Country Music News for the Country Music Enthusiast

The Precious Jewel Exhibit Now Open At 
The Country Music Hall Of FameŽ And Museum

"More precious than diamonds more precious than gold"
-Roy Acuff 
The Precious Jewel 

Six Instruments That Made American Music History are Displayed Together for the First Time.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., September, 2005 - Five guitars and one mandolin that helped six members of the Country Music Hall of FameŽ make American music history are exhibited, for the first time together, in The Precious Jewel, now open at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Included are Jimmie Rodgers' Martin 0-18, Maybelle Carter's Gibson L-5, Bill Monroe's Gibson F-5 mandolin, Merle Travis' Gibson Super 400, Chet Atkins' D'Angelico Excel and Johnny Cash's Martin D-35S. 

The instruments are displayed against jewel-toned, plush fabric panels recalling the protective lining of fine instrument cases. Text panel graphics subtly mimic the shape of the headstock and incorporate design motifs inlaid in the fretboard of each instrument. Dramatic lighting emphasizes the fine craftsmanship of music-making tools integral to the legacy and legend of the revolutionary artists who played them. Embodying the spirit and personality of each of their pioneering owners, these instruments are key infrastructure in American popular music. 

Monroe's mandolin, designed and certified by Gibson acoustical engineer Lloyd Loar in 1923, is the newest treasure in the Museum's collection. The Museum's acquisition of the historic instrument was facilitated by the generosity of Murfreesboro philanthropist Bob McLean, who donated the Cash guitar earlier this year and made possible the Museum's acquisition of the Maybelle Carter instrument in 2004. 

The Museum ceremoniously announced the arrival of Monroe's mandolin on Tuesday, September 13, the 94th anniversary of Monroe's birth. The year 2005 also marks the 60th anniversary of the debut of the Monroe band that gave shape to the music later known as bluegrass. Monroe last played the F-5 on the Grand Ole Opry on March 15, 1996. 

His friend Ricky Skaggs, who had first played his mentor's F-5 at age six, vividly demonstrated the majesty, beauty and power of the historic mandolin's sound as he and his band, Kentucky Thunder, played a six-song set of Monroe classics during the ceremony. The mandolin was sealed in the Precious Jewel exhibit case immediately after the ceremony. 

The Precious Jewel display is exhibited in the context of the Museum's permanent exhibition, Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music, which traces the history and evolution of the art form from its l9th century roots to its modern day popularity. 

Bill Monroe's Gibson F-5 Mandolin 

Monroe's Gibson F-5 Master Model mandolin is known as the most famous mandolin ever played. Noted for its artful design, meticulous construction, rich tone and powerful projection, it functioned as its master's musical partner for more than 50 years. The instrument inspired him to new levels of artistry as he presided over the birth of a new country music style. The F-5 model reigns as the preferred mandolin for bluegrass and related music styles. Monroe was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970.

Chet Atkins' D'Angelico Excel

In the early 1950s, while establishing himself as a session guitarist and a solo artist, Chet Atkins used his D'Angelico Excel almost exclusively. He also played it as a sideman with Mother Maybelle Carter and the Carter Sisters. The guitars that New York-based John D'Angelico made by hand in the years 1932 to 1964 are considered works of art, highly prized by both professional musicians and collectors. To Atkins, acquiring a stylish D'Angelico was the equivalent of getting a Rolls Royce. 

Not long after his purchase, Atkins customized the instrument with a metal bridge, a Vibrola bar, two pickups, volume controls, a cord jack and a pickup selector switch. During a radio show in 1953, June Carter accidentally knocked the guitar off its stand and broke the neck. The D'Angelico was later restored, and Atkins recorded with it again on his l966 album, Almost Alone. The instrument is displayed courtesy of the Estate of Chester B. Atkins. Atkins is a 1973 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.

Maybelle Carter's Gibson L-5

With money from the Carter Family's successful first recordings, young Maybelle Carter bought the finest guitar she could find, a 1928 Gibson L-5 arch top, for $275. Until her death in 1978, "Mother Maybelle" used it on hundreds of recordings, radio and television programs, and live appearances. 

As the first f-hole, arch-top guitar, the L-5 was designed to be twice as loud as any flat-top guitar of the period. Carter used it to revolutionize the role of the guitar, transforming the rhythm instrument into a distinctive lead voice. Her signature "Carter scratch" - heard on classics such as "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "Wildwood Flower" - became the most imitated guitar style in America during the 1920s and 1930s. As a member of the Original Carter Family, Maybelle Carter was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the same year as Monroe.

Johnny Cash's Martin D-35S

Johnny Cash's customized Martin D-35S was a familiar sight to millions of people who watched The Johnny Cash Show. One of the guitars most used by Cash from 1970 on, it is associated with his transformation from a successful country singer into an American icon, thanks in large part to the primetime network television variety show Cash hosted from 1969 to 197l. 

For the distinctive custom inlay on his Martin, Cash specified the acorn-and-leaf pattern on the fretboard. The guitar's custom ornamentation also included the torch inlay on the headstock and the abalone-trim top. As evidenced by the playing wear on top of the instrument, Cash used this guitar extensively. Cash is a 1980 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.

Jimmie Rodgers' Martin 0-18

On August 4, 1927, at a makeshift studio in a furniture store in Bristol, on the Virginia-Tennessee border, an unknown singer from Mississippi made his first recordings, for Victor Records. Accompanying himself on a plain-looking but elegantly designed mahogany and spruce Martin 0-18 guitar, Jimmie Rodgers recorded two songs that day, "Sleep, Baby, Sleep" and "The Soldier's Sweetheart." Released two months later, they launched a recording career that would turn him into country music's first superstar.

The inscription "8-4-27. VA-TENN," written in India ink inside the guitar's sound hole, documents Rodgers' recording debut at the Bristol Sessions, which marked a turning point in the history of country music. The instrument is displayed courtesy of the Carrie Anita Rodgers Court Trust. In 1967, along with Fred Rose and Hank Williams, Rodgers became one of the first three Country Music Hall of Fame honorees.

Merle Travis' Gibson Super 400

When this custom-built Gibson Super 400 Special electric arch-top guitar was made to order for Merle Travis in 1952, it was the most expensive guitar Gibson had yet produced. It was an instrument befitting Travis, one of the most influential country guitar players of the 20th century. His thumb-and-finger picking style (known as "Travis picking") was adopted by countless country, rockabilly and folk guitarists. 

Travis, who designed one of the first solid-body electric guitars in the later 1940s, also played a major role in the design of his Super 400. His specifications included the elaborately decorated headstock and the fretboard with his name inlaid in pearl script. His customized Super 400 remained Travis' trademark instrument for the last 30 years of his career. He became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.

Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of FameŽ and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum's mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum's Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print.

The Ford Division of the Ford Motor Co. is a Founding Partner of the $37 million Country Music Hall of FameŽ and Museum, which opened on May 17, 2001. 

More information about the Country Music Hall of FameŽ and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com or by calling (615) 416-2001.