History Corner

Nashville Nicknames

BY RIDLEY WILLS II

In 1873, the original group of Fisk Jubilee singers made their first trip abroad where they sang in England, Scotland, Wales and on the continent. They sang before, and were received by Queen Victoria and members of Parliament. On this occasion, they sang “Go Down Moses” and, as a grace before a luncheon given by Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone for the Prince and Princess of Wales, they chanted the Lord’s Prayer. Nowhere have I read that Queen Victoria said that the singers must be from a music city. The first time I heard this was on WPLN on Sunday afternoon Feb. 5, 2023 when the announcer said that Queen Victoria coined the phrase “Music City.” I wonder if she did.

Nashville’s nickname in the 1870s and for many decades before and after that was “The Rock City,” so named because Nashville is built on limestone rock.

In 1861, many young Nashvillians enlisted in the First Tennessee Infantry, Company A, which was known as “The Rock City Guards.” As recently as the 1940s, Russell Brothers owned Rock City Ice Cream Company in Nashville. When I was a staff manager for the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, working at our East Nashville office in 1960, one of my agents had a debit in “Rock City,” a neighborhood where I occasionally collected insurance.

An even older nickname for Nashville is thought to have been coined by Dr. Philip Lindsley, who arrived in Nashville in December of 1824 to assume the presidency of Cumberland College. He is thought to have originated the phrase “Nashville, Athens of the South.” Probably his intent was to publicize his college, which soon was renamed the University of Nashville.

In 1950, David Cobb, one of WSM’s signature announcers, coined a phrase that helped define Nashville’s new identity as a center of country music. Early that year, “Cobb was billboarding the Red Foley Show, a sustaining half hour feed to NCB in the mornings with Owen Bradley, the Jordanaires and guitar wonder Grady Martin. Cobb’s role was to set up the show at the top of the half hour before handing over emcee duties to Foley. One morning, Cobb told the CMF’s John Rumble, ‘for no good reason, I changed my introduction a bit. I don’t know where it came from: From Music City USA, Nashville, Tennessee, the National Broadcasting company brings you the Red Foley Show.’ After the show, Cobb was called into his boss, Jack Stapp’s office. There, Stapp excitedly said to him, ‘Where did you ever get that idea? That’s the greatest thing I ever heard.’”

Stapp encouraged Cobb to keep using “Music City” on the air. He did and “Music City, USA, Nashville” is still our city’s nickname.