- Roots of American Music Trail -
Whether traveling north or south on the Natchez Trace Parkway, the centuries-old byway offers a view of a former frontier and a melting pot of culture whose people created virtually every form of American folk and popular music.

The 445-mile Trace, which winds northeast from the Mississippi River town of Natchez to Nashville, TN, traverses a region of the United States that is rich not only in scenic beauty, but musical and cultural diversity.

Linking the Mississippi River with its great port at New Orleans to the Tennessee Valley and Cumberland interior, the Natchez Trace and the cities and towns that sprang up along it became the birthplaces of America's music. Blues, jazz, country, gospel, rhythm and blues, soul and rock and roll all had their beginnings here.

The blues is associated with the Mississippi Delta just north of Natchez. The father of the blues, William Christopher Handy, was born in Florence, AL, just a few miles east of the Natchez Trace. His revolutionary songwriting and arranging exposed the blues to the world through early recordings in the 1920s. Handy moved from Florence to Memphis, TN, as a young man.

About the same time, just north of Nashville in the border town of Bristol, VA, the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers recorded what is now considered the beginnings of country music. Through the radio broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, country became the preferred music of many rural Americans.

Blues musicians began migrating northward with other African Americans beginning in the 1930s. Many stopped in Memphis where recording studios captured their performances. Among those recording the raw sounds of the blues was Florence, AL native Sam Phillips, who became known as the father of rock and roll when he recorded Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and others.

Nashville also became a recording center, where ambitious young musicians like Buddy Killen and Billy Sherrill, also from Florence, became influential producers, songwriters and publishers.

Gospel music, both by African Americans and European Americans, flourished in the Natchez Trace region. Lawrenceburg, TN, is the birthplace of Southern quartets, while Jackson, MS, became known as a recording center for black gospel. Jackson-based Malaco Records, started in the 1960s by Tuscumbia, AL, native Tommy Couch, is still active in popular and secular recording.

At the beginning of the 1960s, recording studios opened throughout the region. Muscle Shoals, AL, a few miles east of the Trace, is world-renowned for its studios, including FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound, where artists like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Clarence Carter recorded chart-topping hits. Memphis was also part of the soul boom of the 1960s, where Stax Records released hits by Otis Redding and others. Most of these studios are still active and may be toured. The people of the region have recognized the importance of their contributions to popular music and have created museums to highlight their achievements. The Alabama Music Hall of Fame is located in Tuscumbia, and the Country Music Hall of Fame is located in Nashville. The Memphis Rock and Soul Museum features that city's long history of music. In the Mississippi Delta, travelers will find a growing number of shrines to the blues. In Jackson, TN, a few miles west of the Trace, efforts are under way to create a rockabilly hall of fame.

During the summer months, many cities along and near the Natchez Trace host festivals celebrating their music. Florence hosts the W. C. Handy Music Festival. Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham, AL, and Huntsville, AL, host music festivals as well. Delta music events are becoming more frequent, and New Orleans hosts an annual music festival celebrating its jazz heritage

The Natchez Trace, which is a scenic parkway operated by the National Park Service, provides an avenue to explore the region’s music heritage.