Stuart donates collection to Nashville Museum
Marty Stuart has donated his entire private collection of country music memorabilia to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
Officials have said the collection, currently stored in Philadelphia, is the largest private collection of its kind in the world.
Stuart’s Congress of Country Music announced the momentous collaboration with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville last week.
This partnership represents a significant development for the Congress of Country Music and the state of Mississippi, marking a major step forward in the preservation and promotion of country music history.
The evening celebrated the addition of the Marty Stuart Collection to the museum’s permanent holdings. Stuart’s collection of more than 22,000 items is the largest private assemblage of country music artifacts in the world. It joins the museum’s world-leading public collection.
The acquisition was made possible through the generosity of Stuart, along with a lead preservation gift from the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation and major additional support from Loretta and Jeff Clarke.
“This is a top-of-the-world moment for me,” Stuart said. “To have my collection live alongside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s is monumental, to be a part of a ceremony and witness the Congress of Country Music and its people formally welcomed into the family of country music is a spiritual high. And, to share such a gathering with family and friends from both Nashville as well as Mississippi is just the best. Such a day only comes along once in a lifetime.”
Stuart’s collection spans over a century of country music history, including more than 1,000 stage wear and clothing items, 100 instruments, 50 original song manuscripts, and more iconic artifacts from legends like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Charley Pride, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and many others.
Additionally, Stuart’s collection features items from his own career, including his expansive collection of photographs taken by Stuart himself, which have been exhibited at museums and published in books.
The occasion was marked by a special ceremony in the museum’s Ford Theater, which featured several performances with historic instruments from Stuart’s collection.
Country music trio Chapel Hart performed “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” with recording artist and songwriter Charlie Worsham playing a 1970 Fender Telecaster once owned by Pops Staples, the patriarch and a member of gospel and R&B group the Staple Singers, who recorded the song.
Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill performed “Marty & Me,” a newly written song by Gill and Stuart. Gill played George Jones’1958 Martin D-28 guitar, customized with unique, mother-of-pearl inlays and Jones’ name on the fingerboard.
Grammy-winning artist Chris Stapleton performed “Why Me Lord,” which was recorded by Johnny Cash and written and previously recorded by Kris Kristofferson. Stapleton played Cash’s Martin D-45 acoustic guitar, which also belonged to Hank Williams.
Marty Stuart closed the ceremony with a performance of Flatt & Scruggs’ “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down,” with Shawn Camp playing Lester Flatt’s Martin D-28 guitar from the museum’s permanent collection.
The backing band for the event included members of the Earls of Leicester and consisted of Mike Bub (bass), Shawn Camp (acoustic guitar), Charlie Cushman (banjo), Jimmy Stewart (dobro), Johnny Warren (fiddle) and Jeff White (mandolin).
With the Marty Stuart Collection now part of the museum, a broader array of collection items will be available to the Congress to illustrate the genre’s pre-commercial roots in the nineteenth century to present day.
This enables the Congress to share a deeper and more complete story while positioning Philadelphia as a beacon that not only presents musical performances but also broadly embraces education and cultural history, officials said.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will also serve as an organizational advisor, enhancing aspects of the Congress’s museum operations from education and exhibition presentation to artifact care, administration, and management while supporting the success and longevity of this cultural treasure.
“Marty Stuart’s roots in Mississippi go deep. He became steeped in the sounds of country music there as a child,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “Appropriately, Philadelphia is where Marty is showcasing his deep love for our artform. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is happy to collaborate with the Congress of Country Music to further share the story of this music and its cultural significance.
“This achievement would not be possible without the citizens of Philadelphia, Mississippi’s statewide elected officials, the Legislature who supported the infrastructure of the museum, the Congress of Country Music Board of Directors, Stuart’s friends in the industry who have supported the Ellis Theater, and Stuart’s wife, Connie, for her unwavering love and support through it all.
The state Legislature in 2013 provided $1 million to renovate the historic Coke building on Center Avenue to store the Stuart collection at the request of the Community Development Partnership.
The state also provided $4 million to renovate the historic Ellis Theater, a centerpiece of the Congress of Country Music.