Vince Gill Donates Roy Acuff’s Fiddle to the Country Music Museum

A Historical Instrument

Vince Gill has donated Roy Acuff’s prized fiddle to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the item has been added to their permanent collection. Acuff cherished his fiddle and he always had it with him.

Gill acquired the fiddle this year after purchasing it from the granddaughter of Bashful Brother Oswald, a member of Acuff’s Smokey Mountain Boys.

“It felt important to me that the great Roy Acuff’s fiddle join the ranks of other revered instruments in the museum’s permanent collection—including Maybelle Carter’s 1928 Gibson L-5 guitar and Bill Monroe’s 1923 Gibson F-5 mandolin,” Gill said in a statement. “The fiddle was given to Acuff by soldiers during a time of war because of how much he meant to them. He meant a lot to me, too.”

“The great thing about instruments is the stories they tell,” Gill explained in a new video. “They’re going to outlive us all. If you take care of an instrument it’ll last longer than we will.”

The fiddle is currently on display in a spotlight exhibit in the upper-level galleries.

Acuff was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1962 and he was the first living member. He passed away in 1992.