Top 5: American Music History Museums

The United States remains a country many envy and its music influences the world.

The Stax Museum – Memphis, Tenn.

The Stax Museum lived in the shadows of Motown for no reason. From Albert King to the late, great Otis Redding, Stax was a force and its museum is a reminder of songs you and your parents grew up on and an incredibly diverse collection of nostalgia.

Hitsville U.S.A., The Motown Museum © Gepapix | Dreamstime

Motown – Detroit, Mich.

Nothing else needs to be said about Hitsville U.S.A. A must see and Detroit has fantastic Mexican food.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Cleveland, Ohio

Could you skip it? Sure you could. But it’s Rock & Roll and it’s all there for the seeing in a splendid building and underrated city.

National Blues Museum – St. Louis, Mo.

It’s difficult to sing the praises of a museum that only opened April 2, 2016, but that shouldn’t give you the blues. While many would question its location well away from the Mississippi Delta, there is no denying the fact that “The Blues” should have a museum.

American Jazz Museum – Kansas City, Mo.

You’re looking at Charlie Parker’s Grafton saxophone and by all rights walking through a well-stocked museum and functioning music venue that highlights a genre of music that truly belongs to the United States and ears around the world.