Takin' A Walk Nashville: Exploring January's Key Moments in Music City’s Rich Music History

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Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, This is Sarah Harrelson, your host of Taking a Walk in Nashville. I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year. I'm so happy to be back and joining me today is Buzz Night from Taking a Walk and we're going to go over some notable dates for the month of January and Nashville music history.

00:00:26
Speaker 2: Thanks for joining me today, Buzz.

00:00:28
Speaker 3: How are you.

00:00:29
Speaker 4: I'm doing great. It's nice to see you, Sarah.

00:00:31
Speaker 2: Miss you too.

00:00:32
Speaker 1: You know, we had such a great start for taking a Walk in Nashville in twenty twenty five, and I'm so excited to see what's up next. For taking a Walk and taking a Walk in Nashville in twenty twenty six, we reached number three on the music category in Apple Music Podcast and number one in music History. So I just want to thank everyone who has been tuning in. It's been tremendous and spread the word.

00:01:01
Speaker 4: We have no problem you spread in the word. Go to Apple, give us a rating, give us a review, tell your friends about it. We really don't want you to be shy. If you like what's going on right.

00:01:14
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, please give us a review or rating. I'm already getting some messages from people internationally across the world who are listening.

00:01:24
Speaker 2: To the podcast.

00:01:25
Speaker 1: I just had a listener and Switzerland reach out. His name is Chris Riguez. He's been listening to Taking a Walk Nashville and he's going to be in Nashville next month, all the way from Switzerland with his band and another musician, Elaine Bug. They're going to be recording new music here in Nashville. So thank you Chris for tuning in.

00:01:48
Speaker 2: Buzz.

00:01:48
Speaker 1: I just love that our show is reaching people internationally.

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Speaker 4: That is one of the fun parts of podcasting too. There are no geographic boundaries.

00:01:58
Speaker 2: Well, buzz, let's get into it.

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Speaker 1: I want to talk about some notable dates that happened in the month of January and Nashville music history. You know, people think at this time winter months that it slows down here in Nashville for musicians, but that's definitely not the case. There's always music happening, even in January at venues like Bluebird Cafe, the Opry and Listening Room.

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Speaker 4: Nashville never sleeps.

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Speaker 2: It never sleeps, No, it doesn't. I'm going to start off with a little bit of a somber.

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Speaker 1: Fact that happened in January in history January first, nineteen fifty three. This date was the death of Hank Williams. He was on the road to a show and unfortunately he died in the back of his Cadillac at just twenty nine years old. His death definitely sent shockwaves through Nashville. And you know, this remains one of the genre's most signific turning points.

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Speaker 4: And an iconic figure to this day is Hank Williams.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, Yes, yeah, Hank Williams. Hank Williams Junior. We love their music. Another fact that happened around this decade in nineteen fifty eight. In nineteen fifty nine, Johnny Cash was at San Quentin. Now on Year's Day, Johnny Cash performed his first ever prison shows, and while this did not occur in Nashville, these concerts did define his Man in Black persona. It influenced Nashville's Merle Haggard, who was an inmate in the audience at the time and credited the show with turning his life towards music. It's so amazing that Johnny Cash played for Merle Haggard.

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Speaker 4: If you have not seen the documentary called a tricky Dick, as in Richard Nixon tricky Dick, Tricky Dick and the Man in Black. It is a fantastic documentary. Actually not the name drop, but Jelly Roll actually recommended that. To believe it or not, I hadn't seen it. I hadn't seen the documentary, but it's a great Johnny Cash take. If you haven't seen it.

00:04:20
Speaker 1: I haven't off to check it out, Especially if Jelly Roll recommended it, I'm gonna tak.

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Speaker 2: His word for it.

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Speaker 1: So another milestone on this month and music history. Grand Ole Opry had some of their own milestones on January twenty first, nineteen eighty nine. This is when Music Valley Drive came about this opry Land area.

00:04:46
Speaker 2: It saw a major expansion.

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Speaker 1: In the late eighties, including their amusement park, which is now shut down.

00:04:54
Speaker 2: So you won't see that anymore.

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Speaker 1: But if you go now, you'll see the Opry Mall oppry Land with the hotel.

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Speaker 2: But during this month you might not.

00:05:04
Speaker 1: Be able to catch a show at the grandele Aupry because they do this thing in the winter months in January called Aubrey at the Rymand. This is where they go back and they move their Aubrey shows to the Ryman Auditorium. It's historic original home and that's where that takes place for the winter months.

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Speaker 4: And if you're heading to Nashville and you're dying to see a show at the Rymand, don't wait until you get to Nashville to get your tickets. It's always a hot ticket at the Rymand, so get them in advance whichever show you're going to take in.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I love seeing old pictures of what Aubrey Lands looked like back in the eighties and nineties when it had the amusement park and maybe not all of the buildings built up around it. There's an Instagram page it's called Nashville muse History or Nashville Music History x and they always post older photos of Nashville, which is really fun to see what Broadway looks like back in the day Demumbrian in Midtown it looked so different, and you could actually park on Broadway back in.

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Speaker 4: The day sometimes we learned for yesterday right.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely a great nostalgic page to look at.

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Speaker 2: I want to talk.

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Speaker 1: About some notable births and breakthroughs that happened during the month of January, So starting with January second, nineteen twenty six, Harold Bradley, he was born in Nashville. What we call a unicorn. We don't really see people born and raised in Nashville anymore. But he became the most recorded guitarist in history, and he was a member of the A Team. The A Team was a group of session musicians who created the Nashville sound. Garth Brooks worked heavily with the A Team as well.

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Speaker 4: And I love going through the Country Music Hall of Fame, just as I know you do, and seeing the way you know, someone like Harold Bradley is commemorated there. So generations move forward and they don't forget about these great legendary players from the past.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, such a great place to see some memorabilia and instruments that these musicians played. Another thing that happened during this month January nineteenth, nineteen forty six, Dolly Parton had her Grand Ol Opry guest start, so she didn't become a member until nineteen sixty nine in the Opry, but during the forties she was making her mark on the Nashville music scene, and then in the late sixties during January, this led to her legendary partnership with Porter Wagner, and she has such a great album She did with Porter Wagner as well.

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Speaker 4: And Dolly to this day keeps creating, keeps building upon an amazing brand, and keeps doing good in the world.

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Speaker 1: Oh, it's so amazing. She just yeah, she just keeps doing it. Whether it's a rock album or doing something with Cracker Barrel.

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Speaker 2: You know, she's done it.

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Speaker 4: That's right, that's right. I love her.

00:08:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, me too. So other events that happened.

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Speaker 1: A couple things happened on the last day of this month in January thirty first, nineteen seventy. First of all, this was a weak and country jail, so Tom t Hall's hit reached number one, proving that Nashville's story song tradition was a commercial powerhouse.

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Speaker 2: And I think that stays true to this day.

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Speaker 4: A week in Country Jail. What a title, right, I know, Yeah, says it all.

00:09:10
Speaker 2: It says it all right there.

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Speaker 1: And so we talked a lot about what happened in the past and nineteen forties, nineteen sixties, nineteen seventies, but more of a recent fact. On this month, January thirty first, twenty ten. You know, Taylor Swift was really making waves as a country artist here in Nashville at that time, and that was the day she had her Grammy sweep. She was just twenty years old. In Nashville based star she won four Grammys, including Album of the Year for her album Fearless. This was signaling signaling a massive shift in the industry center towards more younger and crossover artists, especially twenty tens. That's when more younger artist and pop was making its way into country music.

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Speaker 4: So, Sarah, as a singer songwriter, what does Taylor Swift mean to you?

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Speaker 1: I think a lot of people, regardless of age, but you know, in general, are just so inspired by Taylor Swift. Obviously, she's a wonderful songwriter and artist, but I'm just always inspired by her business moves too. I think she's incredibly talented and smart, and she knows how to keep people on her feet with her new releases, always coming up with new ideas, marketing ideas, and just presenting original and fresh music all the time.

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Speaker 4: Are you happy that the Chiefs are not marching to the Super Bowl or sad?

00:10:53
Speaker 3: I am very happy about that because I was very tired of seeing them in the Super But unfortunately the Ravens are not a part of the playoffs this year.

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Speaker 4: I'm sorry to darken the conversation. I know you're a fan of the Ravens, so I apologize in advance.

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Speaker 1: I am. Yeah, Well, you know, at least the Ravens have done better than the Titans here in Tennessee.

00:11:19
Speaker 4: There you go, exactly.

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Speaker 1: Well, those are my dates for Nashville music history, a little bit of insight on what occurred here in the month of January in Nashville. But buzz people can look forward to the guest I'm going to have upcoming in the new year for taking a walk Nashville. So for February. On February twelfth, I've got Tony Mantur. He is a producer, musician and podcast host. You may have heard of his podcast Why Not Me and also podcast Almost Live, another music podcast. So that's a wonderful conversation. On February twenty six I have another wonderful guest, Mary go Shay. She is a hit songwriter in Nashville. So these are just some excellent conversations I had recently, and I can't wait for everyone to tune in and hear it.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I can't wait to hear both of them. Mary was on the Music Save Me podcast with Lynn Hoffman and Mary's done incredible work in the veterans community in terms of health and well being issues, in terms of how songwriting and music is so important there. So can't wait to hear both of those, including Mary, who is quite a character.

00:12:43
Speaker 2: Absolutely people can look forward to that.

00:12:46
Speaker 1: More episodes coming up this month as well, one with Porter's Call and I'm doing a show with them on January twenty at a Prospect House. People can get their tickets on line, but tickets benefiting such a wonderful cause.

00:13:03
Speaker 2: Porter's Call helps.

00:13:05
Speaker 1: People artists and musicians and needs, so everyone can check out my social medias for more information on them and tickets.

00:13:14
Speaker 2: To that event.

00:13:15
Speaker 4: Awesome, that's so great, Thanks for doing that.

00:13:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, thanks buzz for being on today and I'm looking forward to what we have going on here next.

00:13:25
Speaker 4: Thanks for everything, Sarah, and it's great to be with you on Taking a Walk Nashville.