Robert K. Oermann, Historian

Robert K. Oermann, dubbed “the dean of Nashville’s entertainment journalists," writes weekly columns for Music Row magazine and has been published in more than 100 other national periodicals.

 

His eight books to date include the award-winning Finding Her Voice and Behind the Grand Ole Opry Curtain. He has penned liner notes for more than 100 albums and boxed-set productions. He has scripted and/or directed television specials and documentaries for CMT, CBS, the BBC, TBS, TNN, and others. He also appears frequently on-camera as a commentator on VH-1, A&E, CMT, and the BBC.

 

Robert was a 2000-2001 consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts. His projects include scripting the 2000 CBS television special celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Opry, penning the liner notes for the Grammy-winning O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack album in 2001, and co-writing the autobiography of 2002 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Brenda Lee. He was a judge on the 2003 USA Network series Nashville Star. In 2004, he wrote the PBS special celebrating the 50th anniversary of George Jones and was the music supervisor and script writer for the United Stations radio series Honest Country, narrated by Willie Nelson.

 

During the remainder of the decade, Robert scripted and hosted PBS pledge specials about Patsy Cline, Chet Atkins and Marty Robbins. He returned to PBS in 2011 as a co-host of Opry Memories. For the Ovation arts cable channel he scripted the mini-series Dolly Parton: Song By Song in 2012-13. His honors include receiving the 2000 President’s Award from the Recording Academy and winning the 1999 and 2001 Nashville Scene Reader’s Poll as Music City’s favorite feature writer. Robert also won a 1996 Nashville Music Award, the 1994 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, and the 1988 CMA Media Achievement Award. He is a 1989 graduate of Leadership Music and a 2003 graduate of Leadership Nashville.