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-It houses over 500 relics that celebrate the songwriters and performers of Tennessee music.

Hello, I'm Tom Britt.

On this edition of Tennessee is Talking, the topic is the Legends of Tennessee Music Museum in Downtown Jackson.

Once inside, the how you could experience this hidden gem.

Let the conversation begin.

-I know, right.

-That's so cool.

-Then that's when I said that- -The problem with the idea is-- -"Wow, that was amazing."

-Then I came up with the solution.

-What was that about?

-Here's what I think about it.

Now we're talking.

West Tennessee PBS presents, Tennessee Is Talking.

Let the conversation begin.

Thanks for joining the discussion.

I'm Tom Britt.

Today we're taking you inside a hidden gem in Downtow.. the Legends of Tennessee Music Museum.

Here to be our tour guide is Becky Fly with the Museum.

-Thank you for being here today, Becky.

-It's my pleasure.

-Before we get really into the conversation, you brought a little video of the inside, so let's take a peek.

-Jackson has really deep roots in music.

The Carnegie Legend Museum is preserving our musical heritage in a way that really connects with people.

-If we didn't capture the history, then people in this area and people overseas even, would not know the true story of Jackson.

-When they came to me and said, "We heard you have a lot of memorabilia at your house.

We think we have a home for it."

I said, "Absolutely, it's perfect."

To me, it's home.

I was just a collector of music and a fan of Car..

It wasn't until John got involved that he understood how to present the history.

-I got involved with the museum because we needed a specific claim to fame, something that we could boast that Memphis or Nashville couldn't.

-My goal was to be able to bring music history of Jackson, Tennessee, and the people that actually were involved in that music, bring it here, and people being able to come into our building and see what this history is all about.

-The museum talks about people who have been influencers, and we don't want to forget what those influences were because when we see that, when we see the history, when we see the individuals, then we have a greater understanding of the music, where it came from and where it's going too.

-I think we've been able to preserve a lot of the historical documents, records, guitars, all that type of thing.

Also, we've been able to, I think, incorporate the House of Blues and hard rock history.

-Isaac Tigrett grew up in Jackson, Tennessee and founded the Hard Rock Café.

He's given us all sorts of memorabilia and photographs in his career, and this is the only place you can buy a Hard Rock Café Jackson t-shirt.

-Our visitors love to see all the pictures.

There's a million dollar quartets, just so many wonderful vintage pictures that tell the history of music and Carl.

We just have so many and so many of the outfits that they wore.

We just have a lot of fun stuff.

-I originally started the Carnegie Museum because we need to preserve our history.

If we didn't do something at that time, a lot of the artifacts and a lot of the history was going to escape us.

-We have things you're not going to find anywhere else.

Things that have come from the artist families, things that have come from the artists themselves, and you're just not going to find them anywhere else.

-Our focus is on the music.

Music touches people, brings people together, brings up wonderful memories.

We really like to call ourselves storytellers.

-When you start hearing the names, Carl Perkins, Eddy Arnold, "Sonny Boy" Williamson, you begin to remember things from your own history, and then you realize that personal history of yours is tied to Jackson.

-To me, it is an amazing component of history.

I would have to give that primarily to Carl Perkins, I think, because I think he's the one that really brought attention to Jackson, Tennessee.

-Well, it looks exciting, Becky.

Let's start with where the museum is on our viewers who have not been there.

Downtown Jackson, right?

-Well, it's a big beige brick building.

-There a lot of people that don't even know what it was before it is now, right?

-With a very imposing set of stairs.

Although we do have a handicapped entrance in the back.

It is the Architect Andrew Carnegie built it, and it is a true Andrew Carnegie Library.

-One of the few around the country that were built, right?

Yes.

It's at 305 East College Street, and it was the library for many years, and then it went dormant as a lot of the Carnegie libraries did.

There were three things the city had to do to get a library.

The city had to donate the land, come up with a maintenance plan, and it had to be free.

When he came in 1903, he had built 300, and before he died, he built over 1,000.

It laid dormant for a couple of decades.

Mayor Farmer and Jerry Gist and some more community leaders decided that this should be preserved and how grateful we are to them.

Then Steve Little, Jimmy Exum, Randy Williams and John Reitzhammer, it evolved into the music museum.

We have so many wonderful items.

People come in.

One of my favorite parts of my job is to see people come in and go, "Wow, I didn't know this was in Jackson."

-I didn't know they were from Jackson -or West Tennessee down here.

-I know.

I know.

Our visitors are from around the world.

One Saturday I had visitors from Austria, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and plus the 50 states.

It's amazing.

It's so much fun.

-It's housed in such a neat architectural building -to begin with, isn't it?

-Yes.

They have preserved it so well.

We're getting ready to get new windows because the windows are pretty shaky.

-Pretty shaky.

-Pretty shaky.

-They're not of the same size, so they had to measure every one.

That was quite a task, but we try to take care of it.

We love that building and it has such unique features from a building that was built during that era and lots of little cubby holes.

When I have people who grew up in Jackson come in for the first time, they love to go into the room to the right, because that was the children's library.

They said they spent so much of their lives in the Children's Library.

-I remember going there as a child and there was that desk in the middle where the librarian was, and of course I was very small and I thought it was huge.

Then it was gone.

It disappeared for a while, then it got it back, and I went back and I thought, "It doesn't quite look as big as it did -when I was a kid."

-[laughs] Isn't that the truth?

Well, we still have it.

In that room there's a big huge dome skylight and it tends to leak just a little.

We're going to try to get that fixed, but we cover it up with tarp if there's a second chance of rain.

-Yes, I heard.

-We take care of that building.

-When I come inside, what do I see?

What will people see when they tour?

-You'll see a burst of color.

We've got these huge panels of portraits that local artist, Melinda [?]

and guitars everywhere.

Ronnie McDowell, the musician, is also an artist, but he did a sculpture of Elvis that's in there, big sculpture.

He's lost his thumb, but we don't know where his thumb is.

You'll see the original Hard Rock Café awning, and you'll see Carl had a wreck on his way to New York City to perform Blue Suede Shoes -for the first time.

-On national TV, right?

-Yes.

They had a wreck.

Guess who went on and sang?

Elvis.

Elvis didn't really write songs, but one time a neighbor went by to borrow something from Carl, and he was sitting out back having a glass of sweet tea with Paul McCartney.

Paul McCartney said in Liverpool, when a Carl Perkins record would come out, they'd pool their money and dissect it musically.

At his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he said if there hadn't been a Carl Perkins, -there wouldn't have been The Beatles.

-Yes, I've heard that quote before.

-This is what we do.

We're not docents, we're storytellers.

We have lots of stories, personal stories, about these wonderful artists.

Not just Carl Perkins, but we're storytellers.

-One that comes to mind is "Sonny Boy" Williamson, world famous harmonica player.

Took the harmonica and made it a lead instrument, just not an instrument in the background that's playing, right?

-Yes.

-He's buried here in Madison County?

-Yes, he is.

At Blair's Chapel, John Weinzimmer found his grave and it was in disrepair.

He went out there and put up a little wrought iron bench and planted some iris.

-Ruined out, and most people didn't even know it, right?

-That's right.

-Now they can learn a little bit about him and many of the other .. -That's right.

-What's your favorite part of the museum?

-Oh my gosh.

-I know that's a hard question, but I've been through it and I enjoyed all of it personally.

-As a former teacher, I love a picture we have.

It's a picture of Carl in the fourth grade.

-Fourth grade.

-When he was in the fourth grade, his teacher wanted to start a marching band and Carl said, "Well, I want to be in it."

Whoever heard of an acoustic guitar and a marching band, she was a good teacher.

As a former teacher, you wonder, "What am I leaving these little .. She said, yes.

She got him to get their uniform and he's on the back row with his guitar.

There's a girl in there with an accordion and there are two kids with a .. She was a good teacher.

-She was an inclusive teacher.

Everybody could do their own thing.

-Later on, his granddaughter came through, a lovely person, and said that he had found out the name of the kid that the teacher had borrowed his pants for Carl to wear in the band.

Carl said, "Found out," and he sent him a custom-made suit with a card -that said, "Thanks for the pants."

-[chuckles] How neat is that?

Inside stories like that, too.

-Great man.

-In addition to music, of course, the Hard Rock Café, a lot of people don't realize, the founder was from Jackson, it was in London, and it was there.

-This is one of the craziest stories.

Of course, we talk about B.B.

King.

We have one of the Lucilles.

Talk about how it was named Lucille.

The Hard Rock is crazy.

It's insane.

Isaac and his business partner were in London, and they couldn't find a decent cheeseburger.

The Hard Rock was founded- -On a cheeseburger, right?

-Cheeseburger.

Isn't that hilarious?

-I know people who have been there, and then say something about God bless- -At the bottom of the menus, in lots of them, it says, "God bless Jackson, Tennessee."

-Yes.

What people don't know, and this is another item when they go there, in order to get the franchising rights, he opened one in the Old Hickory Mall for a while.

-Next to Sears.

-Then his partner got west of the Mississippi, -and he got east of the Mississippi.

-We have a picture of that.

-You have t-shirts.

-We have t-shirts, the Hard Rock lets us sell them.

It's got that big prissy tag, it's like the NFL, They let us sell them.

We also have museum t-shirts, and hats, and that kind of thing.

-What about some of the other things we'll see there?

Are there other things that would come to mind and you would say, "Gosh, I didn't know they were from west Tennessee, or Jackson?

-Right.

We have so many things from around the re.. John Kilzer, we have a special cabinet for him.

Eddy Arnold, we have his Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

It's a beautiful Grammy, but it's not like the artists get, it's what you get for lifetime achievement.

That's wonderful.

-You don't see those very often -sitting around somewhere, do you?

-I know.

We have a whole lot of WS Holland things.

-Oh, yes.

-What an angel he was.

-He saved a lot of things.

I interviewed him one time, and he had the original set of drums he played down at the audition down at Sun Studios.

-This is a cool story that, I don't know, you might get it on Google, but he didn't know how to play drums.

He was the only one that had a car.

He took them off to Sun Studios, and they said, "Well, you're going to play the drums."

He said, "Well, I've never played the drums."

He set the drum kit up backwards.

That's the way he played his whole career, drum kit set up backwards.

-It worked, right?

-It worked.

-Played, what, 60 years or more -probably.

[laughs] -I guess.

Henry Harrison, I need to give a shout out to Mr. Harrison.

He started the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and when he passed away, it closed.

We have some of his items.

Anyway, we're just thrilled to welcome people of all ages.

We have school tours.

You know Willie X Evans?

-Oh yes.

-I have a tour coming from Australia an.. and he's going to come and do a sing-along of Blue Suede Shoes.

Those people love that.

The joint's hopping.

It's so much fun, because they have so much fun.

-I know.

How much time would you recommend someone come to stay?

I know you can take as long as you want.

Some people take longer.

I like to read and look at stuff, so it takes me a long time.

-That's an excellent question.

Excellent.

I would say an hour.

We have the 12-minute video, and then we have headsets and cassettes, but what you will hear on them is what's written on the cabinet.

Most people just prefer to read what's on the cabinet.

We do have headsets and cassettes, and we do have an interactive guitar that kids can pick up and strum around.

I'm going to ask Willie to tune it again.

It's getting a little out of tune with all those little hands on it, but let them-- and they all get a pick when they leave.

-That's a neat gift.

-It's fun.

It's really, really fun.

We couldn't do our job without Lori and visit Jackson.

Lori Nunnally and Beth Bolton.

They help us so much with goodies to give out, and if we've got a special group coming, they'll come by.

It's a really, really positive thing, and Mayor Conger is great to let us do what we do.

It's a city-owned building.

-Are you looking for any other exhibits, or are you procuring, or do you swap them in and swap them out, I guess is what I'm saying.

-We are so full right now that every once in a while something new will come in, but people like this tour so much, invariably they will say, "Don't change a thing."

Of course, a lot of people who will come will just come once, but we get such positive reactions, and it takes a lot to get these precious items.

-Oh, yes.

Unfortunately, you've had some nice folks who were able to help you procure some of those, right?

-Randy Williams.

-I was going to mention him.

-I'm telling you, he's the man.

-He knows guitars forever.

I bet he has 200 himself, right?

-I know.

It's just wonderful.

Maybe eventually we can do something in the basement for children.

It's a very positive time.

-What folks don't know, in the basement, I don't know whether you still use it or not, you may.

I haven't been to anything there lately, but I have in the past.

There's a little theater down there, isn't there?

-It's a jewel of a space.

-It's just a tiny one, but it's a neat one.

-Yes.

It's 72 seats with a tiny stage with little curtains and a little dressing room, and Hub City Theater Group has done two plays there, and the private schools who've been there have been St. Augustine and-- well, there have been several private schools who have used it, and the writers' group uses it.

It's a very intimate space, and the writers' group will come and they'll read excerpts of their work.

It's a small space, but it's perfect for some things.

-Very nice.

You have performances there occasionally, I know.

-Yes.

-Is there anything coming up that you can think of brought off the top of your head?

We didn't rehearse this.

-I'm just shooting off the head here.

-T.. That's all right.

Hunter Cross will be coming the first Wednesday of April.

I think that might be the 3rd.

That's the 3rd.

He's coming.

He doesn't open Mic Night, so that's fun.

He sets up all the stuff, and then people who don't generally have a place to perform can come and perform.

That's really cool.

-Didn't you have the songwriters -competition there?

-There's Tennessee Songwriters Association, we were a preliminary.

I'm so glad you brought this up.

We were a preliminary for the statewide contest, and the top three of our folks went to the semifinals in Memphis.

-The three top winners in Memphis- -Were from-- -were from Jackson.

-Jackson.

[laughs] -Our first, second, and third were Memphis' first, second, and third.

Our first, second, and third are going to the Bluebird Café -in Nashville.

-In competition.

-How cool is that?

Memphis is fine, but bye Memphis, see you later.

[laughter] -Ain't that awful?

-In between Memphis and Nashville, here we are and we have giant music heritage.

-Yes.

-We do.

I think people realize that.

I think we were talking before we got started, State Senator Ed Jackson has helped you a lot.

I think we have a soundbite with him that will- -Oh, good.

-Let us hear what he's talking about.

Let's take a listen.

-That museum is the history of how music in West Tennessee and actually the Mid-South has progressed from people like Tina Turner, Elvis Presley, Roy Everson, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, of course.

We can't forget Carl.

They're the ones that brought music into West Tennessee actually from the cotton fields of West Tennessee.

The music that were sung by the African Americans that picked the cotton in cotton fields in West Tennessee, they would sing when they were in the fields.

That music progressed and it just grew and grew and it's the history of our music in West Tennessee.

-Thank you, Senator Ed Jackson, for all the help that you do for Jackson and West Tennessee, and also for the museum here in Jackson.

Right?

-He's a cheerleader for us.

-He is.

He is a good man -to have in natural for us.

-Yes.

He brought the statewide museum boards to our museum when they had a meeting.

That was fun to tell them, especially a bunch of museum folks.

-Who probably knew nothing much about it.

-Right.

They were impressed.

I just wish everybody would come and see us and you'll know what everybody's talking about, and you'll get a-- Maybe people have heard of Ken Burns, the fabulous documentary.

-Right.

PBS?

-Yes.

Did that wonderful country music -deal on PBS.

-Documentary -You were on the music pathway here.

It's a wonderful motion.

Starts in Nashville goes down to Muscle Shoals, comes back up to Jackson, down to Memphis, down to New Orleans.

We have passports.

It has lots of wonderful suggestions for day trips, or if you're going to Memphis or Nashville, all these places.

You can go there and get your passport stamped that you have been there.

-That's pretty cool.

-That's a cool thing.

-That's a cool thing.

You want people to come, but you also want them.. -when they leave the museum, right?

-Yes.

At Christmas, we're hoping people will come by and take a t-shirt from Jackson, Tennessee and send the love from Jackson across the country to your friends and families who don't live in Jackson.

You can send a little piece of Christmas cheer from Jackson.

-T-shirts for the museum.

Also, t-shirts, as we noted from the Hard Rock Café, the one that was in Jackson, -right?

[laughs] -Yes.

For about 20 minutes.

[laughs] It wasn't a Hard Rock like we know.

-Oh, yes.

I remember walking them all.

-It was a barbecue sandwich, It was a small area there.

-A little more than a kiosk.

-It was established here, but it is a part of Jackson's musical history.

I wish we had one here, but we don't.

It's something that you have to remember when you think about the Hard Rock Café, don't you?

Also, about the legends of Music Museum and the Carnegie.

All right.

Tell us again where it is, the hours, how it can go, how much it's going to cost if it cost anything.

Get in.

-305 East College Street.

It's $10 per person.

It's half-price for the military.

If you have a group of 10 or more, it's $8 and school groups are $3.

Of course, the chaperones and the bus drivers, they get in free, because they're the life force behind group travel.

-That's right.

-I once lost a kid in Times Square in New York City, but I found him.

Those tour people are wonderful people.

-They get them there and get them in and get them out in order and make sure there's the correct number back on the bus.

All right.

Downtown Jackson on East College Street there.

-You'll see a big, huge guitar out front.

Also, there's a historic marker for Gil Scott-Heron.

-And mural across -the street [?]

back the building.

-And a mural across th..

They call him the Godfather of rap.

-Oh, yes.

I was going to say that.

-Because his poetry was-- -Inspirational.

-[crosstalk] actually music in the background.

-Right.

-Becky, thanks for being here today.

-Thank you.

-All right.

-Thank you -We've got run out of time already, but we'll be sure to visit the Music of Legends Tennessee Museum in Downtown Jackson.

Thank you, Becky Fly, again for joining us-- -Thank you.

-on Tennessee is Talking.

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