Preserving Traditional Country Music History
Country Music Hall of Fame Works to Keep Historic Music Instruments
Jan 29, 2009
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville has undertaken a $1.1 million fundraising campaign dubbed The Precious Jewel Fund, which was designed to help the institution's leadership reduce costs that it unexpectedly incurred after a bankrupt philanthropist committed suicide.
Four historic music instruments that once belonged to the late Mother Maybelle Carter--who is credited with helping turn the guitar into a lead instrument within the genre--as well as Bill Monroe, known as the father of bluegrass music, and the iconic Johnny Cash were donated to the nonprofit museum in 2004 and 2005, by Tennessee native Robert McLean, a one-time stockbroker and country music fan.
Involuntary Bankruptcy, Mounting Debt and Lawsuits Lead to Donor's Suicide
Unfortunately, McLean, 59, was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in 2007 after he was accused of operating a “Ponzi scheme” that defrauded investors of more than $67 million over a period of years. Subsequently, on Sept. 25, 2007, the day before McLean was scheduled to appear in court for allegedly cheating investors out of $20 million, he committed suicide.
At the time McLean donated two of the culturally priceless instruments to the Country Hall of Fame, bluegrass pioneer Monroe's renovated 1923 Gibson F-5 mandolin and Mother Maybelle's 1928 Gibson L-5 guitar had been on the market for $1.125 million and $575,000, respectively.
Nonetheless, with McLean no longer able to make good on his financial debuts, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was placed in the position to either turn the items over for liquidation as part of McLean's estate or negotiate a settlement that enabled the history-filled treasures--all of which are considered integral to the creativity and cultural legacies of the late Carter, Cash and Monroe--to remain housed in the museum.
According to a Jan. 26, 2009, statement from the museum, since McLean’s involuntary bankruptcy and his death in 2007, the institution had continued to honor all the terms of the purchase agreements that McLean had pledged to fund. In spite of this, though, the appointed trustee for McLean's bankruptcy estate initially sought to recover some $l.54 million from the museum---a figure that represented McLean’s total cash payments to the museum; plus, the value of the two Cash guitars, his Martin D-35 acoustic guitar and his Martin prototype guitar.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Fights to Preserve Treasured Artifacts
Because the hall of fame did not have the million-plus to provide in exchange for the donated instruments, the trustee then requested that the court order the surrender of the instruments so they could be sold to satisfy the claims of McLean’s creditors.
Regarding the request to return the instruments, Kyle Young, museum director, said, “We did not have the money and, because we hold the instruments, like all of our collection, not for ourselves but in trust for the benefit of the public, we could not merely turn them over to the trustee.”
Created in 1961, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's collection is considered the largest and finest of its kind in the world, but its items do not appear on the institution’s balance sheet and cannot be used as collateral, Kyle noted.
Ricky Skaggs Helps Keep Traditional Country Music Pioneeers' Instruments with Museum
Earlier this month and after a year-plus of lengthy negotiations, however, a settlement with the Robert W. McLean estate was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Under the compromise agreement, the Country Music Hall of Fame must pay McLean's estate $750,000 by Feb. 22, 2009. Thus, the museum's new Precious Jewel Fund was created for both private and public donations to the country music-related cause.
Following the announcement that an agreement had been reached, country-bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs, who was mentored by the late Monroe, remarked, "Like their lifelong partners, these beloved instruments can now rest in peace. This outcome means that we, the public, remain the owners of these treasures, and it reminds us that we are fortunate to have them protected and accessible under the stewardship of one of the finest museums in the country."
Bluegrass Music Star Asks Country Fans to Lend a Quarter
Skaggs also has volunteered to serve as the lead fundraiser between the museum and country music fans. In this labor of love role, the Kentucky-born musician is asking country lovers to donate to the fund in increments of 25, since Monroe was known to pass out quarters among audience members at his shows.
“This is an equal-opportunity challenge to the greatest fans in the world,” he has said. “Twenty–five cents is as significant as a gift of $25,000. The important thing is that we all stand up and be counted."
For more information about The Precious Jewel Fund, including how to make tax-deductible donations, please access the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum site online at www.countrymusichalloffame.com.
Sources
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Launches $1.1 Million Fundraising Campaign with Leadership Gifts from Scott Siman and the Academy of Country Music, press release, Jan. 26, 2009.
Personal e-mail communication, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Jan. 26, 2009.
Willard, Michelle. Robert McLean's body found at Shelbyville Church, The Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Post, Sept. 25, 2007, online edition. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2009, at www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php.
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