Heaven at the Hut

Category: News

The Thursday keynote session of the 26th International Country Music Conference (ICMC) was held at the Quonset Hut on Music Row. The historic studio, first built by Owen Bradley and later the home of Columbia Records, entertained the conference attendees with dinner and a presentation by legendary session men and producers.

For nearly two and a half hours, Shelby Singleton (current owner of Sun Records, one-time owner of Plantation Records, and producer of numerous country and pop hits), Jerry Kennedy (great session guitarist and producer of legendary recordings of folks like Roger Miller and the Statler Brothers), and Bob Moore (one of the most recorded bass players in Nashville and a hit performer on his own with 1960's instrumental hit "Mexico") told stories of recording sessions in the Quonset Hut and other studios (Kennedy and Moore played on Elvis sessions over at RCA's Studio B).

The keynote at the Quonset Hut concluded the first day of ICMC. The highlight of the afternoon session was a presentation on the recently-released Mother's Best Flour Radio Shows from WSM by Hank Williams. One of the radio shows, not included in the three-CD set, was played in its entirety for the audience. Following that presentation, Williams biographer Colin Escott gave a presentation on the making of the box set, including how the tapes were rescued from WSM's garbage can in the 1960s and the subsequent legal problems that prevented the public from hearing these pieces of history for decades.

ICMC continues through Saturday afternoon in Nashville.