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Mom’s was the original name of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, Tootsie Bess bought Mom’s in 1960. She credits a painter with naming Tootsie’s. She came in one day to find that he had painted her place orchid…thus the name Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. She was a singer / comedienne with “Big Jeff & The Radio Playboys”. Jeff Bess was the bandleader and Tootsie’s husband. She recorded, “My Little Red Wagon” and “Tootsie’s Wall of Fame” Records recorded about Tootsie’s include “The Wettest Shoulders in Town” and “What’s Tootsies Gonna Do When They Tear the Ryman Down?” Charlie Pride gave her the jeweled hatpin that she used to stick unruly patrons. It is rumored that Roger Miller wrote “Dang Me” in Tootsies.
Country Music Hall of Fame
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will honor a Nashville institution, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, with a new photographic exhibition, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge: Thirty-Four Steps and Fifty Years. The exhibit, which opens April 1, will be presented in the Museum’s West Gallery and will run through September 30, 2011.
Nashville Vocal Coach Renee Grant-Williams
John Taylor refers all his singers who may need a little tweaking to Nashville’s top vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams. Renee’s client list includes Miley Cyrus, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Keith Urban and many more. Renee analyzes singers’ strengths and weaknesses then gives them quick solutions so they sing with freedom and emotion.