Bachman-Gretsch Guitar Collection Coming to CMHoF

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will debut its largest exhibition of stringed instruments next year, when it explores the history of the guitar with the exhibition American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection.  The collection opens Jan. 15, 2016, and runs through July 2016.

The 75 guitars that will be presented as part of the exhibit will provide a look at the instrument’s evolution from the late 1920s to the early 1980s. The exhibit is also the most comprehensive look at the Bachman-Gretsch Collection ever made available to the public.

The collection was amassed by Canadian guitarist and songwriter Randy Bachman, a key member of rock bands The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bachman acquired more than 300 historic and rare Gretsch guitars in the 1970s and 1980s. His collection was purchased in 2008 by the Gretsch Foundation, the charitable arm of the Gretsch family.

Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection. Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

“The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum are incredible stewards of over two million artifacts in their own collection,” said Gretsch president Fred Gretsch. “When thinking about where to debut this collection, they were the obvious choice to both tell the Gretsch story and showcase these beautiful works of art to the world.”

“This collection of instruments tells a story of American life,” said museum CEO Kyle Young. “From the Great Depression to the social unrest of the 1960s and 1970s, music has always evolved to reflect the important issues of the day, providing a soundtrack to history. Through sound and beauty these guitars reflect that evolution and tell our story.”