and the pistols for the door handles. Apparently the seats are made of saddle leather and the gas and break pedals are horse shoes. All designed by non other than the aforementioned Nudie.

Among other fascinating extravagences is Elvis' golden piano. Unfortunately, Elvis' car, while pretty, couldn't hold a candle to the Silver Dollar Convertible. There's a rather enormous exhibit on the William's family. Included among the Nudie Suits was this small but charming band of squirrels belonging to Hank Williams Sr. (made of course from authentic squirrels and shot by Hank himself). I'm especially a fan of the leopard print on the stage.