In the late 1960s and early 1970s, dozens of rock and folk acts traveled to Nashville and, in a series of unlikely alliances, emerged with an astonishing number of big hits and classic recordings.
The era is documented in “Dylan, Cash and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City,” an ambitious exhibition that opened last week at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. The show points to three primary forces behind the migration to the Music Row studios: Bob Dylan’s journey here to record the “Blonde on Blonde” album in 1966; the ABC television series “The Johnny Cash Show,” which filmed at the Ryman Auditorium from 1969 until 1971; and an extraordinary group of session musicians informally known as the “Nashville Cats,” who played in one form or fashion on virtually all of these recordings.
Read more at The New York Times. “Dylan, Cash and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City” is open now and runs until December 31, 2016.
This piece from the exhibit shows “House of Cash” stationary with handwritten lyrics for Bob Dylan’s “Wanted Man,” which Johnny Cash covered on the album At San Quentin in 1969. Dylan’s handwriting is at the top, and Cash’s is at the bottom. In the upper right corner, Dylan wrote a note to Marty Stuart, who was given the piece as a gift. (Click image to view at larger size.)
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