NASHVILLE, TN — Lorenzo Washington spent a lifetime celebrating and paying tribute to Nashville’s long and distinguished Black music history. Washington, who died last week at 83, was steeped in the culture growing up in East Nashville. He would subsequently do everything humanly possible both to make certain that it was recognized and to inform others of its importance.
His early entry into the music world came in the early ‘70s, when he founded Soul Shack Records and Boutique. This would lead to a mutually rewarding collaboration with Moses Dillard and Jesse Boyce of Dillard & Boyce Productions. They would partner on the 1976 hit “Come On Dance” by the Saturday Night Band. It reached the No. 2 position on the charts.
But the work that would be the center of Washington’s efforts in his later years was the Jefferson Street Sound Museum, which he founded in 2011. Washington had personally enjoyed the golden years of Jefferson Street as a music hub and was determined not to let that history be lost.
He turned the Jefferson Street Sound Museum into a treasure trove for anyone remotely interested in the many great names who either appeared or recorded in Nashville, as well as the clubs and venues that presented them. The collection that he curated combined photographs, instruments and other memorabilia documenting Jefferson Street’s amazing musical legacy.
His efforts didn’t go unnoticed or unrewarded. Mayor Freddie O’Connell proclaimed April 3 Lorenzo Washington Day in 2023, with an annual fundraising gala held in his honor to support the Jefferson Street Sound Museum. Then, in 2024, the National Museum of African American Music celebrated his work with its “Living Legends: Lorenzo Washington” exhibit. It included a curated selection of objects from the Jefferson Street Sound Museum’s collection. Earlier this year, the museum was added to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, another indicator of the great value attached to Washington’s work.
The NAACP Nashville Branch called Washington a champion of Jefferson Street’s cultural heritage and said his work left a lasting mark on Nashville. The Museum of Christian & Gospel Music and 92Q Nashville also shared tributes, remembering him for preserving the neighborhood’s musical history. He is survived by his wife, Karen Coffee, and children Dwayne, Patricia, Ryan and Tracey.
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Friday, October 30 Visitation and Procession
New Season Church, 1900 South Hamilton Road, Nashville, Viewing: 2–5 p.m. Around 5:30 p.m., a procession will leave the church, travel along Clarksville Highway and down Jefferson Street, beginning at 28th Avenue. It will pass the Jefferson Street Sound Museum before returning to Smith Brothers Funeral Home.
Saturday, October 31 Funeral Services
Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, 144 Ewing Drive, Nashville, Viewing: 11 a.m.– Noon, Funeral: Noon. His family says those who would like to honor Lorenzo’s legacy, donations can be made to the Jefferson Street Sound Museum through its website www.jeffersonstreetsound.com.
