Country Music Hall of Fame Spotlights Big & Rich

Big & Rich photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville

May 21, 2007 — "Love Everybody: Big & Rich," an exhibit focusing on one of country music's most irreverent and innovative duos, will open on June 6 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The exhibit traces the careers of the duo who met when both were already music industry veterans. They clicked as collaborators and became friends and writing partners, often jamming at each other's shows and those of their friends.

These informal sessions evolved into a weekly Tuesday night gig for a loose aggregation known as the MuzikMafia, whose other members included Cowboy Troy, James Otto and Gretchen Wilson, as well as visual and spoken-word artists. Kenny and John caught the attention of Warner Bros. Nashville, who signed the duo in 2003, and they began recording their good-time blend of country, rock, rap and pop.

While racking up CD sales, John and Kenny have continued to write chart-topping songs for other artists, including Jason Aldean, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Gretchen Wilson. The duo's third CD, Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace, will be released on June 5.

Exhibit highlights include John's custom-made Epiphone Hummingbird guitar, inscribed with a handwritten 30th birthday message from Big Kenny; a pair of John's Wrangler jeans, customized with rhinestone embroidery by his grandmother; Big Kenny's 2000 Guild F-50R guitar with his motto "Love Everybody," seen in the video for "Holy Water" and on tour; and a reproduction of the top hat given to Big Kenny by Niles Harris, the Vietnam veteran who inspired the duo's hit "8th of November."