Tune In, Turn On

History of music explored in Rogers exhibit

Richard Calloway admits it’s going to take a second exhibit to tell the story of the influence of music on and in Northwest Arkansas.

“I know I left out some people,” says Calloway, who is curator of exhibits for the Rogers Historical Museum. “I am already learning about some of the stories, objects and people included in the exhibit from people who have seen the exhibit. Also the music and storyline is ever evolving, and there will be a new story to tell.”

Calloway, an architect, joined the museum during the recent expansion process, working on the design and the interpretive plan. But he also has a background in music — he’s from Austin, Texas, and is a musician himself — so he immediately noticed there was nothing about music in the museum.

“I had put in a placeholder for a music exhibit in the original gallery plans, but it got crowded out in the evolution of the design,” he says. “Now that we have settled in to our new galleries, the opportunity came up in our exhibit schedule to install a music exhibit in the Trammel Gallery.”

Titled “Diverse History of Music in Northwest Arkansas” and just opened Oct. 14, the exhibit begins in England about 300 B.C., Calloway says, and continues through “the story of slavery and the Scots-Irish and includes regional influences of the Ozarks, Tulsa and The Delta, and the radio and TV shows which began influencing everyone.

“By the melding of sounds of various locations and the traditional sounds of the Ozarks, Arkansas has produced many well-known musicians,” he adds. “Some, like Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and Ronnie Dunne have also influenced other sounds and musicians. Northwest Arkansas has also produced several nationally known musicians such as Leon McAuliffe, Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks and, most recently, Joe Nichols.”

Calloway also found “legends from Northwest Arkansas” —

Tommy McCleland of the Emcees, Jammey Kidd of CC Highway and Jim Ritchey of the Bel Airs — to help him early in the process. He added a “special mention to Councilman Gary Townzen and [historian] James Hales, who were important sources of information, and many others who are listed in our credits document.”

The exhibit includes “vintage radios, music show posters and instruments, including Black Oak Arkansas’ washboard instrument,” Calloway enumerates, along with an interactive listening station, “with carefully selected songs that help tell the story of the area.”

“The visitor can read about and choose different songs,” he explains. “There is also a playing of different Alan Lomax videos. Alan and his father were folklorists who traveled the backways of America doing field recordings of American ‘folk’ music before it disappeared with the advent of radio and development of America.” Their work, he adds, is now being gathered together for a Library of Congress collection.

It may be a smallish exhibit, but Calloway has a big goal.

“I want to present the big picture of how Rogers fits into the world and its influence on it,” he says. “Also, musicians and music have always been a nurturing and accepting unifier of our differences.”

NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER A temporary exhibit at the Rogers Historical Museum explores how the roots of Ozark music blended traditions from both the European settlers and African-American heritage to create a unique sound.