In celebration of its twentieth anniversary, Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues returns to the Museum on April 26, 2024. The acclaimed 2004–2005 exhibit explored an often-overlooked chapter of Nashville’s musical history—an influential rhythm & blues scene that thrived from the 1940s through the 1960s. And the exhibit’s companion compilation album won a Grammy in 2005. This twentieth-anniversary edition of Night Train revisits highlights from the exhibit’s debut, along with new artifacts and rare photos.
Panel Discussion: All Aboard the Night Train! Nashville’s Groundbreaking R&B Television Series
Saturday, April 27 | 2:30 – 4:00 PM | Ford Theater
Filmed at WLAC-TV in Nashville, Night Train was the nation’s first syndicated R&B television series to feature an all-Black cast when it beamed into living rooms beginning in October 1964, six years before Chicago’s better-known Soul Train. WVOL radio executive Noble Blackwell produced and hosted Night Train, giving viewers a chance to witness many of Nashville’s best musicians backing both the city’s finest singers and out-of-town stars.
Night Train Online Exhibit
Explore Night Train from the comfort of your home—browse the online exhibit. Made possible by a major grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the exhibit’s online version includes archival photos, video footage, panel discussions, classic Nashville R&B recordings, and more.
Night Train to Nashville Exhibit Highlights
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Bessie Smith letter and photoBlues singer Bessie Smith sent this letter to Hatch Show Print in 1927, along with this photograph to use for designing her posters.
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Sam Cooke ticketR&B great Sam Cooke was in his prime when this ticket was printed for a show at Nashville’s Sulphur Dell baseball stadium in 1962.
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Etta James album coverEtta James signed this cover of Rocks the House, her live album recorded at Nashville’s New Era Club in September 1963. The venue was chosen, said producer Ralph Bass, “because of the atmosphere generated by the public who patronize this club.”
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Johnny Jones Electric guitar and amplifierThis Gibson ES-345 electric guitar and Lab Series L7 amplifier were used by Johnny Jones in the later part of his career. Nashville’s premier blues guitarist, Jones performed in the house band on the R&B TV shows Night Train and The!!!!Beat and influenced Jimi Hendrix in the early 1960s.
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Jimmy Church suitVocalist and bandleader Jimmy Church performed in this pink three-piece suit, accented with a rhinestone crown on the breast pocket. A Nashville native who recorded with an R&B group while still in high school, Church was regularly featured on the R&B TV shows Night Train and The!!!!Beat.
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Hank Crawford bandstandSaxophonist Hank Crawford performed in jazz bands and fronted an R&B group called Little Hank & the Rhythm Kings that played often at a club in Printers Alley. He left Nashville in 1958 to join Ray Charles’s group, soon becoming the bandleader. In 1963, Crawford formed his own jazz unit, which used matching, hand-painted, bandstands.
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Bobby Hebb spoonsBobby Hebb used these spoons as percussion instruments.
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Little Willie John posterThis poster advertises a show headlined by R&B singer Little Willie John, whose powerful vocal style was immortalized on his 1957 chart-topper, “Fever,” performed at Nashville’s Club Baron that year.
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Jackie Shane posterNashville native Jackie Shane was a pioneering transgender artist who worked in the city’s R&B nightclubs and recording studios. In 1960, she relocated to Canada, where she gained a rabid following, returning to her hometown to perform on the TV show Night Train in 1965. This poster promoted an appearance by Shane in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1960.