KFAL The Big 900 Classic Country
Keith Urban wrote an Op-Ed piece for Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper about keeping the history of Music Row alive. Check it out below, or click here.
KEEP MUSIC ROW’S PAST FOR THE FUTURE
By Keith Urban – August, 1 2014
I made my first trip to Nashville from Australia in the summer of 1989. I checked into the Shoney’s Inn on Demonbreun, then headed straight into the legendary Music Row.
It was instantly magical being among rows of the most charming cottages and simple buildings that were housing the global center of country music. I knew
instantly that this was where I belonged, and I became a Nashville resident in 1992. From that moment on, I would drive to the Row almost daily in my rented
crap car to write, record demos and generally hang around, meeting all kinds of people. Music Row became my center, because Music Row IS a center.
Evolution is a constant part of music and life, but for me what’s always been at the heart of country music is simplicity and community. Music Row is where the past, present and future meet, and that’s a vital part of keeping balance. You can feel it as you drive along 16th and 17th avenues and see so many original buildings, including RCA’s Studios A and B; the house where Warner Brothers first opened their doors; Quad Studios, where Neil Young recorded “Harvest”;
and Hillbilly Central, where Waylon Jennings and the boys transformed the status quo by revolutionizing the way artists could take creative control. … Not to mention the countless publishing houses where classic songs were and are written, pitched and demoed.
The past, present and the future are ALL still here — but the Row is currently under threat from developers. Nashville has exploded as a music town, and not
just country music. Musicians from all genres, all over the world are making the pilgrimage here to immerse themselves in the kind of creative center that so many other cities have lost but that Nashville still maintains.
Nashville’s growth is exciting, but not at the risk of losing the creative epicenter that is Music Row and that truly makes Nashville Music City.
I sincerely hope that those who have made Nashville their home over the years, and those who have recently discovered our fair city, will come together as a united front and continue to be vocal about preserving and fortifying our beloved Music Row.
