The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will explore the life and career of Country Music Hall of Fame member-elect Patty Loveless in a new exhibition, Patty Loveless: No Trouble with the Truth. The exhibit will trace Loveless’ story, from a musical prodigy to a Grammy award-winning country music star who carries forward the sounds of her Appalachian roots. The exhibit, which will be open from Aug. 23 through October 2024, is included with museum admission.
“Patty Loveless achieved lasting success by merging traditional country music styles with a modern sensibility in her song choices and musical arrangements,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “As one of country music’s most accomplished song interpreters with immense vocal power, she has remained focused on conveying deep emotion through her lyrics and recordings, and her influence resonates throughout today’s generation of country artists.”
“My journey into a career of music all started out on an Epiphone acoustic guitar my father bought for me in 1969,” said Patty Loveless. “As a 12-year-old, I didn’t want to set the world on fire, I just wanted to play and sing music. By the age of 14, I wrote ‘Sounds of Loneliness’ and ‘I Did’ on this guitar, two songs that in 1986 ended up on my debut album for MCA records. Now that guitar will be displayed in my exhibit of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum where it truly belongs with other memorabilia of the many people that supported me throughout my musical journey to whom I’m forever grateful.”
The exhibit will include stage wear, tour memorabilia, manuscripts, set lists, instruments, photographs, videos, posters, advertising pamphlets and more. Examples of items to be displayed include:
The 1968 Epiphone FT-30 Caballero acoustic guitar Loveless used when she performed with her brother Roger Ramey as The Singing Swinging Rameys in the early 1970s.
The jacket and floral-print dress, accented with rhinestones and beads, that Loveless wore when Porter Wagoner inducted her into the cast of the Grand Ole Opry on June 11, 1988.
A black velvet dress, with floral pleats and velvet sleeves, worn by Loveless in the 1991 music video for “I’m That Kind of Girl.”
The 1987 Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar Loveless used extensively for stage work.
An original handwritten manuscript by songwriter Kostas for “Timber, I’m Falling in Love.” The song became Loveless’ first #1 hit, in 1989.
The Givenchy black jacket and pants Loveless wore when she and Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill performed “Go Rest High on That Mountain” at the funeral service for Country Music Hall of Fame member George Jones at the Grand Ole Opry House, May 2, 2013.
The monogrammed USO jacket Loveless wore during the USO Tour that Randy Travis and Patty Loveless made of United States military bases in Alaska, Japan and South Korea in 1988.
The beaded, floral-print Black Tie Oleg Cassini dress Loveless wore at the CMA Awards in 1998, when she received the Vocal Event of the Year award for her recording of the Jim Lauderdale-penned “You Don’t Seem to Miss Me.” George Jones sang backing vocals on the record and was also honored with the award.
In support of the exhibit’s opening, Loveless will participate in a conversation and acoustic performance in the museum’s CMA Theater on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 2:30 p.m. During the program, she will discuss her career and share stories and memories associated with the artifacts included in Patty Loveless: No Trouble with the Truth. Tickets will be available here on Friday, June 30.
