From the 1990’s to the 2000’s, the memorabilia business for Shutts consisted of appraising items, such as country music recording artist estates for the Country Music Hall of Fame, touring exhibits for Brooks & Dunn, showcasing memorabilia on the inaugural Rascal Flatts’ Flatts Fest tour in 2011, and showcasing at nearly 100 state fairs, county fairs, festivals and shopping malls.
In 2006, the business that would soon be called Rockology was cast into the international spotlight after having coordinated the world record sale of Elvis’s Audubon Drive home in Memphis. More headline news persisted when Shutts acquired one of Elvis’ favorite amusement park rides, the Zippin Pippin rollercoaster at Libertyland, in Memphis, as well as when later that year, Shutts purchased a book filled with handwritten lyrics by Hank Williams Sr. The purchases by Shutts in 2006 solidified Shutts being known as the ‘Indiana Jones of Memorabilia,’ as the Williams notebook became the focal point of a lawsuit against Shutts.
After the legal measures wrapped up with Hank Williams’ lyrics notebook, business resumed for Shutts and his business moved into the spotlight again as reality show, “Raiders of Rock” was developed for CMT. Shutts’ two Nashville memorabilia shops became the backdrop for the show, Shutts was named co-host, and the name for Shutts’ business, Rockology, was born.
Today, more than $25 million worth of memorabilia have passed through Rockology’s hands, and the company has established a presence on YouTube and other social media platforms to aid in memorabilia communications and purchases. Rockology continues to maintain an authoritative position as an expert in authenticating memorabilia, documenting historical locations pertaining to Elvis Presley, rock ‘n’ roll pioneers, country music legends, legacy acts and country music contemporaries.
