Ken Burns - Country Music Documentary

Yeah, I don't get it -- why shouldn't it be available everywhere? PBS (Public Broadcasting) should do something about that -- a series about the history of C&W music should be released, or streamed, to the entire world.

I really hope you do get to see it soon, by whatever means necessary.

 

Thanks @HominyRhodes
Like all freak fans, I try to do it the right way first, but when that fails, I always find the alternate way.

 

Winding Stream is really well done!

I hadn't seen that many pics of Jimmie Rodgers before, especially without a hat. Would love to go to his museum in Meridian. I've driven through so many times.

 

Wynton Marsalis. Yeah, I was surprised when he turned up. Surely Burns could have found a fresh face to speak about pre 1920s African American music and how it contributed to the formation of country music. It reminded me of Burns' 'Baseball' series, where commentators/ historians from 'The Civil War' were given air time.

 

Ken, please don't try to 'educate' us on the history of Rock and Roll, or R+B, or Soul Music.

I fear the day when some PBS bureaucrat concludes from a demographic study that their miniscule (but still tax supported !) audience would be well served by a history of punk rock. Though Ken interviewing Johnny Lyndon might be illuminating.

Meanwhile all sorts of insightful writers on country music, from Bill Malone to Amanda Petrusich. In my opinion, a better way to learn and absorb than tolerating a condenscending narrator and abbreviated film clips. And, of yeah, slow pans across old photographs. The entire tone of Burns' docs strike me as "You don't know anything, but should be grateful for what WE'VE decided you should know."

BTW, I've had some professional dealings with Public Broadcasting. Was Not Impressed.

 

Why don't you do your own documentaries, and show us how they should be done?

 

Really great to fill in some holes in my learning about Country music.
I can't see why I would have watched it if I had an expansive knowledge of country music, like some people here.

 

These docs are made a for a generalist audience, as they should be. I have a room full of LPs and CDs, but I know virtually nothing about country music. I will happily watch this, but won't necessarily buy a Carter Family or Jimmie Rogers CD. That may change after watching the doc, or it may not.

 

I thought it pretty good. I vaguely knew who Jimmie Rodgers was but now- man, what a story.

 

I got chills down my spine when Dolly sang a bit of one of the old ballads - Barbara Allen? - a capella. And Merle is my favorite country artist, very moving to see him now that he is gone, I’m glad Burns was able to interview him. much as I’m glad Tom Petty was interviewed near the end of his life for The Searcher Elvis Presley documentary on HBO.

 

All of the super snobs here hate Ken Burns, what a shock. Meanwhile, who else is making eight-part documentaries about jazz and country, and generating the buzz to bring these stories to yes, the dreaded “general public”? My wife, who loves country, but is not an obsessive music collector or super fan to the same degree I am, wanted to watch this, and watched the entire first episode with me last night, and was really interested in it and wants to watch the whole thing.

While I’m not blind to its faults, I’ve watched Burns’s Jazz documentary at least three times, and am very grateful that he made that film, and this new film. Instead of bitching about Burns is a Johnny-Come-Lately who doesn’t know as much as me, I’m grateful for the footage of Jimmie Rodgers performing that I saw last night that was new to me. And I’m very much looking forward to the rest of this series.

 

You might want to look for the tribute CD that Dylan spearheaded years ago. It's a great way to ease into JR's music. It also contains the last recorded performance of Jerry Garcia.

 

sorry 'bout our "public broadcasting system", bro.

 

or just not watch ken burns' work, since he hates it so much.

 

I feel your pain, in regard to BBC and Skye.

 

Will do. Thanks for the tip.

 

Love him or hate him, I think we can all agree that Ken Burns desperately needs a stylist.

 

After 3 hours so far it seems to be leaning in this direction. Maybe its Coyotes flat narration. Still like it more than dislike if only for the swath of history it's cutting.

 

I thought the photo of Jimmie Rodgers on the beach after the recording session had some impact... hate to ask but was that when it was from? Was that really the last day at Coney Island? Cool to think he had a fairly happy last day like that. A too good to be true photo? I'm imagining all kinds of demand now for Jimmie Rodgers recordings too. I grew up with an RCA LP, but just the one compared to four of The Carter Family. I love the jazzy spontaneous feel in Jimmie, although like The Ink Spots you do get certain elements repeating, guitar intros and outros and yodels that are interchangeable, but those little variations are so good at times! And he leads all the way up to the equally incomparable Willie Nelson.

I really liked how they included that both Rodgers and the Carters had been performing for years before making their recording debuts too, so many overnight sensations have these often overlooked hidden years. The earlier history had a few new details for me here and there.

 

PBS gets less tax funding than ever, but are still supported by the people to a large degree (like you, like me)... compared to how more purely commercial stations like TLC, A&E and even National Geographic have declined to things with nymphomaniac triplets that eat foam cushions or alien time-travelling sharks... er, let's not 'fire Big Bird' too quickly eh?

 

PBS is a very political topic here. I think we should stick to Burns' documentary.

 

Yeah - you'd think past age 60 he'd finally do away with that Beatle 'bowl cut', but no such luck (I do envy the amount of hair he still has, though). He'd look a hell of a lot better just combing it back, that's for sure.

Also - has Rhiannon Giddins ever cracked a joke her whole entire life (or maybe even just a smile?). Respect her as a musician, but please for once lighten up a bit.

Enjoying the doc anyways, anxious to see the next installments...

 

Sorry American public television isn’t instantly available for free worldwide. We have BBC America and other options to watch foreign programming here, I’m sure there will be some legal way to watch this in other countries sooner or later.

 

I enjoyed the show. Some interesting stories although seeing how old a bunch of our great artist's are was unsettling. Enjoy them in concert while you can.

Unfortunately the record companies skulduggery, some of the questionable photo choices, and the insistence that the audience for country music is the overlooked, downtrodden, common people reminded me of this.

 

PBS did a history of rock, but it wasn't by Burns.