In 1961 the Country Music Association (CMA) announced the creation of the Country Music Hall of Fame and chose its first three inductees—Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and Fred Rose. These first three members were announced in November at a CMA banquet held in conjunction with WSM-radio's tenth annual disc jockey convention. The Hall of Fame members' plaques, with facial likenesses and thumbnail biographies cast in bas-relief, were unveiled on the Grand Ole Opry by Ernest Tubb. Until 1967, these plaques and those for subsequent Hall of Fame inductees were displayed in the Tennessee State Museum in downtown Nashville.

In 1963 the CMA announced plans for a Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum to be built on Music Row in Nashville. That same year the state of Tennessee chartered the Country Music Foundation®, Inc. (CMF) as a non-profit, educational organization charged with operating the Museum.

The original Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum opened on Music Row (Sixteenth Avenue and Division Street) on April 1, 1967, and closed December 31, 2000. During these years of rapid growth and expansion the Museum's operations came to also include educational programs, CMF Press and CMF Records, the Country Music Foundation Library (1968), and the historic sites RCA Studio B (1977) and Hatch Show Print (1986).

The new Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum celebrated its grand opening on May 17, 2001. The new facility features the Hall of Fame Rotunda, where the bronze plaques are displayed for future generations to honor and enjoy.