It is celebrating a 75-year anniversary as of 2000 and received a facelift to its stage this past June. Since the first broadcast in 1925, Nashville has been the center for country music, including recording and publishing. Modern literature has been an important factor to the city. In the 1920s, the so-called Fugitive Poets, associated with Vanderbilt University, gained international attention. This theme persists in the work of a number of distinguished Tennessee writers, of whom Pete Taylor is probably the best known.
Many famous people have legacies connected with Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
Three presidents, a vice president and many historical figures important to the country's history can be traced to this area. Such familiar names as Albert Gore, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, Sam Houston, Sam Davis and Barbara Howard are examples. Even from across other areas of the great state of Tennessee, the list continues with Morgan Freeman, Tina Turner, Dinah Shore, Phil Fulmer, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dolly Parton and many more. Nashville is the capital of Tennessee, drawing upon influences of culture and music from both the eastern and western parts of the state but inevitably remaining unique in its own identity. The city has experienced steady growth over the years and especially over the last decade.