NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville opened a new exhibit on Friday, Sept. 27 to showcase the talents and contributions of famed songwriters Boudleaux and Felice Bryant.
The couple sold more than half a billion records by some estimates and composed more than 6,000 songs.
Several A-list artists joined the celebration for the exhibit's grand opening.
The couple's songwriting began with "Country Boy." Little Jimmy Dickens made the song a hit.
Ketch Secor and Critter Fuqua from Old Crow Medicine Show did not disappoint with their version of the classic.
More artists also paid tribute to the famous songwriting duo during the exhibit's grand opening.
Allison Kraus and Jason Isbell performed the couple’s classic, "Love Hurts.”
Bobby Osbourne, an old friend, also helped celebrate the milestone with a performance of “Rocky Top.”
“We Could,” the new exhibit, showcases thousands of handwritten lyrics and music, even the original version of “Rocky Top.”
“The ledgers, those are the holy grail of our family and I’m very excited to see them up on the wall, know they’re safe behind the glass,” said Del Bryant, son of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant.
The collection also features instruments, photographs, demo recordings, even Felice’s handwritten recipe for pasta sauce.
The items are personal and priceless and until recently many were stored at the family home in Gatlinburg.
Many of the artifacts on display from instruments to photographs survived the Gatlinburg Wildfires in 2017.
“The fire was the catalyst and wake up call that we had to find a safe place for these items,” said Bryant.
The grand opening was a tender moment for the songwriters' sons, Del and Dane Bryant.
The two helped officially open the exhibit honoring their parent’s legendary career.
“She was a Sicilian living up north in Milwaukee and she could cook in a way people down south had never experienced,” said Dane Bryant about his mother, Felice.
The memories and impact of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant will forever live on in Nashville, the city they called home.
The exhibit will remain open until Aug. 2, 2020.