Route 66 researchers now have additional resources available through the Missouri State University Libraries. The

Live Music Venues and Experiences on Route 66 oral history project, made possible in part by the National Park Service, Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, can be found on the MSU Libraries’ YouTube channel and in Special Collections and Archives. This investigation of musical venues located in Springfield, Missouri, and around Lebanon, Missouri, offers a broad look of the community memory fostered by Route 66.

The overall goal of the project was to identify and research venues offering live musical entertainment and conduct oral histories while providing details and context for this important aspect of Route 66 history and American culture. Research information and transcripts of the oral histories will be available as a Route 66 Research Collection housed in Special Collections and Archives, part of Missouri State University Libraries. Archivist Tracie Gieselman France researched venues and created the Research Collection while coordinating with Associate Director of the Ozarks Folklife Festival, Craig Amason, and Dean of Library Services, Tom Peters, who provided additional research and conducted oral history interviews. Oral histories can be viewed through the Music on Route 66 playlist. These conversations allow us to look back on the regional music scene through the decades, and through the diverse eyes of performers, entrepreneurs, audience members, and directors of historical organizations. Each perspective gives us a look at the memories of Route 66 and a chance to contemplate our own ideas of American culture.

 

The Route 66 Research Collection includes interview transcripts and research conducted on the venues or the individuals but is also supplemented by materials loaned by the individuals. Photographs, recordings, and publicity items were digitized and added to the research collection.

 

We hope the music and entertainment project will aid current and future generations in understanding the importance and impact of these musical entertainment venues and the connection to American culture.

 

Photo captions:

The photograph of selected items from the Research Collection includes stationary from the Nelson Hotel in Lebanon, Missouri; a photograph of Beth Spindler singing at Kentwood Arms, home of the Fox and Hounds Lounge; and an article about Mrs. Spindler.