Day 7 - Nashville, Tennessee

Woke up in Nashville - but WAY too early...

My room was on the ground floor - and so everybody in the hotel wandered past my room chattering, shouting and even screaming (badly behaved kids) at around 6.30am onwards.

I gave up the battle for sleep at around 7.30am, vowed to scowl at every child I saw that day and then did some reading, some email and some guitar practice. (Yes, I sleep with my guitars - no way I'm leaving them in the car plus there is a faint hope that I'll wake up one night possessed by the spirit of Hendrix and play guitar so well that they will say that Bluesman Dubai Dave must have sold his soul to the devil in a Hampton's Inn...)

I met my cousin for breakfast in the motel (greasy but curiously satisfying - the breakfast, not my cousin) and we then set off on the Old Hickory road. Rolling through the Tennessee countryside was very relaxing and I chose Lightnin' Hopkins to accompany us for the ride. I saw the house my cousin grew up in in a Nashville suburb and then we swung by Al Gore's house - mansion is perhaps a better description - and carried on through the mansion area of West Meade and Belle Meade heading back to Nashville. Impressive houses is has to be said - with equally impressive price tags to boot.

Back in Nashville my cousin George was keen to show me the Nashville Parthenon (on account of the fact that I had spent many years in Athens). This is a full scale replica of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens - except this one is fully intact.

In one sense it was very impressive - and having seen it lit at night the previous evening I have to say it does provide a striking monument. BUT - there is something slightly odd about a full size replica of one of the marvels of the Ancient world here in Nashville, Tennessee!

From the sublime to the ridiculous - we then headed to the Country Music Hall Of Fame Museum. This impressive building was designed by the architectural firm that my cousin's eldest daughter works for and is home to all things country including the gold plated cadillac that Elvis had made for him...

The Museum is very well organised and laid out. Great interactive features and special sections make it easy to navigate. While I like country music enough to listen to it with enthusiasm, it's not the same passion as the blues, soul or RnB. Nevertheless the museum was interesting. One take away I had was that country artists - many of whom have made vast personal fortunes - deserve the money they get. If not for their musical talents then certainly for the fact that they have worn some of the worst clothes and costumes in the history of mankind... Much worse than the soul cats of the 70s! Rhinestones, sequins, gold braid - the full works...

After a tour of the museum we went on a special tour of RCA Victor Studio B. This doesn't sound very special but it is the studio that most of the country greats recorded in at some point - including Dolly Parton who crashed her first car into the wall of the studio. But it isn't strictly country musicians that made the place famous. That distinction went to a boy from Tupelo, Mississippi who recorded 300 songs in Studio B. Elvis Presley.

The studio tour was well organised and full of interesting facts and stories. Dolly Parton's song "I Will Always Love You" - one of her biggest hits - earns Dolly between 7 and 10 cents EVERY time it is played. They estimate that this one song alone has earned her around $25 million. Elvis wanted to record a version of it - but his contracts meant that he would then receive 50% of the publishing rights and royalties in perpetuity so Dolly refused him. Turned out to be a good bet for her.

Inside the actual studio itself it is like time has stood still with the original equipment scattered around the area. "Are You Lonesome Tonight" was recorded here late in the night with the lights in the studio turned down so low it was almost pitch black (apparently Elvis liked to record in the night and was very into "atmosphere".) It was recorded in one take - apart from the last notes sung by the backing singers - and apparently if you have good enough playback equipment it is possible to hear the moment when Elvis bumped his head on the mic he was singing in to....

Studio B was a pretty inspiring place for the history and it's uniquely important role in recording history and it was pretty amazing standing in the spot where the King recorded - even if I am not an Elvis fanatic.

From Studio B to the Ole Opry Mills and the Gibson Retail Centre which also features he manufacturing location for Gibson Banjos, Dobros and Mandolins. The centre also boasts around 800 guitars for sale - across the Gibson and Epiphone brands...

I fiddled with a Firebird, explored an Explorer but ended up falling for an ES 175 Reissue (Epiphone version of the Gibson classic) semi acoustic archtop in Tobacco Sunburst. I plugged her into a vintage amp and did battle with a thrash metal head shredding in the next door booth. I don't know who won, but the guitar was promptly purchased at an excellent price and is being shipped back to the UAE by FedEx as I am already "guitar heavy" for the flights back to Dubai....

From there back to the motel for a short rest before an early dinner with my cousins and their daughters at a very nice eaterie in downtown Nashville.

After dinner we hit the road towards the Grand Ole Opry and I could feel my facial hair growing as we approached the Mecca of Country music...

There were fewer cowboy hats than I had anticipated, but there were a lot of country fans heading into the temple of country music. This of course is the "New" Grand Ole Opry at Opryland. The old building in the centre of Nashvillethat originally housed the Opry is still there and is behind Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. Known as the Ryman building it is still used occasionally for smaller performances according to my cousin. The New Ole Opry moved out here in the seventies. They did bring a piece of the old Opry with them - a circular piece of the old stage - which is now on the stage of the new Opry.

The building for the new Grand Ole Opry (GOO) is an impressive structure and full capacity must be in the several thousands. We had great seats (generously purchased by my cousin) but high up - so I spent the first set feeling giddy and getting vertigo. I had recurring feelings that I would fall off the balcony and land on a giant cowboy hat that would somehow save my life. Happily it didn't happen.

The GOO is broadcast live across the nation so the show is actually run as a live radio show. Razor sharp timing and each of the four half hour sets is hosted by a lead artist (all of our lead artists were a minimum of 70 plus years old including two women whose make-up man earned his dollars that night). All were "country greats" and did a very good job of both hosting and singing. The slightly annoying part is the sponsor aspect which involves constant sponsor messages and read-outs for the benefit of the folks listening at home. After one set this drives you to distraction and I have taken a vow never to eat at a Cracker Barrel (main sponsor), never to but a single product from Bass Pro Shops or get any kind of system from Johnson Control (they'll put your college logo on your air conditioning unit apparently - totally bizarre...)

One of the singers - Buddy Jewel - who was promoting a new album sang a song called "This Ain't Mexico" protesting the illegal immigrants from Mexico. He prefaced it by saying it might be a little contentious. I'd describe it as bordering on racist with references to the Alamo and so on. The (mostly Southern and red neck) crowd loved it. My cousin predicted the song will turn up in one of the Presidential campaigns before November. I wouldn't be surprised either.

The music was very good and wildly varied. It included "classic country", a good dose of Bluegrass (including one band with a banjo player who only had one finger) and more rock n roll and jazzy numbers. All in all most enjoyable and the atmosphere was excellent. I'll never love country the way I love the blues and country will never be cool, but this was a very pleasant way to spend the evening and I had a great time. I'd certainly recommend the experience of the Grand Ole Opry to anyone who is headed towards Nashville.

Back to the motel after dropping my cousin's daughter off and into a deep sleep before a planned early start to head back to Memphis and the Stax Record museum "Soulsville USA"....

Nashville was a great experience and an impressive place. Seeing it with someone who grew up there and knows the history was a big advantage, but I found myself longing for Clarksdale and the blues again...