Andrew Jackson home pushes 7th president’s rock star image

In this Jan. 7, 2015 photo, items belonging to President Andrew Jackson are displayed in the new “Andrew Jackson, Born for a Storm” exhibit in Hermitage, Tenn. The exhibit coincides with the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, in which Jackson won a brilliant victory against the British in the War of 1812. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) In this Jan. 7, 2015 photo, items belonging to President Andrew Jackson are displayed in the new “Andrew Jackson, Born for a Storm” exhibit in Hermitage, Tenn. The exhibit coincides with the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, in which Jackson won a brilliant victory against the British in the War of 1812. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By Associated Press January 8, 2015 4 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Andrew Jackson: President. Hero. Rockstar.

So reads a billboard welcoming arrivals at the Nashville International Airport, attempting to lure them from the honky-tonks of downtown Broadway to Jackson’s historic home called The Hermitage a few miles to the east.

A new exhibit there encourages visitors to remember that the man with the lofty forehead and towering hair portrayed on the $20 bill had the star power of an Elvis Presley or Kanye West back in his day. It’s part of a broader makeover effort to move Jackson’s image from a half-remembered “Old Hickory” caricature to a man whose vision changed the presidency and the nation and whose legacy can still be felt today.

“Andrew Jackson, Born for a Storm” is the first major content change to The Hermitage’s exhibition space in 25 years. Perhaps surprisingly, the new exhibit is also the first at the historic home to focus on Jackson and his legacy.

It comes at a time when The Hermitage hopes to take advantage of a renewed interest in Jackson, helped along by the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography “American Lion” and Broadway rock musical “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.”