PRESS RELEASE
Sixteen Places to Visit This Summer During The Year of Alabama Music |
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For Release: May 10, 2011
Montgomery, Ala. — The Year of Alabama Music is the perfect time to visit 16 attractions that pay homage to the state’s music legends and heritage. Record your own hit song at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, see where top artists recorded number one hits at FAME studios, visit the birthplaces of the ‘Father of Blues’ W.C. Handy and Country Music legend Hank Williams or see the costumes and memorabilia of the Commodores in Tuskegee.
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame — Birmingham This art-deco museum honors great jazz artists with ties to the state of Alabama. While furnishing educational information, the museum is also a place for entertainment. Exhibits convey the accomplishments of the likes of Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton and Erskine Hawkins and the music that made them famous. Within this fine musical collection, visitors travel from the beginnings of boogie woogie with Clarence "Pinetop" Smith to the jazz space journeys of Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Space Arkestra. Open Tue.-Sat., 1631 4th Ave. N. Call for guided tours. 205.254.2731.
Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park — Birmingham The memorial garden features bronze statues of Eddie Kendrick and the Temptations. The granite wall behind the sculptures is a list of inscribed names of the Temptations hit songs. The garden is located at 18th street and 4th avenue north. 205.458.8000.
Music Murals — Dothan Murals on the side of buildings in downtown Dothan tell the history of the area’s music and musicians. Visitors can download an audio of the city’s murals from the Dothan Convention and Visitors Bureau, thus enhancing the mural experience. 334.794.6622.
W.C. Handy Home and Museum — Florence The “Father of Blues” W.C. Handy was born in Florence and visitors can tour his birthplace which has been turned into a museum. Handy gave the world “St. Louis Blues,” “Memphis Blues, and “Beale St. Blues.” Handy’s piano, music and other artifacts are on display. Open Tues-Sat, 620 W. College St. 256.760.6434.
ALABAMA Fan Club & Museum — Fort Payne The music group has their official fan club headquarters and museum located in their hometown. Glenn Blvd. S.W., call for operating hours - 256.845.1646. Bronze statues of Randy Own, Teddy Gentry, Jeff Cook and Mark Herndon are on display nearby at the Fort Payne City Park. 256.845.3957.
Hank Williams Boyhood Home — Georgiana
Visitors to Hank Williams' Boyhood Home & Museum at 127 Rose Street in Georgiana, will see the surroundings that influenced country music's greatest legend. Local musicians, including a black street singer known as "Teetot", taught Hank Williams how to play the guitar. Stories say that they would play the guitar on the front porch and during the winter, they would crawl underneath the house to play and sing near the warmth of the fireplace. Mon.-Sat. 10-4, 127 Rose St. 334.376.2396. Hank Williams Museum — Montgomery The museum located in downtown Montgomery contains the most complete collection of memorabilia including Hank’s 1952 powder blue Cadillac, Nudie suits, albums, guitars and more. 118 Commerce St. 334.262.3600.
Hank Williams Gravesite — Montgomery The final resting place of Hank is located in Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery just one mile from the museum. An astro turf ground, historic marker and four tons of concrete make up Hanks gravesite. 334.261.1100.
Nat King Cole Home — Montgomery Nathaniel Adams Cole was born in Montgomery on March 17, 1919. His childhood home was moved from its original location and now resides on the Alabama State University campus. The home is undergoing renovation and is available for curbside viewing only at Hall St. and Tuttle Ave. 334.262.1100.
Rufus Payne “Tee Tot” Gravesite — Montgomery While touring the Hank Williams gravesite visitors can also see the grave of Rufus Payne, a blues musician, who was a mentor of Hank Williams, Sr. Payne was a blues musician from Greenville widely known by his nickname Tee Tot. Payne exposed a young Hank to blues and other African American influences that led Hank to combine hillbilly, folk and blues into his own unique style that eventually changed country music. Visitors can see the grave at Payne Cemetery at the corner of Lincoln and Harrison Roads during daylight hours only. 334.261.1100.
FAME Recording Studios — Muscle Shoals This famous studio was deemed the “Hit recording Capitol of the World in the 60s and 70s and continues to record today. Step inside and go back in time as the studio’s décor remains as it did in the 60s. Gold records and photos of the famous stars who recorded at FAME line the walls. It remains a working studio. Tours M-F 8-10 a.m. by appointment. 603 Avalon Ave., 256.381.0801.
Muscle Shoals Sound Recording Studio — Muscle Shoals Not only did international stars record number one hits here, the front of the building is the cover shot for Cher’s first solo album. Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones secretly recorded “Brown Sugar” and other hit songs at Muscle Shoals Sound Recording Studios in 1969. Legend has it that the Stones hit “Wild Horses” was written on the back of the bathroom door at the same studio. 3614 Jackson Hwy.
Tammy Wynette Museum – Red Bay A museum dedicated to country music star Tammy Wynette showcases memorabilia including a pair of red boots she wore onstage as a child. The wedding dress she wore when she married George Jones I on display. Open Tues. and Thurs. by appointment, 256.356.8758.
Alabama Blues Project — Tuscaloosa The Alabama Blues Project is dedicated to telling the story of the state’s rich blues tradition. England native, Debbie Bond moved with her husband to Tuscaloosa to start the museum. The headquarters is in Debbie’s former home directly across from a former train station where traveling blues artists would hop on and off the train when in town performing. The museum contains colorful posters, murals, art and memorabilia. Debbie also hosts a Summertime Blues Camp that teaches students about music. Open by appointment – 205.752.6263. Also, Dinah Washington is from Tuscaloosa and visitors can see a marker in her honor nearby.
Alabama Music Hall of Fame — Tuscumbia The Elvis contract between Sam Philips and RCA, the tour bus of the country group Alabama, costumes, clothing, Gold Records, a recording booth, and Juke Box with number one hits from the Shoals area are a few of the items on display at Music Hall of Fame. Happy Hal Burns’ (manager for Webb Pierce) car decked out in longhorns, pistols, buckles and saddles is also on display. Open Mon.-Sun., 617 Hwy 72 West, 256.381.4417.
Commodores Studio — Tuskegee This studio, purchased by the Commodores in 1976, was their private place for rehearsals and recordings. Visitors can see original costumes and other memorabilia of the hit pop group by appointment only. The studio is located at 208 East Martin Luther King in Tuskegee.334.724.0800.
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