Many people dismissed the creation of Macon’s new Georgia Music Hall of Fame as simply another symptom of the state’s desperate urge to create tourist attractions to complement Atlanta’s hosting of the Olympic Games in the summer of 1996. While Olympic enthusiasm was clearly a key to raising $6.5 million in seed money from the state, the end result is one of the most engaging and enjoyable music museums in the entire country: 12,000 square feet of guitars, amps, albums, posters, costumes, jukeboxes, sunglasses, and blue suede shoes, with just enough curatorial explanation to let you piece together the whole crazy story of Georgia music. The displays are anything but dry, using all manner of artifacts to memorialize their subjects. Best of all, the Hall of Fame is free from the “music industry” bias that says sales equals success—not all of the artists honored here were by any means world-famous or commercial superstars.
Macon may not have the legendary status in music circles as say, Memphis or Detroit, but its claim to fame goes beyond its location at the center of the state. The city’s music scene had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, when it gave birth to such diverse artists as Ray Charles, Little Richard, Otis Redding, and the Allman Brothers, all of whom are enshrined here. Display cases are packed with instruments and memorabilia donated in many cases by the artists themselves, which lends an air of personality to the place that’s missing from many other museums.
Besides telling the musical life and times of Georgia musicians, the museum does an admirable job of evoking the social, racial, and economic contexts in which the different forms of music were created. It also gives overdue credit to the many people working behind the scenes, casting the spotlight on songwriters, producers, and engineers, not to mention diverse promoters, hucksters, and hangers-on. Documenting the contributions of everyone from Ma Rainey to the B-52s, and genres from jazz to rap, the museum makes a strong case for Georgia being the true musical crossroads of America.
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame is located at the center of downtown Macon, across from the visitor centers at 5th and Mulberry Streets. It is open Monday–Saturday 9 am–5 pm, Sunday 1–5 pm, and admission is $8. For further information, call 478/750-8555 or 888/GA-ROCKS.
