Fate of Monroe’s Mandolin still uncertain
The Tennessean is reporting this morning on the terms of a settlement between MTSU and the estate of Bob McLean. As we reported in October of 2007, McLean defrauded investors of millions and then generously spread the money around. Some of that money went to MTSU and this settlement ends that dispute.
What is still uncertain though, is what is to become of Bill Monroe’s mandolin and Mother Maybelle’s guitar. Both instruments are currently in the possession of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The museum acquired the instruments using funds donated for that purpose by McLean.
Since his estate has been forced into an involuntary bankruptcy by the investors’ lawsuit, the instruments could be auctioned to put the money back into the estate for purposes of repayment of those debts.
According to The Tennessean article,
The bankruptcy trustee has filed a lawsuit against the Country Music Hall of Fame to retrieve the music industry donations, but that dispute remains unsettled, according to court filings.
It would sure be nice to see those instruments stay with the museum. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens…
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The fate of Bill Monroe's mandolin hangs in the balance. The instrument is currently housed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN. The museum acquired the mandolin when Tennessee business man, Bob McLean, donated an undisclosed amount to the museum for that purpose.
The problem...
Following our recent story about the agreement between the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the Trustees of the Estate of the late Robert W. McLean concerning the ownership of instruments such as Bill Monroe's mandolin and Maybelle Carter's guitar, the HOF has started a $1.1 million fundraising...
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum continues with its fight to keep Bill Monroe's mandolin.
According to a report on WGNS Radio, Murfreesboro, TN, the museum has raised about $680,000 of the $1,100,000 needed to keep several prized instruments on display.
In addition to Monroe's Lloyd Loar...
The unpleasant infighting among the children of Jimmy Martin over his estate, an open secret for years within the bluegrass community, has hit the mainstream media.
The Tennessean, Nashville's hometown newspaper, has published a story on the ongoing legal battle over Martin's reputed $2 million estate,...
The Country Music Hall Of Fame is now the resting place of Bill Monroe's mandolin. Yesterday the Museum held a ceremony in it's own Ford Theater on the 94th anniversary of Monroe's birth. Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder were on hand and Skaggs played the Big Mon's instrument publicly for the first time...
Our own intrepid correspondent, Richard Thompson , spent a week in Nashville, having traveled from the UK to attend the IBMA convention. It was his first trip to IBMA in 20 years, and we thought that his impressions and considerations would be of interest both to others who are likewise in attendance,...
The National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame Museum is soon to undergo an complete makeover, including a relocation and a name change.
Originally founded in 1998 as a museum for the public display of original four-string tenor banjos from the jazz era, the museum will soon expand its focus to include...
We posted some time ago with the news that James Monroe, son of Bill and a bluegrass musician in his own right, was planning to open a bluegrass music park and concert facility in Franklin, KY. The debut event at the new James Monroe Bluegrass Music Hall is scheduled for this week and weekend, April...
The Walk of Stars in Hollywood is now going to have a counterpart in Nashville, a thoroughfare offering a constellation of five-pointed stars honoring the city's achievers "? the singers, musicians, songwriters, producers and executives who've put the music into Music City.
Installation of the...
Starting on Tuesday October 25, The Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum will offer a special programming schedule to coincide with IBMA week in Nashville.
Located at 222 Fifth Ave. S., the Hall Of Fame and Museum is only a short distance from the site of the IBMA convention, and admission to most...
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I would love to hear Monroe’s mandolin sing again with Earl and Don Reno’s old RB-75 “Nellie.”
Charlie Cushman on the banjo and Mike Compton on mandolin. Anybody pay to hear that? Any sales from that could go toward the defrauded investors.
You must