Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
(Photo by: Jason Davis/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
Tonight, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum celebrated the opening of its newest exhibition, Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice. The exhibit encompasses the singer’s journey from performing in her family’s band as a child to becoming an award-winning country music artist with an enduring career delivering substantive and socially aware hit songs. Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice opens July 30, 2021, and runs through Aug. 7, 2022.
Items featured in Martina McBride: The Power of Her Voice include awards, stage wear, handwritten lyrics and personal artifacts. Some highlights:
Shirt, vest and pants ensemble worn on stage by McBride, when she performed at age seven with her family’s band, the Schiffters
McBride’s 1984 Sharon High School yearbook
4-H ribbons awarded for her accomplishments in cooking and singing, along with judges’ notes about her performances
The wedding dress, beaded headband and tulle veil worn by Martina at her wedding to John McBride, May 15, 1988
An envelope marked “Requested Material,” which contained the unsolicited demo tape McBride sent to RCA Records when she was seeking a recording contract. The record label had not requested the demo recordings, but ultimately signed her to a contract in 1991
Songwriter Gretchen Peters’ original handwritten manuscript for “Independence Day”
A letter from Dolly Parton to McBride, congratulating her on being named the Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year in 2003
Jenny Packham dress—embellished with rhinestones, beads and sequins—worn by McBride on the cover of her 2007 album Wake Up Laughing
CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards presented to McBride in 1999, 2002-2004
ACM Female Vocalist of the Year awards presented to McBride in 2001-2003
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 exhibits, publications, 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 welcomes over one million patrons each year, placing it among the most visited 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 the 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.
