Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Moving Downtown? Bristol musical heritage group plans move
From the TriCities
BRISTOL, Va. - The Twin City’s musical heritage may have a new downtown showcase - near where it all began.
Officials with the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, a Bristol-based organization dedicated to promoting that history, plan to eventually move their museum into the former Goodpasture Motor Co. building, Executive Director Bill Hartley said Monday.
The non-profit group plans to remodel the two-story brick building at the intersection of Cumberland and Moore streets, which until recently housed Tate’s News and the Palace Barber Shop.
"One of the organization’s goals is a permanent facility to showcase the music and further our mission," Hartley said. "The site is about a block from where the Bristol Sessions took place and where the ‘WCYB Farm and Fun Time’ radio shows later showcased the region’s music."
In 1927, record company executive Ralph Peer made the first recordings of Hall of Fame performers The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in a State Street warehouse. Music historians have labeled those recordings as the "Big Bang" of commercial country music. A congressional resolution formally declared Bristol the birthplace of country music.
Read the Article
TriCities
BRISTOL, Va. - The Twin City’s musical heritage may have a new downtown showcase - near where it all began.
Officials with the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, a Bristol-based organization dedicated to promoting that history, plan to eventually move their museum into the former Goodpasture Motor Co. building, Executive Director Bill Hartley said Monday.
The non-profit group plans to remodel the two-story brick building at the intersection of Cumberland and Moore streets, which until recently housed Tate’s News and the Palace Barber Shop.
"One of the organization’s goals is a permanent facility to showcase the music and further our mission," Hartley said. "The site is about a block from where the Bristol Sessions took place and where the ‘WCYB Farm and Fun Time’ radio shows later showcased the region’s music."
In 1927, record company executive Ralph Peer made the first recordings of Hall of Fame performers The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in a State Street warehouse. Music historians have labeled those recordings as the "Big Bang" of commercial country music. A congressional resolution formally declared Bristol the birthplace of country music.
Read the Article
TriCities
# posted by Dave Sichak @ 11:10 PM 
