Music America: Iconic Objects from America’s Music History at Grammy Museum Mississippi
2024-09-20 10:00 - 2025-04-13 17:00 (America/New_York) | GRAMMY Museum Missippi, 800 W Sunflower Rd, Cleveland, MS, 38732, United States
Following its February debut at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, Music America: Iconic Objects From America’s Music History will open to the public at GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi on Friday, Sept. 20. With close to 100 objects representing the best of American music, the exhibit – curated by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music (BSACAM) at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ – tells the story of how music has informed, interpreted, and inspired our national identity since it was founded nearly two-and-a-half centuries ago. This exhibit is made possible by Visit Mississippi and Mississippi Humanities Council with additional support from Ergon, Inc. and South Delta Planning and Development District. The education programs for this exhibit are made possible by the Maddox Foundation.
“Music has been deeply engrained in the fabric of American history since the nation was founded almost 250 years ago,” said Emily Havens, Executive Director of GRAMMY Museum Mississippi.
“The Music America exhibit helps tell the complex story of American music by featuring objects from artists of all genres, including those who put music from the Delta on the map. Together, these artists and the songs they’ve made describe our national soundtrack. From rock and roll and country, to the blues, jazz, and other genres, visitors will learn how music has shaped and interpreted our national identity.”
“In curating this exhibit, we didn’t just want to focus on the history of rock and roll in America, or country, or blues, we wanted to tell the story of how all of these genres together have shaped our identity as a nation,” said Robert Santelli, BSACAM Executive Director. “With the Delta being at the heart of so much music history, we are thrilled to be bringing the Music America exhibit to the GRAMMY Museum in Mississippi. There are so many stories to be told, specifically from Delta musicians alone, and we can’t wait to share those with visitors to Cleveland.”
On display through April 13, 2025, the exhibit will feature iconic objects from artists such as Lead Belly, Sam Cooke, Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Billie Holiday, Buddy Holly, Whitney Houston, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra. Specific artifacts on display will include: Late 18th century hymnalEdison Standard PhonographSpringsteen’s outfit from the cover of 1984 album Born in the U.S.A.John Coltrane’s saxophoneLeonard Bernstein’s outfit and batonOriginal handwritten lyrics to John Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses”Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Number One” guitarVisitors will also experience an interactive “Song Bar” that enables them to hear performances by some of the artists highlighted in the exhibit, along with additional melodies that demonstrate the depth, breadth, and great productivity of American musicians.
Music America features artifacts from the permanent collection of the BSACAM alongside treasures from other institutions across the country such as the New Orleans Jazz Museum, Hard Rock International, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as well as dozens of prominent collectors of American music ephemera.
This exhibit is made possible by Visit Mississippi and Mississippi Humanities Council with additional support from Ergon, Inc., South Delta Planning and Development District, Maddox Foundation, Southern Tire Mart, Gipson Mechanical, and Visit Cleveland.
GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Museum is closed on Mondays. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, or by visiting grammymuseumms.org.
