Rock Hall Welcomes Marty Stuart For From Songwriters To Soundmen: The People Behind The Hits

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is proud to present an evening with Grammy-award winner Marty Stuart as part of From Songwriters to Soundmen: The People Behind the Hits, a popular FREE monthly program. Stuart will be interviewed at the Rock Hall on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 7 p.m. in the Museum’s 4th Floor Theater.

Stuart, not only a musician but also an avid collector, recently traveled to Cleveland to unveil the Rock Hall’s new exhibit Sparkle & Twang: Marty Stuart’s American Musical Odyssey. The collection represents over 40 years of rock and roll, classic country, rockabilly, bluegrass and southern gospel greats. It encompasses an astounding array of performance costumes, accessories, handwritten lyrics, personal letters and instruments compiled by Stuart.

At the age of nine, he formed his first band in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi before joining legendary guitarist Lester Flatt and his band as their mandolin player. Before he was 20 years old, Stuart joined Johnny Cash’s band on the road. While he was on tour with Cash in London in 1980, Stuart became motivated to become a collector. He had met Isaac Tigrett, a co-founder of the Hard Rock Café, who invited Stuart to the Hard Rock in London. Fascinated by the scene created around memorabilia from the world’s most influential musicians, such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Janis Joplin, Stuart was inspired to formally craft his own collection, Sparkle & Twang.

After his time on the road with Cash, Stuart eventually became a solo artist, achieving fame on his own and earning hit songs, a platinum album, five gold records, four Grammy awards and recording 14 studio albums. In addition to these and many other musical achievements, Stuart is also a published writer, a photographer and hosts a country music television show on RFD-TV called The Marty Stuart Show.

Members and visitors will have the opportunity to hear Marty Stuart’s incredible stories firsthand in a discussion led by Lauren Onkey, vice president of education and public programs.

This event is part of the series From Songwriters to Soundmen: The People Behind the Hits, a groundbreaking Rock Hall program that shines the spotlight on the people whose contributions to the rock and roll art form are often as powerful as those of the artists themselves.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has FREE educational offerings year round. Additional adult education programs include Teachers Rock, which shows educators how to bring rock and roll music into their classrooms and Rock and Roll Night School, which gives interested adults the opportunity to expand their rock and roll-related knowledge.