Melinda Putman & The Pres. Suite OpryLand, Nashville, Tennessee
Channel: Melinda Putman
Date: 2017-03-18

Won the Presidential suite, in Nashville, Tn. for Star Seek Talent Show. Mount Saint Clair College Choir dept helped send me to the Nashville music competition in the first place. So I am grateful to them all and Sister Camilla ( my piano instructor for 18+ years and family friend), who helped mentor me beforehand. 

I forgot I even had this video. Found in a box of my Mother's VHS tapes. Bless her heart. 

Video isn't of great quality. Wish it was....for it was a fantastic occasion.  And many people were there, that are no longer here. I put it on an old tape player and filmed it to upload. 

Here is the story behind it...( and other vids on here that go with it).

 At the time...could not believe I had won this room. 

Had the video worked better, and a better vid all together.. you would have seen the most beautiful hotel room one could ever imagine. 
 
There were five fire places. 
A walk in fridge, so big you could hang a whole cow in it and a huge long business table. 
 A check room(which is basically a small room with one desk to write checks on,lol).. A sauna in the bathroom and phone in every bathroom too lol. 
 A lot of diff rooms. a huge meeting room, dinning room. A cozy bar area. The master suite overlooked the gardens below with a beautiful Shiney Grand piano in the window overlooking the garden Conservatory below. It was so beautiful.
Just beautiful. 
I thank God for giving me the opportunity for this and to have met and made friends with such incredible people. 

The people here in this video, became my good friends. Eventually even bringing them back to Iowa for Thanksgiving with my family. (cept the camera girl, who I had no idea who she was, or who put her up to shooting this, but she was very kind). 

Bringing the camera crew from The Crooked Chase Show/from the Music City Tonight Show back for the holidays, was a joyous occasion. 
They were a part of everything, including filming the Pres. Suite winning and all of my music performances.
Those were some good music days.

None the less... In this faded not well done video is:
My manager DeeDee Martins, Steve & Gina (friends), Steve and a few of his friends were the  Crew from the Music City Tonight's Show, Crooked Chase Show.
 
Other's there including friends who also entered the talent show, plus musician Roger Fox, who introduced me to Levon Helms, who had just played the Music City Tonight's show the previous evening. And played for Pres. Bill Clinton's inauguration a few days prior.
And somehow managed to aquire me the use of John Anderson's keyboards for my winning performance. 

I met so many other beautiful people too. Including: Wyonna Judd, Grandpa from the TV show " HeHaw", Clint Black, John Anderson, Crooked Chase & other's I can not remember all the names. Yet what a once in a lifetime experience. 

Was such a delight to meet and visit Levon Helms and singing with him as he played the harmonica, and smiled as he drove away in  an old beat up beautiful truck, telling me to:  "Never Throw Down" and gave me a Music City Tonight Show cue sheet, with a sweet note from him on it. I have it yet and cherish.

Finding this video warmed my heart. What a time. So grateful for my beautiful Mother for saving it. 

 Memories...for which I am grateful. For none of these beautiful people are alive now. Including Levon.

For those that wonder and do not know... nor understand why I left Nash, after pursuing music there. 
The reason is....
Love brought me back home,. Love, and the needs of my Mother who was having health problems. And to nurture my family. Which were more important, than the desires of my heart in my own music endeavor's. 

It was a grand time... grand people... from one mile to the next And no... I  never threw down my music.
The music is yet in me & continued on. And on this Channel.  I continued to create inspite of my own health issues. 

I have written many compositions since Nashville days, made 2 cd's and remain active in the music world in various ways. And continue to write music.
I am on the board and auxiliary for a Symphony Orchestra. Have played for Veteran's, fundraiser's, holiday events and church and other community events over the years. 
And for my sweet baby dog. Whom is beside me with every song I write and play.  Music is medicinal.
I now write just solo piano music that is meditative.
You can find my music here on this YouTube channel as well as on Spotify, IHeart, iTunes, Dweezer and many more. 

I will be forever grateful for the wonderful opportunity I was given to be in Nashville for a few years, including living right outside of it in Old Hickory for a short  time. It was incredible. And I thank God for having given me the Opportunity to even make it that far in the first place. 

Getting the Presidential Suite in Opryland was a once in a lifetime experience. I cherish the memories and am so very grateful that God blessed me with such an incredible beautiful time of my life. 


.