Eighty-seven miles from Tupelo
along the Natchez Trace Parkway is the city of Florence, Alabama. The land,
once part of the Chickasaw Nation, was sold off as soon as the last treaty
ceded the land. The city’s architect, Ferdinand Sannoner, was tasked to name
the city in 1818 and he chose Florence after the city of his birth. You should
begin your visit in the $2-million Visitor’s Center with exhibits and
information to enhance your stay. www.visitflorenceal.com
W.C. Handy, “The Father of the
Blues”, was born in Florence in 1873 in a one-room cabin. He was not the first
to play the blues but he was the first to write down and publish this “new”
form of music that blended religious and secular styles with worldly themes.
His works, Beale Street, St. Louis and Memphis Blues influenced other musicians
and popularized the genre.
The W. C. Handy Birthplace,
Museum & Library honors the man, his accomplishments and his legacy. The
site was originally funded by Handy in 1954. The complex now consists of his
birth home, museum, Black Heritage Library and an extensive collection of
memorabilia and items that belonged to Handy, many donated by Handy and his
family. Highlights of the collection are the restored cabin, his brass trumpet,
handwritten sheet music and the piano on which he composed “St. Louis Blues”.
The site is listed on the Blues Trail. Florence’s 2018 W.C. Handy Music
Festival will be staged
July 20-29. The 10-day festival has been held since 1982.
www.wchandymusicfestival.org
To tour the Alabama Music Hall of Fame is to walk through the state’s music history beginning with the lobby’s bronze star homage to Alabama’s music influencers. The stars lead to the Hall of Fame Gallery, which features portraits of Inductees painted by Tuskegee artist Ronald McDowell. Memorabilia from many Alabama Music Achievers resides in the gallery filled with memorabilia, dioramas and outfits of featured artists. Sequential galleries include Popular Music, Country Music, Muscle Shoals, Gospel Showcase, Alabama Songwriters and a complete recording studio where visitors can record their own song. The objects on display are awe-inspiring and include the group Alabama’s Tour Bus and Commodore’s stage outfits. www.alamhof.org
While W.C. Handy gave birth to the blues the adjacent
city of Muscle Shoals took music to a new level and it is internationally
recognized as the place that rocked the world. Two of the most influential
recording studios are located there and they are both open for tours.
Rick Hall and two partners founded Florence Alabama
Music Enterprises (FAME) recording studios in 1959. FAME’s first hit came in
1961. The Allman Brothers, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett
recorded hits here, along with numerous others. www.fame2.
The Swampers, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section,
established their own studio, Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, in 1969 in an old
coffin factory. Their first client was Cher, followed by Rod Stewart, Bob
Seger, Rolling Stones and Paul Simon. The studio has been restored to its
former glory with the assistance of Dr. Dre. www.msmusicfoundation.org
Before you rejoin the Natchez
Trace Trail be certain to stop in Stagg’s Deli. This family-run market now
serves made-to-order meals. The Stagg’s hamburger is rated #4 in North Alabama’s
Top Cheeseburger poll.
Franklin, TN is approximately
115-miles north of Florence on the Natchez Trace. The city was founded in 1799
and named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. It is a stop on the music trail and is
renowned as a place where visitors can hear live music every night. Downtown Franklin’s
Great American Main Street is filled with unique shops, eateries and historic
properties. A complete list of venues, festivals and special events is
available online. www.visitfranklin.com
A circular brass time capsule, engraved with “COU”,
is imbedded center stage in The Franklin Theatre and it is indeed a center of
the musical universe. The restored theater was constructed in 1937 and closed
in 2007. It reopened in 2011, on the same footprint, and now hosts more than
600 events annually. It has been deemed the “greatest small theater venue in
the country”. The balcony, built originally to accommodate segregation laws of
the era, now features a clubhouse. The Franklin was redesigned like a recording
studio, with no reverb, and $2-million in audio and lighting equipment. Tours
are offered. www.franklintheatre.com
A few miles from Franklin,
just off The Trace, is the village of Leiper’s Fork, established by settlers
with Revolutionary War land grants in the 1790s. The village is a National
Historic District and a popular dining, shopping and entertainment destination.
Puckett's of Leiper's Fork is an absolute must. This grocery store morphed into
a restaurant and music site in 2002. The food is delicious, the people are friendly
and the music is awesome. www.puckettsgro.com, www.visitleipersfork.com
Nine-miles from the northern
end of the Natchez Trace Trail stands the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge, the
nation’s first double arch bridge and the first segmentally
constructed concrete
arch bridge in the country. It is
1,572-ft. long, 145-ft. high and offers panoramic views. www.scenictrace.com
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