Carousel of Time looks at Red Grooms' Tennessee Fox Trot Carousel which started spinning in Nashville's Riverfront Park in November of 1998. Instead of ordinary merry-go-round characters, this popular attraction features 36 figures from Tennessee history. From President Andrew Jackson to the Everly Brothers to the Goo-Goo Boy, these caricatures represent many periods as well as many social and cultural facets of Tennessee life.
Red Grooms
Red Grooms, an internationally renowned artist, created a whimsical ride through Nashville's history and paid homage to his hometown at the same time. Red Grooms was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. He attended the Burton School and Hillsboro High School before heading off to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and eventually to New York, where he settled. His sculptural tableaux, paintings, and three-dimensional models have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide and are in numerous public collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, among others.
Lulu Naff (1875-1960)
Lulu Clay Naff managed the Ryman Auditorium for over 50 years, turning what started as a church into one of the top entertainment venues of the South.
William Strickland (1788-1854)
Strickland was born in Navesink, New Jersey and moved to Philadelphia with his family, where at the age of 14 he became an apprentice to the renowned architect Benjamin Latrobe.
Chet Atkins (1924 - 2001)
Legendary guitarist and Music Row industry leader, Chet Atkins was the most recorded solo instrumentalist in music history and helped shape the sound of country music and rock-n-ro
Everly Brothers: Don (1937 - ), Phil (1939 - 2014)
The Everly Brothers have been called one of the most influential duos in the history of recorded music. Don and Phil Everly were raised in a family of folk and country performers.
Goo-Goo Boy
The Goo-Goo cluster was America's first combination candy bar, made of caramel, marshmallow, fresh roasted peanuts and milk chocolate.
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)
Andrew Jackson was the 7th President of the United States, a distinguished statesman, and a hero of the War of 1812.
Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994)
A Clarksville native, Wilma Rudolph overcame childhood polio to become an Olympian at the age of 16. She won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics.
Mr. Fox Trot
Artist Red Grooms named the carousel and one of its characters, Mr. Fox Trot, for the ballroom dance made popular in the 1940's and for the slow, mixed gait of a horse.
Uncle Dave Macon (1870-1951)
Uncle Dave Macon was nearly 50 years old when his unique banjo style, vast repertoire of songs, and comedic flare led to performances across the country.
Dr. R.H. Boyd (1843-1922)
Dr. Richard Henry Boyd, born a slave in Mississippi, attended Bishops College in Texas where he trained for the ministry.
