Knoxville's WNOX-Radio: The Cradle of Country Music | Brown Bag Lecture with Bradley Reeves

WNOX began broadcasting in 1922 as the eighth radio station in the nation. Old time, gospel, blues, jazz, and other styles performed by local talent filled the station’s airtime and showcased Knoxville as a melting pot of musical culture. Bradley Reeves, archivist at the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound, will share rare film clips, including classic country music performances by Chet Atkins, Roy Acuff, and Carl Smith, amateur home movies shot on the set of the Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round, and vintage audio recordings of long-lost WNOX radio programs from the 1940s.

The Brown Bag lecture is sponsored by Harriet Z. Albers Memorial and the lecture and corresponding activities are free and open to the public. The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824.