Gennett Walk of Fame

Pavement plaques marking the legendary jazz musicians who recorded in the Whitewater Gorge

The Gennett Walk of Fame sits along the Whitewater River trail in the gorge, near the site where the original Gennett Records studio stood. Record-shaped plaques set into the pavement honour the musicians who recorded here between 1915 and 1934: Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, Jelly Roll Morton, and dozens of others who made some of the earliest jazz and blues recordings in American history.

The studio building is long gone, but the walk preserves the site's significance. A small interpretive area explains the recording process and the studio's influence. The Gorge itself is pleasant walking territory — follow the Whitewater Gorge Trail through the limestone canyon for a few miles in either direction.

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A story
Gennett Records operated out of a small pressing plant in the Whitewater Gorge from 1915 to 1934. In those years, the studio captured some of the earliest recordings of Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, and Jelly Roll Morton — recordings that circulated widely and shaped American popular music. The plant chose the gorge location because the steep walls muffled noise from the nearby railroad; freight trains still interrupted sessions when they passed.

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