Rosanne Cash Donates Historic Artifacts from Her Career to the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum

NASHVILLE, Tenn., – Sept. 19, 2023 – Today, Grammy-winning artist Rosanne Cash donated four historic artifacts from her career to the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s collection. The donation was announced during a special conversation and performance in the museum’s Ford Theater with Cash and her longtime collaborator, the Grammy-winning songwriter and producer John Leventhal. The program was presented in partnership with the Americana Music Association.

Michael Gray, vice president of museum services, joined Cash onstage to accept the artifacts and thank her for her donation to the nonprofit museum’s educational mission. Artifacts donated include:

·         A custom-built acoustic guitar made for Rosanne by luthier Danny Ferrington in 1979. Commissioned by Johnny Cash as a birthday gift for Rosanne, the instrument has maple sides and back, a spruce top and her name inlaid in mother-of-pearl on the fretboard.

·         Three bomber-style tour jackets made for Rosanne, Johnny and June Carter Cash to commemorate Rosanne’s Seven Year Ache tour in 1981. Each jacket is personalized with the wearer’s name, along with a Cherry Bombs patch. The Cherry Bombs — consisting of Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill and other members of Emmylou Harris’s Hot Band — backed Rosanne on the tour.

During the program, Cash and Leventhal performed some songs and explored their creative collaborations, including their inspiration to form their new label, RumbleStrip Records; the 30th anniversary reissue of Cash’s 1993 album, The Wheel; and Leventhal’s upcoming debut solo album. Leventhal and Cash have been collaborating for more than 30 years, performing live, co-writing, co-producing and winning praise and awards for albums such as The Wheel, Black Cadillac, The Listand The River and the Thread. In 2015, Cash served as the museum’s artist-in-residence, which also featured Leventhal.

The program was filmed and will premiere at a later date as part of the museum’s Live at the Halldigital programs series, available to stream on the museum’s website. Read more about the museum’s collections.

About the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum:  
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibitions, publications, digital media and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. The museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and is among the most-visited history museums in the U.S. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio B®, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported in part by Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and Tennessee Arts Commission.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.