While on our tour of Nashville (Tennessee), our guide stopped in front of the RCA Recording Studios and told us that this is where the musical production style and sound engineering known as "Nashville Sound" was developed. Studio B was built in 1956 and that same year Elvis recorded his first gold record in the studio - Heartbreak Hotel, which became the best-selling single record in 1956. The list of notable artists who recorded songs in Studio B is extensive.
Kolohe and I jumped out of the cart to take pictures of the sound studio and when we got back in our guide started laughing and informed us that we had taken pictures of the wrong building. He said the building we photographed did not even exist when Elvis was recording songs. Studio B was the small brown building to the north. Back out of the cart to take more pictures - this time of Studio B.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The part of Nashville where Studio B is located is know as "Studio Row" because there are numerous recording studios in the area. Some of the original buildings have been demolished and replaced with new facilities.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The historic Marathon Motor Works facility in Nashville has now been converted into a museum and retail mall. When in operation, Marathon was the first factory to totally manufacture automobiles in southern United States and the only one to do so until 1990 when General Motors started manufacturing the Saturn in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
We started our visit in the museum building that is located on the south side of the street. A display of Marathon automobiles is located on the first floor and the second floor of the building has been divided and leased for office space. There is also a large room on the second floor that can be rented for weddings and other special events.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| 1913 Marathon Roadster |
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| 1912 Marathon Roadster (Picture by Kolohe) |
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| 1912 Marathon K-20 |
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| 1912 Marathon K-20 |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The main manufacturing plant on the north side of the street has been converted into a retail mall with tenants that range from a winery to American Archaeology (as seen on the History Channel TV). We started in American Archaeology and then toured the factory and other shops, stopping in a Deli for lunch.
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| Von Dutch's One of a Kind Motorcycle (See Season 5 Episode 3) |
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| Route 66 Arrow (see Season 2, Episode 8) |
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| Movie Prop Squid (see Season 23, Episode 3) |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Radio Sign (see Season 8 Episode 6) Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The hallways throughout the building were decorated with old pictures, tools and machinery.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The 5th Avenue Woolworths in downtown Nashville is one of the original "Five and Dime" stores that opened in 1913. According to their published information: "Through extensive preservation efforts, the space features much of the original architecture, including the upper level mezzanine, gilded handrails and wall accents, and hand-laid tile."
Our guide told us that the Black Rabbit Restaurant was previously a law firm that represented some people involved in questionable business dealings.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
On December 25, 2020, Anthony Warner detonated a large bomb that was inside of a recreational vehicle parked outside of the AT&T network facility in downtown Nashville. Before the bomb exploded, police were able to evacuate most people from the neighborhood and only eight people were injured from the blast. Miraculously, no one was killed.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Printers Alley is a famous downtown area that historically was the location of the publishing industry. At the height of the 20th century, there were two large newspapers, ten print shops and thirteen publishers located in Printers Alley. As the print industry declined, restaurants and nightclubs moved into the vacant buildings. At that time the sale of liquor was illegal in Nashville restaurants; but because Printers Alley was "out-of-sight," drinks were served and law enforcement agencies typically just looked the other way. It was not until 1968 that the sale of liquor in restaurants was legalized.
Paul McCartney & Wings mentioned Printers Alley in the 1974 song "Sally G," which was on the B-side of "Junior's Farm."
It is hard to miss Printers Alley because there is a large arch over Church Street marking the entrance. Most tours of downtown Nashville just drive past the Alley because it is too narrow for large vehicles; but since we were in a golf cart that was much smaller, our guide drove us down the Alley.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
In the evening we went back to Broadway and were really surprised at the large number of people walking up-and-down the street. There were also all types of tour vehicles cruising around that we had not seen during the day, some of which were pulled by tractors! However, most people just walked up-and-down the street listening to the bands that play in the many honky-tonks. So that people on the sidewalks can enjoy the music, many buildings had windows that opened to the outside.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Elvis is still "knock 'em dead" in Nashville.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Some people that did not own musical instruments just found empty buckets and formed their own drum group.
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| Ernest Tubb Record Store |
Many restaurants along Broadway have roof-top dining so that patrons can watch all of the activities up-and-down the street while they enjoy their meal.
We ended our tour of Nashville by stopping by the Johnny Cash/Patsy Cline Museums. Both museums are located in the same building - Johnny Cash is on the first floor and Patsy Cline in on the second floor.
Johnny Cash is one of the few entertainers to have sold more than 100 million records and had at least two songs on the Country Music charts for 38 consecutive years. He is the only entertainer in history to be included in the Country Music, Rock 'n' Roll, and Songwriter's Hall of Fame and the only entertainer to have songs on the Billboard charts for six consecutive decades. He recorded over 1500 songs during his career.
Patsy Cline is considered to be one of the most influential vocalist of the 20th century and was the first country music artist to successfully cross over into pop music. Most people do not realize that her famous trademark song "Crazy" was actually written and originally performed by Willy Nelson.
Patsy's career was cut short on March 5, 1963, when she was killed in a plane crash along with Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins (one of my 12th cousins).
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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