GRAMMY MUSEUM TIPS HAT TO WOMEN OF COUNTRY `THE POWER OF WOMEN IN COUNTRY MUSIC'
The history of country music isn't just about cowboys, as the Grammy Museum is aiming to show with its new exhibition, “The Power of Women in Country Music.” “It's about the last hundred years of trailblazers and changemakers in the country music genre who are women,” said Kelsey Goelz, curator of the exhibition, which opens today and runs through Oct. 2. The exhibition covers the careers of 70 artists spanning about a century, from the pioneering Carter
The Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles
Through Oct. 2. 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Mondays and WednesdaysSundays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, closed Tuesdays
$18 general, $15 for older adults and military personnel, $12 for children and college students
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Family, which included Maybelle and Sara Carter, to international stars like Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash, LeAnn Rimes, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire and Faith Hill.
“It's a chronological story showing all the different milestones and barriers broken by women,” Goelz said.
As with many of its exhibitions, the museum tells these stories by displaying some of the artist's most iconic costumes, instruments, videos, photographs and other artifacts that represent milestones in their careers. Here are five highlights from the new exhibition:
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In 1997, at age 14, Rimes became the youngest person, and the first country singer, to win the Grammy for best new artist. At the exhibition, people will be able to take an up-close look at the dress she wore that night. “It's just so exciting to have that dress from the beginning of her career,” Goelz said.
Parton's banjo
Goelz noted that many of the musicians interviewed for this exhibition recalled being inspired by seeing Parton's early performances on TV and in particular at the Grand Ole Opry. “So many of these women saw her on TV and were, like, `I want to be that.' So she inspired so many women that came after her,” Goelz said. On display is a dress Parton wore during a 1971 Grand Ole Opry performance and her custom, butterfly-inlaid Gibson banjo.
Wanda Jackson's guitar
Not only is the Daisy Rock pink acoustic guitar eye-catching, it's significant for other reasons. “It's from a femaleowned guitar company who worked with Wanda to create this acoustic guitar, and it's just such a wonderful example of girl power,” Goelz said.
It wouldn't be a proper country music exhibition without a pair of boots, so the white footwear emblazoned with pink flowers that Harris wore on the cover of her 1979, Grammy-winning album “Blue Kentucky Girl” will be on display.