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Lorenzo Washington’s legacy lives on in North Nashville’s musical history
Lorenzo Washington, who founded the Jefferson Street Sound Museum in his home, has died at 83. His collection documented a North Nashville corridor shaped by Black music, culture and activism.
Lorenzo Washington, founder and curator of the Jefferson Street Sound Museum, died this week at 83, the National Museum of African American Music said Thursday.
Washington opened his home as a museum in 2011, building a collection of thousands of photographs, instruments, recordings and stories chronicling the musical history of Jefferson Street in North Nashville.
The neighborhood corridor was a center of Black music, culture and activism. The museum was added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail this year, according to the National Museum of African American Music.
Washington also helped shape the city’s music scene as a business owner. He founded Soul Shack Records and Boutique in the early 1970s and later partnered with producers Moses Dillard and Jesse Boyce. A 2023 Metro Council resolution honoring Washington said the partnership produced “Come on Dance” by the Saturday Night Band.
The NAACP Nashville Branch remembered Washington as a champion of Jefferson Street’s cultural heritage. The Museum of Christian & Gospel Music and 92Q Nashville also paid tribute to his work preserving the area’s musical history.
The National Museum of African American Music said it would share memorial arrangements when Washington’s family makes them available.