Marty Stuart is sharing a larger part of himself with the world.
The famed country music singer and songwriter is an integral name in the industry. But outside of his accolades on the stage, Stuart is just like us at the core and is a massive fan of the genre in general. Stuart has dedicated his free time to finding and preserving country music relics throughout the years.
While songs are timeless, lyric sheets, outfits, guitars, and boots that make an artist come to life on stage are often overlooked and tossed to the side after use. While that is not always the case, many items are still hidden in thrift stores and pawn shops or even in people’s basements who might not even know the importance of what they have.
After stumbling upon a treasure in Nashville, Stuart dedicated his time to keeping this side of country music history alive.
“I walked in a junk shop one day in Nashville on 8th Avenue, and there was a beautifully hand-tooled makeup kit, and it said Patsy Cline.”
Over the years, Stuart has collected roughly 22,000 pieces with the help of fans, friends, and strangers nationwide. Stuart, who is well-versed in country music history, was a perfect person to undertake this project as he intertwines many historical aspects in his own lyrics. Some artists, like Dolly Parton, have even donated pieces to his collection, helping keep their history alive for decades to come.
Although Stuart has been a great caretaker of all of these incredible items, he has decided it’s time to share his collection with the world. He is donating it to the Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. A museum representative referred to this collection as one of a kind and noted that without Stuart tasking himself to preserve this side of history, many of these items would cease to exist today.
“They are part of the essence of who I am; they are a part of my heart. But they’re a great part of me here.”
Although the Country Music Hall Of Fame will take over a year to catalog each item, the good news is there are pieces of the collections that are currently on display for visitors to admire.
This is a stellar addition to the already fantastic museum.