A musical history road trip through the South

When Scottish and Irish emigrants settled in Appalachia, they brought with them songs from their homelands, creating the style that became known as bluegrass. But music isn’t the only thing they brought to the U.S.—in the mountains, music and moonshine have always gone hand in hand. Grandaddy Mimm's Distilling Company in Blairsville, Georgia, is owned by Tommy Townsend, a musician who has played with Waylon Jennings and often plays concerts at the distillery. You'll find music all over Blairsville and the North Georgia Mountains, including “Mountain Music” at the old courthouse on Friday nights.

You can’t live on music alone, but luckily Nashville’s NashHouse Southern Spoon and Saloon perfectly combines both music and food. Eat classic Southern foods such as cornmeal catfish, fried green tomatoes, deviled eggs, and Nashville hot chicken, while listening to live music amid images of country stars Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton.

Memphis may be the home of the Blues, but Sun Studio (founded by Sam Phillips in 1950) is the “Birthplace of Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Phillips recorded R&B singers Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King, and, in 1951, what he claimed to be the first rock ‘n’ roll record, "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm). In 1953, a teenage Elvis Presley stopped in to record a record for his mother's birthday—Phillips released Presley’s first single "That's All Right, Mama," and the music world was never the same. Visit the sound room and see equipment used by Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and others.

FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is where soul and rock music collided. The Muscle Shoals Sound began when Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill, and Tom Stafford joined together to form a music recording studio. Hall split from the others in 1960, keeping the name Florence Alabama Music Enterprises (which he shortened to FAME). The studio’s first hit record was Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On" in 1961, and Hall recorded Black musicians Etta James, Wilson Pickett, and Aretha Franklin, who credits Hall for his role in helping make her the "Queen of Soul."

He later recorded country singers Pam Tillis, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Shenandoah, Billy Ray Cyrus, Alabama, and Jerry Reed. In the ‘60s, Duane Allman was homeless and camping in the FAME parking lot—in 2016,The Allman Brothers Band album, "Southern Blood" was recorded at the studio and released after Gregg Allman's death in 2017.

The Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, is a dive into the life of one of the most influential musicians of southern music. Hank Williams inspired everyone from Elvis Presley to The Beatles, with Ray Charles, Brenda Lee, and Bruce Springsteen covering his songs. Williams is an inductee in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and his Montgomery museum contains a comprehensive collection of Williams’ possessions and artifacts including the blue Cadillac in which he died on New Year's Day in 1953 at the age of 29.