Stacy’s Music Row Report- Music Row Report

On September 7, 2001 The Country Music Foundation unceremoniously terminated Ronnie Pugh's employment, citing "organizational restructuring." After 22 years of service as the CMF Hall of Fame's head reference librarian and Special Projects director, Ronnie's reward was, according to Dr. Charles Wolfe, being "given an hour to leave the premises [before being] escorted outside by a security guard!" [In fairness it must be said that, during a conversation with me on August 7, 2004, Ronnie told me Wolfe's account is factually wrong.]

In any event, what follows are expressions of support for Pugh and the Foundation's *Journal of Country Music* editor Chris Dickinson, who was also fired, causing CMF's veteran discographer Bob Pinson to resign in protest. I have only omitted redundant contact information included in some of the letters as originally written- none of the content.) Note that longtime Des Moines booking agent Smokey Smith took the time to write a handwritten letter to retired WSM Grand Ole Opry photographer Les Leverett in an impassioned call for the firing of CMF's Director Kyle Young who instigated the firings. (I will post others as I receive permission from those who are unafraid to risk the repercussions) and the contact information for members of the Country Music Foundation Board who are responsible for the reprehensible treatment of Ronnie.

The following is the text of veteran trade music journalist and author, Edward Morris's letter to Bruce Hinton and Marty Stuart:

We want to add our voices to those of Dr. Charles Wolfe and others who are saddened and fearful over the Country Music Foundation's firing of Ronnie Pugh and Chris Dickinson and its attendant loss of the services of Bob Pinson.

Isn't country music in enough trouble already? At a time when our music is widely being denounced as superficial, must we suffer the added injury of seeing the chief institution that supports it falling vulnerable to the same criticism?

Ronnie Pugh is a treasure. His knowledge of country music and its documentation is so immense that he could not be replaced by a dozen archivists. He is, moreover, a model of courtesy and attentiveness, qualities that are always rare but which are particularly in short supply on the Row these days. Firing him is the moral equivalent of burning Hank Williams masters.

We urge the board to reverse the Foundation's reprehensible, self-mutilating actions. It is bad policy and worse PR. While visitors to the Hall of Fame may not care about Ronnie's departure, those of us who write about and otherwise promote country music for a living care very much. We have been denied a resource, and that loss is going to reverberate for a long time.

I write to you out of deep concern for recent events at the Country Music Hall of Fame involving the summary firing of Ronnie Pugh and Chris Dickinson. I am sure that by this time you, as a member of the Board of Trustees, have seen one or another account of the situation as eloquently spelled out in detail by Charles Wolfe and/or Bob Pinson.

I can add nothing to what they have written beyond including for your information the text of a message that I sent on September 12 to Craig Havighurst, the *Nashville Tennessean* [sic] reporter who broke the story that day:

You wrote a fine, well-balanced story on the firing of Ronnie Pugh and Chris Dickinson (although I do wish you had talked to Chris for a quote or two). But the fact behind the story is simply that, administratively, the new Hall of Fame is a disaster. I have done research there and have otherwise been associated with the place since 1975. It has a long history of losing or firing its best people, but I know of no more asinine move than the firing of Ronnie Pugh, who, with the possible exception of Bob Pinson, knows more about country music than any ten of the people still there, all put together. Chris Dickinson, with whom I have worked on several projects for the Journal, is the finest writer and editor they'll ever have. It's all a severe insult to anyone who genuinely cares about country music and its history.

The Board of Trustees, it seems to me, has a obligation to correct this situation. Until that happens, you may be sure that I will take every opportunity to speak negatively and harshly about the Country Music Foundation and Hall of Fame.

Nolan Porterfield, Author of Jimmie Rodgers: The Life and Times of America’s Blue Yodeler Last Cavalier: The Life and Times of John A. Lomax Host of "Old Scratchy Records" on WKYU, WDCL, WKPB and WKUE>\

Kyle Young has got to go. I repeat, Kyle Young has got to go. He must be fired and escorted out of the building by a security guard, just like Ronnie Pugh was, or the lights will be turned out on the Country Music Hall of Fame just like they have been turned out on the Grand Ole Opry. And any members of the Board of Directors of the Country Music Hall of Fame who share his views and support the actions Kyle Young has taken must be replaced -- repeat, they must be replaced now.

The original goal of the Hall of Fame was to preserve the history of country music, research it, and make it available to the world. This is precisely what Ronnie Pugh and Bob Pinson have been doing, and I will say they have been doing an excellent job of it.

Chris Dickinson was doing a supreme job as Editor of the Journal of Country Music. Ronnie Pugh, Bob Pinson, Chris Dickinson and the others who were fired must, I repeat must be reinstated to their positions at once, including Chris Skinker who preceded them in leaving.

This is an evil thing that Kyle Young has done. The Country Music Hall of Fame can not be sandbagged by the likes of Kyle Young or anyone else. The Country Music Hall of Fame stands tall in the eyes of the country music community worldwide, and the ethics of its operation must also stand tall and true to its purpose for being. Otherwise, interest, attendance, and support from the country music community (people from around the world have come to visit, study and learn about the history of country music) as well as people here in the USA, will fade away just like interest in the Grand Ole Opry is fading away.

Country music fans had something going for them when they could watch "Nashville Now," a program of live country music on TNN. We lost that and it was down to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night on TNN.

Now the Opry is on CMT without Bill Anderson's Back Stage, and with announcers who know nothing about country music, about 15 minutes of the Opry with strange people on it some of the time and 25 commercials. I have many friends who used to watch the Opry on Saturday night and not one of them watches it anymore. The Hall of Fame must not go away like live country music on TV and the Grand Ole Opry has."

Like many others, I am disturbed about the abrupt termination of Ronnie Pugh after his long service. Ronnie is a professional with great knowledge and dedication to our music. If his current work is inconsistent with overall direction surely there are other areas where he can serve effectively. Why throw away such knowledge, experience and dedication?

There are times when the Board can and should exercise the authority vested and correct what appears to be a miscarriage and a loss for the more basic country music that we need to perpetuate.

You are a pro and have done so much for the music and Nashville. I believe you can and should do something about this matter.

Certainly you may post my comments on your report. I appreciate your generous words about Ron; I'm rather proud of him myself. He may be my little brother, but I have always considered him more intellectually mature than I.

Also, I know that he is extremely devoted to country music--especially the "old masters."

All of you in the country music industry have been very kind to Ronnie in your words of support and encouragement. For that, this old retired literature teacher is most pleased... It's interesting to note all the insider material you present to see what impact that may have had on Ron's firing. Thanks again.

I am writing regarding recent, unfortunate, events at the CMF, regarding the firing of Ronnie Pugh, one of a select few scholars of country music and a hard-working, thoroughly decent person who didn't deserve to be escorted out of the CMF after a long and distinguished time there.. For your interest, I am sending a copy of a letter I sent to Kyle Young, and another sent to Marty Stuart.

I would be grateful if you would forward these to anyone who is writing about these events, to let them know that the decisions by the CMF have far-reaching implications. These were written last week; I'm planning on writing more soon, and would appreciate your advice regarding people I could send them to.

I heard, via the internet, of the dismissal of Ronnie Pugh and, apparently, Chris Dickinson, from the Country Music Foundation. I am shocked and dismayed at these actions, and I believe they will have long-term implications for the future respect of country music, both in the USA and internationally.

Country music has a rich heritage and it deserves to be collected, documented, and researched. Over the past three decades, the Country Music Foundation has played the major role in this. It has the finest collection of country music in the world and, until recently, was staffed by knowledgeable people of the calibre of Ronnie Pugh and Bob Pinson, both of whom I would regard as among a handful of the most respected country music experts in the world, alongside others like Charles Wolfe and Ivan Tribe. In particular, Ronnie's academic background enabled him to research and write a highly acclaimed biography of Ernest Tubb. It is precisely this knowledge, academic rigor and obvious enthusiasm for the music that has placed recent country music research on a level with other forms of music (e.g. jazz). Prior to the formation of the CMF, much literature about country music was uncritical, fan-based and generally derided by music authorities. The formation of the CMF and its staffing by experts of the calibre of Ronnie and Bob Pinson paved the way for others to research and write about the music in impeccably documented yet highly readable books and articles. I cannot think of a major country music book that has been written over the past thirty years that didn't use information and advice provided by the CMF.

In addition, hundreds of albums have been enriched by the well documented liner notes provided by Ronnie and others who used the resources of the CMF. It is precisely this academic rigour that has elevated country music research and its academic respectability.

When I asked if I could view the archives of the CMF, Ronnie gave up about an hour of his time to show me through the immense record collection in the CMF. I had previously known of Ronnie through some articles he had written for 'The Journal of Country Music.' I was so taken by his courtesy and, above all, his knowledge of, and obvious love for, country music, and was so impressed with the care with which recordings were kept at the CMF, that I donated several hundred dollars-worth of Australian country music albums to the CMF, through Ronnie and Bob Pinson. I had the distinct feeling that the CMF appreciated these donations because they were treated with more respect than they would have been by an Australian archive.

For the past thirty-five years, I have spent literally tens of thousands of dollars buying country music albums and books. I have spent hundreds of hours reading about the music, as I believe that the history of the music is as important and as interesting as the music itself. Without books such as Ronnie's Ernest Tubb biography and the hundreds of well-researched liner notes he and others have written, my interest in the music would be diminished. I am currently presenting country music on a local FM station, and have received enthusiastic responses from listeners who appreciate the background information to songs and artists that I provide. This would be an impossible task without the research and writings of people like Ronnie Pugh. Last week, for example, I used Ronnie's liner notes to a Kitty Wells album to inform listeners of the background to a song I played.

The sacking of Ronnie Pugh and the apparent shift of focus of the CMF is a retrograde step. The world's finest collection of country music is now not under the curation of anyone with expert knowledge in the field. Future authors and researchers will now no longer be able to rely on the expertise of Ronnie to point them in the right direction, or to offer advice prospective avenues of research utilising the CMF's resources. The stature of the CMF will be seriously diminished, and future research on country music will be severely constrained.

Please, reconsider this retrograde step. Reinstate Ronnie Pugh and Chris Dickinson; by all means encourage research on some of the modern country artists, but not at the expense of collecting, curating, documenting and preserving the rich heritage of country music, from the 1920s onwards. When I visited Nashville in 1982, it was the CMF and Ronnie Pugh that impressed me the most -- ahead of the Opry, Opryland and the other tourist sites of Nashville. I knew that with Ronnie, Bob Pinson and the CMF, country music's heritage was being well looked after and treated with the respect that it deserves.

I am writing to you to express my deep concern over recent events at the Country Music Foundation, in the hope that you can help to persuade the CMF management to re-employ Mr Ronnie Pugh, or at least to refocus it towards knowledgeable and authoritative country-music research.

I recently learned, via the internet, that Ronnie Pugh, the well-respected country-music authority and author of a highly acclaimed biography of Ernest Tubb, was sacked from the CMF, given one hour to leave the building, and was then escorted out by a security guard. According to country-music authority Dr Charles Wolfe, there is now no one with knowledge of the history of country music employed by the CMF, and essentially, the Hall of Fame is sitting on the world's finest archive of country music, and not properly curating it. Given the unstinting praise of many in the industry towards the scholarship and academic background of Ronnie Pugh and Bob Pinson, who I understand left the CMF some time ago, but works part-time to assist Ronnie, this is an alarming situation, and one that may have repercussions on the standing of country music as a respected art form.

On a personal level, I met Ronnie Pugh when I visited Nashville in 1982. As a long-time collector of country music, from the 1920s to the present, I was overwhelmed by the quality of the exhibits in the CMF. When I asked if I could view the archives of the CMF, Ronnie gave up about an hour of his time to show me through the immense record collection in the CMF. I had previously known of Ronnie through some articles he had written for 'The Journal of Country Music'. I was so taken by his courtesy and, above all, his knowledge of, and obvious love for, country music, and was so impressed with the care with which recordings were kept at the CMF, that I donated several hundred dollars-worth of Australian country music albums to the CMF, through Ronnie and Bob Pinson. I had the distinct feeling that the CMF appreciated these donations because they were treated with more respect than they would have been by an Australian archive.

In subsequent years, I received invaluable help from Ronnie and Bob Pinson in my research of the career of Tex Morton, an Australian country singer who was in the USA from 1950 to 1959. (An article based on this research was published in 'The Journal of Country Music' in 1990.) I cannot thank Bob Pinson enough for the effort he put in to check out leads for me, and Ronnie was always helpful in this respect, too. In later years, Ronnie assisted me to obtain a rare book on Hank Williams. His knowledge of all aspects of country music placed him, in my opinion, in the higher echelons of a select few country music authorities, alongside Bob Pinson, Charles Wolfe, Ivan Tribe, and a Small number of others.

For the past thirty-five years, I have spent literally tens of thousands of dollars buying country music albums and books. I have spent hundreds of hours reading about the music, as I believe that the history of the music is as important and as interesting as the music itself. Without books such as Ronnie's Ernest Tubb biography and the hundreds of well-researched liner notes he and others have written, my interest in the music would be diminished. I am currently presenting country music on a local FM station, and have received enthusiastic responses from listeners who appreciate the background information to songs and artists that I provide. This would be an impossible task without the research and writings of people like Ronnie Pugh. Last week, for example, I used Ronnie's liner notes to a CMF-produced Kitty Wells album to inform listeners of the background to a song I played.

On a wider note, I believe that the downgrading of the CMF could have serious repercussions on country music in general. Prior to the establishment of the CMF, much of the contemporary literature on country music was very much uncritical and 'fan'-based. The formation of the CMF and, importantly, its staffing with knowledgeable authorities such as Bob Pinson and Ronnie Pugh, provided researchers with a solid foundation of country music knowledge. In the past twenty years, country music scholarship has advanced considerably, thanks to the CMF and its staff in assisting writers and researchers. That a great deal of country music research is now regarded as being 'academically respectable' owes much to the focus of the CMF and to the quality of its staff. In addition, I believe that Ronnie constantly provided information to members of the general public who had queries regarding all aspects of country music.

Many of the greats of country music have a knowledge and appreciation of country music's history. Merle Haggard, for example, is a Bob Wills fanatic; Willie Nelson did much to reintroduce artists of the 1950s (e.g. Hank Snow, Ray Price) to new audiences; Johnny Cash featured Mother Maybelle Carter and Carter Family songs in his live shows. As one who has followed your career with interest since you first played mandolin for Lester Flatt, through your time in Johnny Cash's band, to your solo albums, I have always placed you in the same category of knowledgeable artists with an appreciation for and love of earlier types of country music. I was interested to note that much of the material shown in the liner notes to a recent Hank Williams boxed set were from your collection, and I know Bluegrass enthusiasts are indebted to your bringing Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs together shortly before Lester died. It's because of your obvious respect for country music history and scholarship, combined with your undoubted stature as a country music artist and your current position as honorary chairman of the CMF, that I'm appealing to you to consider carefully the long-term implications of recent decisions affecting the CMF.

Please, let the CMF management know that sacking Ronnie Pugh and refocusing the CMF solely to modern, 'glitzy' country music is a retrograde step, and undermines decades of highly respected research. Please, let the CMF management know that people in other parts of the world are upset and dismayed at recent actions. Please, let the CMF know that in a country that values its history seriously, refocusing the CMF and sacking Ronnie Pugh is a retrograde step.

If you decide to act on these matters, please accept my best wishes and sincere thanks.

PS I spoke to you briefly after a Johnny Cash show in Hobart, Tasmania, and thanked you for reuniting Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.

And here is Kyle Young's CYA response to all, fashioned as a personal response to Charles Wolfe (note the CCing to Bud Wendell and to Marty Stuart):

I share your respect and appreciation for Ronnie Pugh and Chris Dickinson, two sticklers for the facts who each made important contributions here and who are deeply appreciated.

Your concern for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's historic mission is also appreciated. I assure you that our mission has not changed. In fact, at the regularly scheduled third quarter board meeting of our Board of Officers and Trustees on Thursday, September 13, a new draft of our mission statement, amended to be even more specific, was distributed for comment, review, and possible Board action. If anything, our mission may be expanded. The Board is also looking at a vision statement, something we haven't had before now.

Also, the country music discography authored by Tony Russell and edited by Bob Pinson (tentatively titled The Complete Country Music Discography: 1922-1942), will be delivered to Oxford University Press for publication in 2002. The Journal of Country Music, which has always occupied a unique position here, will continue to be published. A special issue devoted to Texas music is now in production and complements our first limited engagement exhibit, Nashville Salutes Texas: Country From the Lone Star State.

As you have noted, Bob Pinson had been easing into retirement now for a number of years. Ronnie Pugh, who most recently served as an associate researcher in the special projects division, had not been a part of the library staff for two years.

The Library and Media Center staff includes Lauren Bufferd, library director; Denny Adcock, photo curator; Dawn Oberg, reference librarian; Becky Miley, associate librarian; and Alan Stoker, curator of audio and visual collections. Museum curators include Mark Medley and Dan Cooper. Museum Services includes Diana Johnson, Paul Kingsbury, Brian Hedges, and historian, John Rumble. Our collection is in excellent hands.

Our goal is to make the collection accessible to the largest number of users possible. In this new age, it is possible to do that in ways that were unimaginable when the museum opened 34 years ago. Research, interpretation, and analysis by knowledgeable historians and scholars such as yourself are the cornerstone of our mission. We are absolutely committed to our historic reissue record label and to the continued publication of fine works such as Good Natured Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry.

I am glad to see support for Ronnie and Chris and join you in wishing them both well. I am also glad to talk with you at any time about the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's mission and focus. It's a complicated place and we need the understanding of all of our constituents. You may also contact our Board Chairman, Bud Wendell, at 4215 Harding Road, PH-6, Nashville, TN 37205, or our President, Marty Stuart, at M.S. Tours, 119 17th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203.

LETTERS IN SUPPORT OF RONNIE PUGH

EDWARD MORRIS

NOLAN PORTERFIELD

SMOKEY SMITH

DON PIERCE (Co-Founder of Starday Records and of the Music City Pro Celebrity Golf Tournament, Pierce is presently Chairman of Cages Bend Developers, Inc. )

MIKE PUGH (Ronnie's brother)

ANDREW SMITH

CMF TRUSTEES as of December 1, 2001