I Remember Nashville is an oral history podcast brought to you by the Inter-Museum Council of Nashville with the generous support of Humanities Tennessee. . Through interviews with Nashville historians, natives, and museum professionals, this series unpacks questions about Nashville's cultural identity in the past, present, and future.
Episode 1
How did Nashville become music city? The answer begins long before the history of Nashville's recording industry with the story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Their groundbreaking international tours saved Fisk University from financial difficulty and introduced audiences around the world to the rich musical traditions born in Nashville, forever shaping the city's identity.
Featured guests:
Richard White - Chief Curator, Tennessee State Museum
Dr. Learotha Williams - Davidson County Historian, Professor of History, Tennessee State University, Founder of the North Nashville Heritage Project
Linda Wynn - Historian and Assistant Director of State Programs, Tennessee Historical Commission
DeLisa Minor Harris - Director of Library Services, Fisk University
Michael Gray - Vice President of Museum Services, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Episode 2
Before Nashville was known around the world as the home of country music, DeFord Bailey migrated to Nashville from Smith County, carrying with him multiple generations of rural Tennessee musical traditions. He rose to stardom in the early days of the Grand Ole Opry as a harmonica virtuoso, leading many historians to label him the first Black star of country music. This episode features an interview with the late Carlos DeFord Bailey, DeFord's grandson.
Featured guests:
Carlos DeFord Bailey - Grand Ole Opry performer and grandson of DeFord Bailey
Richard White - Chief Curator, Tennessee State Museum
Michael Gray - Vice President of Museum Services, County Music Hall of Fame
Adia Victoria - Roc Nation artist and songwriter
Episode 3
Before Broadway became synonymous with Music City, Jefferson Street was Nashville's beating heart of Black music, culture, and community. This episode uncovers the history of one of America's most influential music corridors. Lorenzo Washington, founder and curator of the Jefferson Street Sound Museum, gives us a guided tour as he remembers the Jefferson Street of his youth.
Featured guests:
Lucious "Spoonman" Talley - North Nashville native and musician
Jimmy Church - North Nashville native, musician, Night Train and The Beat!!! performer
Dr. Learotha Williams - Davidson County Historian, Professor of History, Tennessee State University, Founder of the North Nashville Heritage Project
Lorenzo Washington - Founder and curator of Jefferson Street Sound Museum
Gale Parker - East Nashville native, Meigs High School Alum, member of Cleveland Street Baptist Church
Adia Victoria - Roc Nation artist and songwriter
Michael Gray - Vice President of Museum Services, Country Music Hall of Fame
From the student led sit-ins that helped desegregate downtown lunch counters to the lasting effects of urban renewal and gentrification, this episode examines how race, memory, and place intersect. Nashville historians face difficult but important questions: What has been lost? What can be preserved? What does renewal truly mean for the people who call Nashville home?
Featured Guests:
Linda Wynn - Historian and Assistant Director of State Programs, Tennessee Historical Commission
Jamel Campbell Gooch - Co-Founder, Southern Movement Committee and Nashville Black Assembly
Dr. Learotha Williams - Davidson County Historian, Professor of History, Tennessee State University, Founder of the North Nashville Heritage Project
Gale Parker- East Nashville native and Meigs High School alumna Dorothy Lake- East Nashville native, Fisk University alumna, and Meigs High Alumna
Adia Victoria - Singer-songwriter and Roc Nation recording artist
Episode 4
Episode 5
Locals share their memories of growing up in 1960s Nashville.
Featured guests:
Sherill Atkins - North Nashville native and Germantown resident
Lucious "Spoonman" Talley - North Nashville native and musician
Dorothy Lake - East Nashville native, Meigs High School alumna, Fisk alum, and member of Cleveland Street Baptist Church
Gale Parker - East Nashville native, Meigs High School alumna, and member of Cleveland Street Baptist Church
Linda Wynn - Nashville historian and Assistant Director of State Programs, Tennessee Historical Commission.
This project was funded in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
SPECIAL thanks
Project Director and Editor: Tranae' Chatman
Tranae' Chatman is the Curator of Social History at the Tennessee State Museum. She is the former president of the Inter-Museum Council of Nashville (ICON).
2025 Community Histories Volunteer Team
Aja Bain is the Senior Manager of Professional Development and Publications at the American Association for State and Local History. She is the former president of the Inter-Museum Council of Nashville (ICON).
Stasa Bakliza is a Public History Ph.D. Candidate at Middle Tennessee State University.
Stephanie Davis is the Communications Assistant at the Tennessee State Museum. She is also an ICON board member.
Lindsay Hager is an Archivist for the Tennessee State Library & Archives and the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett.
Teddy Minton serves as Public Historian at the Belcourt Theatre. They are also the Vice President of ICON.
Olivia Thompson is a Museum Program Assistant at the Tennessee State Museum. She Is also the Treasurer, Secretary, and Membership Chair of ICON.
Jennifer Watts is the Scheduling Coordinator at the Tennessee State Museum. She is also an ICON board member.
Nyna Bryant
Special thanks to Lasting Media Inc..