Bakersfield Sound Comes to Country Music Hall of Fame

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will open a brand-new exhibit next March called The Bakersfield Sound: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and California Country. The exhibition will be on display from March 24, 2012 until Dec. 31, 2013. It will take the place of Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy, which sees its last day Dec. 31, 2011.
 
Dwight Yoakam lends his voice to the exhibit, narrating the lives and legacies of country legends. The "Bakersfield Sound" is characterized by a loud, honky-tonk style that is most noted in the work of Country Music Hall of Famers Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. 
 
In the 1940s and '50s, Bakersfield housed plenty of dance halls, including the famous Blackboard Café, and by the 1960s, Buck and Merle were becoming quite popular; and their sound started to spread. Buck's band, the Buckaroos, is known for hits such as "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" and " Act Naturally." Merle's band, the Strangers, was popularized by the songs, "Mama Tried," "Hungry Eyes" and "Sing Me Back Home," amongst many others. Many of their songs are still popular today and continue to be rerecorded. 
 
The Bakersfield exhibit will also pay homage to the "Father of the Bakersfield Sound," Bill Woods. Visitors will also hear about Ken Nelson, the Capitol Records producer who recorded several Bakersfield songs. Ralph Mooney, Roy Nichols and Don Rich will also have a place in Dwight's narrative.
 
Source: www.cmt.com/news