Knoxville in Knox County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Tennessee Ernie Ford

WROL Studios

— Cradle of Country Music Tour —

Tennessee Ernie Ford Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Joel Seewald, May 30, 2018

1. Tennessee Ernie Ford Marker

Inscription. While hosting the WROL studios in the late 1940s and 1950s, this building served as the center of a new movement in country music - bluegrass. The legendary duo Flatt and Scruggs used WROL as their home base for radio performances and touring. The Osborne Brothers, Cope Brothers, and other bluegrass pioneers performed regularly at WROL.

On December 7, 1941, a disc jockey from Bristol, Tennessee, working here at the studios of WROL, was among the first to bring the news of the Pearl Harbor bombing to East Tennessee. The disk jockey, Ernest Jennings Ford, would become one of the most successful country and pop music stars of all time while performing under the name “Tennessee” Ernie Ford. (Marker Number 8.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • War, World II. A significant historical date for this entry is December 7, 1941.

Location. 35° 57.863′ N, 83° 55.074′ W. Marker is in Knoxville, Tennessee, in Knox County. It is at the intersection of South Gay Street and Clinch Avenue, on the right when traveling south on South Gay Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this

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postal address: 531 South Gay Street, Knoxville TN 37902, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Charles Christopher Krutch (here, next to this marker); Gay Street (a few steps from this marker); Creation of the Southeastern Conference (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of John H. Crozier Home (within shouting distance of this marker); Millstone from mill owned by William and Sarah Bowman (within shouting distance of this marker); Gay Street and the Civil Rights Movement (within shouting distance of this marker); Gen. John Sevier, 1745-1815 (within shouting distance

Photographed by Joel Seewald, May 30, 2018

2. Tennessee Ernie Ford Marker

of this marker); Site of Blount College (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Knoxville.

Also see . . .
1. Tennessee Ernie Ford. (Submitted on June 8, 2018, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)
2. Rediscovering a Bristol Icon. (Submitted on June 8, 2018, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)

Photographed by J. Makali Bruton, July 4, 2021

3. Tennessee Ernie Ford Marker

The marker is at the near corner of the building seen in this view.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 25, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 8, 2018, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 554 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 8, 2018, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. 3. submitted on July 25, 2021, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia.