Nashville is chock-full of music landmarks, but there are quite a few historic structures that have been lost to time. The elegant Maxwell House Hotel served a breakfast blend that grew into the nationally known coffee brand. Public transportation first arrived in Nashville by way of horse-pulled streetcars in the 1860s. Fort Negley was the largest stone fort built during the Civil War. The Nashville Female Academy once served as the largest school for young ladies in the United States during the nineteenth century. Author Elizabeth Goetsch digs into the archives for some of the Music City's lost structures.

“A riveting, hardscrabble book on the rough, hardscrabble south,” and the fault lines that can divide, test, and heal a family (Pat Conroy). This “powerful . . . Southern novel that stands with genre classics like The Prince of Tides and Bastard Out of Carolina” is driven by the soulful voices of Ezekiel Cooper and his mother, Lillian. Journeying across four decades, it follows Zeke’s evolution from anointed son in a Tennessee working-class family, to honorable sibling to unhinged middle-aged man (Bookpage). After Zeke loses his twin brother in a drowning and his wife to divorce, only ghosts remain in his hometown of Clayton. To escape his pain, Zeke puts his two treasured possessions—a childhood copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and his brother’s old dog—into his truck, and heads east. What he leaves behind are his young daughters and his estranged mother, stricken by guilt over old sins as she embraces the hope that her family isn’t beyond repair. What lies ahead is refuge with his sympathetic cousins in Virginia horse country, a promising romance, and unforeseen new challenges that lead Zeke to a crossroads. Now he must decide the fate of his family—either by clinging to the way life was or moving toward what life might be. With abundant charm, warmth, and authority, Amy Franklin Willis’s “honest prose rises from the heart” in this moving consideration of the ways grief can

A father and son, the open road, and Johnny Cash.Number one bestselling ebook author Neil White has penned an emotional journey through the life and songs of Johnny Cash, as told through the eyes of a fictional English lawyer, James Gray, whose life is a success. Or, at least, he thinks it is.It has something missing though: a bond with his father, Bruce.Bruce Gray is old, tired and estranged from his family. He spends his time drinking and drifting in the small seaside town in England that James once called home.James decides to take Bruce on a road trip, to try to connect with his father through the one thing that has always united them: a love for Johnny Cash and his music. Together, they travel through Johnny Cash's life; where he grew up, the places he sang about - a journey of discovery about Johnny, the South, and each other.Always fascinating, an evocative and emotional personal road trip, Lost In Nashville will captivate you, inform you, and along the way may even break your heart.

Last week, I was stocking groceries in Freedom, Alabama. This week, I live in Nashville, Tennessee, about to take the stage at the famous Bluebird Cafe. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it? Only one problem, I 've got stage fright. But after years of being ruled by fear and hiding from my dream, I confronted my limited reality and left home. Forget the hometown hunk who wants to make me queen of his double-wide. Forget Momma's doubt-inspiring tirade. I can make it in Music City...can't I? In a leap of faith, I gathered my old guitar, my notebook full of songs, and packed up my '69 Chevy pickup. Look out NashVegas! With the help of some new friends, especially handsome Lee Rivers, my dream is about to find the light of day. But as I face my first night at the Bluebird Cafe, I realize...I might just do what comes naturally. Look for the nearest exit, and run!

This collection uncovers the fascinating past of Tennessee’s legendary Music City from true tall tales to larger than life characters and much more. Perched on the banks of the Cumberland River, Nashville is best known for its role in the civil rights movement, world-class education and, of course, country music. In this unique collection of columns written for The Tennessean, journalist and longtime Tennessee native George Zepp illuminates a less familiar side of the city’s history. Here, readers will learn the secrets of Timothy Demonbreun, one of the city's first residents, who lived with his family in a cliff-top cave; Cortelia Clark, the blind bluesman who continued to perform on street corners after winning a Grammy award; and Nashville's own Cinderella story, which involved legendary radio personality Edgar Bergen and his ventriloquist protegee. Based on questions from readers across the nation, these little-known tales abound with Music City mystery and charm.

While known for the twang of its country music, Nashville is also home to a colorful and salacious past. A must-read for Nashville history enthusiasts. The earliest settlers to lay claim to the land surrounding Nashville brought with them betrayal, murder and thievery. As the city grew, authorities unsuccessfully attempted to outlaw and remove vice. During the Civil War, the number of soiled doves in Nashville forced the army to legalize and regulate prostitution. The death of outspoken politician Edward Carmack triggered the state to outlaw booze for nearly thirty years, but that did not stop alcohol from flowing in the city. One local mayor even bragged about his patronage of saloons. Elizabeth Goetsch dives into Nashville's wicked past and explores some of Music City'smore tantalizing history.