Country legend Marty Stuart Donates Massive Collection of Personally Collected Memorabilia to the Country Music Hall of Fame
For over 50 years, Marty Stuart has been building an impressive collection of country music memorabilia— so much so that it is considered the world’s largest private collection of country music artifacts.
According to Music Row, his collection includes more than 100 instruments, over 1,000 stage costumes, 50 original song manuscripts, and thousands of other items from some of country music’s greatest icons, including Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, George Jones, and many more. Now, he has donated the entire collection to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.
The Country Music Hall of Fame announced the incredible donation on August 20.
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According to a press release from the CMHOF, the deal was made possible through Stuart’s generosity, with additional support from the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation and Loretta and Jeff Clarke. This ensures that the museum can provide the highest level of artifact care and collection management for Stuart’s collection moving forward.
“We’re incredibly grateful for Marty’s philanthropy—and a lead gift from the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation with major support from Loretta and Jeff Clark—for enabling the museum to safeguard and share this historic collection in perpetuity,” says Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “We’re here to celebrate this remarkable addition to our collection, revel in Marty’s extraordinary foresight and collecting skill, and rejoice in a new chapter for this museum.”
Stuart, who got his big start at just 12 years old when he joined the bluegrass group Lester Flatt playing mandolin and guitar, has not only arranged for his collection to be featured at the CMHOF, but as part of the agreement, he will still be able to keep selected artifacts for his Congress of Country Music in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. In return, the Country Music Hall of Fame will also lend some of their memorabilia to be displayed at Stuart’s museum.
“This is a top of the world moment for me,” Stuart said. “To have my collection live alongside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s is monumental, to be a part of a ceremony and witness the Congress of Country Music and its people formally welcomed into the family of country music is a spiritual high. And, to share such a gathering with family and friends from both Nashville, as well as Mississippi, is just the best. Such a day only comes along, once in a lifetime.”
To celebrate the occasion, the Country Music Hall of Fame held a special ceremony in the museum’s Ford Theater.
The event featured performances by country legends such as Vince Gill and Chris Stapleton, with Marty Stuart himself closing the night with a rendition of “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down.”
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