Music Writer Peter Cooper To Join Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Peter Cooper

A longtime music columnist for The Tennessean, Peter Cooper is set to join the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as museum editor, beginning Nov. 10.

“We’re longtime admirers of Peter’s contributions to The Tennessean and his projects within the Nashville music community.” said Kyle Young, museum director at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “We look forward to adding his expertise, ideas, and wit to our brain trust. He joins a vital intellectual team here that is the soul of the museum and includes Mick Buck, Jay Orr, Dr. John Rumble, Michael McCall and Michael Gray.”

Since joining The Tennessean in 2000, Cooper has chronicled the careers and lives of numerous artists, among them George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Kris Kristofferson and Taylor Swift. His last day for The Tennessean is Nov. 7.

Cooper is also a Grammy-nominated producer and singer-songwriter. He most recently produced (with Thomm Jutz) Mac Wiseman’s Songs from My Mother’s Hand. A senior lecturer at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, Cooper teaches a course on the History of Country Music.

“The staff at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is devoted to preserving and illuminating great music,” Cooper says. “I’m thrilled to join in that mission.”

The Tennessean is planning for Cooper’s replacement, and is in talks for a potential content-sharing partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame.