The Country Music Foundation (CMF) chartered by the state of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

in 1964, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and education surrounding

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

. The CMF currently employs more than 70 full-time professionals and is "the world's largest research center devoted to a single form of popular music."John Rumble,
Country Music Foundation
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''.

Mission statement

"The Country Music Foundation, Inc. (CMF) is dedicated to preserving and teaching the evolving history of country music—from its early, traditional roots to its present-day manifestations as a community-based music and a thriving form of popular culture."

Location

The Country Music Foundation was originally located with the first

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amas ...

at the corner of 16th Avenue and Division on Music Row in

Nashville, TN Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. The Country Music Foundation is still housed with the Hall of Fame and Museum at its new location at 222 5th Avenue South in Downtown Nashville when the new building opened in 2001.

History

The CMF was founded in 1964 and charged with operating the

, whose original location opened on

Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...

on April 1, 1967. Until 1971, the CMF shared staff with the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

(CMA). It moved locations in 2001 to the new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville.

Programs

* CMF Press * CMF Records * Country Music Foundation Library (1968) :Open by appointment only, the library is available to CMF staff, schools, music industry, and the media. "Library holdings presently include more than 175,000 recorded discs, 8,000 books, 450 periodicals, 150,000 photographs, and thousands of songbooks, films, business documents, and other materials."

Publications

Print

* ''

Journal of Country Music A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization * Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, ...

'' * ''Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music in America'' (2006) * new and out-of print titles in partnership with the

Vanderbilt University Press Vanderbilt University Press is a university press that is part of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt University Press is the principal publishing arm of Vanderbilt University. The Press selects, edits, and markets scholar ...

Recordings

The CMF regularly produces and consults for other labels' historic performances, and itself issued the first historic recording on their

Country Music Foundation Records A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

label, which preceded later releases including: *

The Bristol Sessions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

(1987) * Hank Williams: Rare Demos, First to Last (1990) * Johnny Paycheck: The Real Mr. Heartache: The Little Darlin' Years (1996) * From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music (1998), Warner Bros. Records Inc. —

Historic Sites

* Hatch Show Print (1986) *

RCA Studio B RCA Studio B was a music recording studio built in 1956 in Nashville, Tennessee by RCA Victor. Originally known simply as "RCA Studios," Studio B, along with the larger and later RCA Studio A became known in the 1960s for being an essential fa ...

(1977)

References

{{Authority control American country music Organizations based in Nashville, Tennessee