| A few of the concerts at the bandshell included: |
| 1937-1968 Summer Sunday Concerts: 1961: Jim Reeves & The Nashville Symphony Orchestra 1968-1970 WMAK Music Festivals: Grand Funk Railroad , Tony Joe White , B.J. Thomas The Box Tops & many others. 1970: Roy Orbison & "Steel Mill" with an unknown Bruce Springsteen. 1986 Tennessee Homecoming '86 Concert: with Pat Boone 1998 The Dixie Chicks: at The Bandshell |
| The Centennial Park Bandshell |
| Some of the early concerts in Nashville took place at Centennial Park |
| 1998: The Dixie Chicks Live at the Bandshell See our pictures of the Dixie Chicks at Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville |
| 1986: Pat Boone returns to the Bandshell TENNESSEE HOMECOMING '86 (above: page & text from concert program) |
| The Unforgettable Jim Reeves Live CD with songs that he recorded with The Nashville Symphony Orchestra at Centennial Park on August 16, 1961 |
| Pat Boone was born in 1934, and grew up in Nashville. He sold more records than any other artist except Elvis Presley in the 1950's. From 1955 to date (1986), only six artists (Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Elton John & James Brown) are ranked above him in total single sales and their relative chart positions. He had a total of 60 hits |
| Jim Reeves only performance with an orchestra. He was an international star, known all over the world. Jim Reeves died in a plane that he was piloting near Nashville on July 31, 1964 |
| For 32 years the sound of music filled Centennial Park on summer Sunday afternoons. On July 25, 1937, electric organist Leon Cole stepped out on Centennial Parks's bandshell stage and introduced himself to a handful of Nashvillians who were scattered on the lawn. It was Cole's idea to offer the city a free outdoor summer concert. The idea worked and concert attendance grew in the following weeks. At Cole's request the Tennessean's new publisher, Silliman Evans Sr., agreed that his paper would sponser the event. In those early years, the concerts featured mostly community singers and amatuer musicians, but they sometimes shaded the stage with better-known performers. Following World War II, the park concerts began attracting well-known stars as Nashville became a major recording center. Nashville jeweler Fred Waller became the master of ceremonies. He was succeeded by Tennessean staff columnists Bill Maples and Elmer Hinton. The featured performers read, like a Who's Who of popular and country music. The entertainers included: Minnie Pearl, Roger Miller, Tex Ritter, Chet Adkins, Brenda Lee, The Jordanaires, The Everly Brothers, Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Ray Stevens, Eddy Arnold, Ernest Tubb, Marty Robbins, Boots Randolph and many others. Dozens of talented young artists got their start at the park's bandshell and went on to various degrees of success in show business. The most successful of the young amateurs was Pat Boone. Both Pat and his wife, the former Miss Shirley Foley (daughter of country star Red Foley), were named "Discoveries of the Week" in the early 1950's. In those years Pat's voice was heard by thousands of concert goers. Today he is back to sing and relive the old fashioned family entertainment that took place from 1937 through 1968 at Centennial Park. |
| PARK CONCERT HISTORY |
The Bandshell
March 7, 2004
1961
| Park pictures by Pat Adams |
1986
| The Parthenon at Nashville Tennessee's Centennial Park The first of Pat Adams from TennesseeConcerts videos featuring Nashville Tennessee history and music related sites thoughout Music City USA. More Coming Soon! |
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| TENNESSEE CONCERTS SEARCH ENGINE Search this website Website by Pat Adams. pat@tennesseeconcerts.com |
Parthenon
Centennial Park
Nashville Tennessee
Hi, we at the Parthenon in
Nashville Tennessee.
Nashville's monicker the
"Athens Of The South"
influenced the choice of the
building as the centerpiece
of the 1897 Tennessee
Centennial Exposition Fair.
Originally built of plaster,
wood and brick, it was rebuilt
in the 1920's on the same
foundation, but with conrcete.
The Parthenon in Nashville
Tennessee is a full scale
replica of the original
Greek Parthenon.
For TennesseeConcerts,
This is Pat Adams
Centennial Park
Nashville Tennessee
Hi, we at the Parthenon in
Nashville Tennessee.
Nashville's monicker the
"Athens Of The South"
influenced the choice of the
building as the centerpiece
of the 1897 Tennessee
Centennial Exposition Fair.
Originally built of plaster,
wood and brick, it was rebuilt
in the 1920's on the same
foundation, but with conrcete.
The Parthenon in Nashville
Tennessee is a full scale
replica of the original
Greek Parthenon.
For TennesseeConcerts,
This is Pat Adams
| Lake Watauga at Centennial Park in Nashville Tennessee. From the video series "See Nashville" by Pat Adams at TennesseeConcerts.com |
| Lake Watauga Centennial Park Nashville Tennessee Hi, we are at Lake Watauga at Centennial Park in Nashville Tennessee. This is a small artificial lake, named after a region in North Carolina where many of Nashville's early settlers moved from. It is just across from the Parthenon in Centennial Park. For TennesseeConcerts.com this is Pat Aaams |