Interesting news

Antolina · From: Dunkirk NY

I guess they're gonna screw with country music until they get what they want. A brand of music that will appeal to the mass market. One day country will no doubt join the already far too many sub categories of rock. I think a good name might be "soft porn country rock"

FROM CHARLES WOLFE
A LETTER TO THOSE WITH AN INTEREST IN THE HISTORY OF COUNTRY MUSIC
September 16, 2001

Dear Colleagues:

Some of you have heard of the recent wholesale firings at the Country Music Hall of Fame last week. If you have not, be advised that what used to be the Country Music Foundation Library and Archives has been severely decimated. Ronnie Pugh, a veteran of 22 years as the CMF's premier reference librarian and author of the definitive biography of Ernest Tubb, was summarily fired and given an hour to leave the premises; he was escorted outside by a security guard. Chris Dickinson, the brilliant editor of "The Journal of Country Music," who was brought to Nashville to St. Louis specifically to take over the "Journal," was similarly fired. Also let go were other members of the library staff. Two other individuals involved with the new tourism department "resigned."

According to HOF director Kyle Young, this is part of a restructuring in which the emphasis of the HOF will be more toward glitzy, high-profile efforts involving current hot stars. In doing so, it seems to be that the HOF is abandoning its original mission statement of preserving the history of country music - and possibly compromising its status as a non-profit edicational institution. At present, there is only one person really working in the library and archives - a pleasant and well-trained archivist, but one who knows little about country music, or about the world class archives they have there. She routinely called on Ronnie or Bob Pinson for help in finding things and answering queries from researchers.

Which brings up a secondary effect of this cold action. Bob Pinson, the dean of country music discographers and legendary historian, an expert who has through the years selflessly helped many of us in our research, had been working part time as he eases into retirement. But now he says - and this is a quote - "when they cut their ties with Ronnie, they cut their ties with me." The great country music discography manuscript, some 15 years in the making, was within a day's work of completion. Bob begged Paul Kingsbury and Kyle Young to at least let Ronnie help him finish this, but was turned down. The manuscript was left sitting on Ronnie's desk. Its fate is uncertain.

Staffers also feel that "The Journal of Country Music" will be changed from its present form and stripped on any historical material, and turned into a slick, Garthian fan magazine full of eye candy for the high rollers who contribute to the HOF. Chris Dickinson, who gave her heart and soul into making the "Journal" a quality publication that would attract scholars as well as newstand readers, feels crushed and angry. She is planning to return to Chicago soon, where she earned her original reputation as a tough, insightful journalist.

We were able to plant a story about this in the Nashville Tennessean, but it ran Wednesday morning, amidst all the coverage of the WTC disaster. Nonetheless, it did alert some people in the music community about what had transpired. It turns out that the HOF Board of Directors had not even told about this "new vision" and change of direction, and some of them were quite upset. They met in emergency session last Thursday, but Kyle Young was able to defer their criticism by insisting they were trying to "micro-manage."
The HOF powers are hoping that they will weather this storm and protest and in a week or so go back to business as usual. I hope this does not happen, and several of us locally are trying to determine what steps can be taken. Essentially, the Hall of Fame is sitting on the world's finest archive of country music, and not properly curating it. Several of you have asked me if you could write somebody. For now, you might consider faxing your thoughts to either Marty Stuart, the honorary board chairman, or to Bruce Hinton, the actual chairman of the board.

[This message was edited by RC Antolina on 25 November 2001 at 11:00 PM.]

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