The Nashville Public Library has unveiled an oral history of Music Row featuring the executives and industry insiders who know the iconic thoroughfare best.

Why it matters: Music Row may be the most commercially and culturally significant stretch of music industry history in the entire country.

Driving the news: The stories behind Music Row's recording studios, publishing houses and record label offices are in danger of being lost over time.

• Music Row is a shadow of its former self in part because some of its anchor tenants, including large record labels, have set up shop in other parts of town.
• The Row still has character and plenty of major music companies headquartered there, though it's not always immediately apparent to passersby.

Case in point: From the sidewalk, RCA Studio A has the architectural charisma of an old mop.

• The building is a sort of brownish-tan color with bland doors that look like the side entrance to your old high school.

Yes, but: The magic of Studio A isn't in its bricks and mortar. It's a marvel because Dolly Parton recorded there. Country music icons like Willie Nelson, George Jones and Waylon Jennings also recorded at Studio A.

• Studio A was the subject of Nashville's most prominent recent preservation fight when philanthropist Aubrey Preston dramatically saved it from the wrecking ball at the last minute in 2014.

Zoom in: The oral history tells the tale of Music Row going back to the 1940s. The project was created in 2015 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and features interviews with 35 insiders.

If you go: Excerpts from the oral history are available online, or you can go in-person to the downtown library for a deeper dive inside the special collections area.

Zoom out: The library has been leaning into oral history projects to tell the broader story of Nashville. Previous oral histories include the 2010 flood, the Civil Rights Movement and military veterans.

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Nate here: When I was a music business reporter for The Tennessean, I loved learning fantastical tales of Music Row. One of my favorites is the night in 1970 when Joan Baez was recording at Quad Studios and needed singers to fill out the choral part of her legendary song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."

• Quad had become the most popular non-country studio in Nashville, and a sort of unlicensed bar/hangout for musicians. Baez's producer Norbert Putnam had the idea to create a makeshift choir of the people hanging around the studio to sing the backing vocals.
• As he told me in 2015, "We said, 'Let's get all the drunks in here and see what it sounds like,'" Putnam said.
• It ended up being the most legendary drunken choir in music history including Dave Loggins, Guy Clark and Jimmy Buffett.

🏛️ Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is backing President Trump's attempt to deny birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. (Tennessee Lookout)

💰 The Trump administration's cuts to federal spending could affect money that goes toward updating the state's backlogged gun background check system. (Tennessean)

🖋️ Tennessee lawmakers approved an anti-transgender bathroom bill that would require colleges and other schools that house students overnight to restrict bathroom access based on "immutable biological sex." It is heading to Gov. Bill Lee's desk. (The Associated Press)

The next group of Country Music Hall of Fame inductees will be unveiled this morning.

• You can watch the announcement live at 10am.

What we're watching: There is a massive backlog of qualified artists waiting to join country's inner circle.

• Clint Black, Dwight Yoakam, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and Shania Twain are among the artists who could be honored this year in the modern artist category.

The big picture: The Country Music Hall of Fame is exclusive, with just three inductees each year.

• The Modern Era Artist category goes to acts who are eligible for induction 20 years after they achieved national prominence.
• The Veterans Era Artist category goes to someone who reached fame 45 years ago or longer.
• The third inductee is pulled from one three rotating categories. This year's rotating category is for a non-performer, such as an executive, producer or personality.

💭 Nate's thought bubble: Shania is one of the most consequential and best-selling country artists of all time. With her unprecedented pop crossover success, she paved the way for artists like Taylor Swift.

• Every year that passes without her induction seems, frankly, bizarre.

💭 Adam's thought bubble: Dozens of people would make sense as a Modern Era selection. But I would point the anonymous cadre of voters to the country women on this week's Axios Nashville playlist for inspiration.

• It's hard to believe producer and executive Tony Brown isn't already in the hall of fame. He produced a generation of the genre's biggest hits from Reba McEntire, George Strait and Vince Gill, just to name a few.

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Adam here: I'm planning to get my Real ID this week, and I'd love your tips.

📣 Tell me: Is there a nearby driver center with short lines? Or is there one I should avoid because of long wait times?

• Reply to this email with your advice and any information you wish you knew ahead of time. We might share your insights in an upcoming newsletter.

⏰ Reminder: If you're a procrastinator like me, the Real ID deadline is May 7.

More information on getting a Real ID in Tennessee