Ken Burns - Country Music Documentary

I've seen her cracking up live and I have several shows where she laughs. Her and her husband seem to have the knack of explaining things and the one interrupts when the other goes to far,

 

Now that's a show! What channel is it on?

I missed yesterdays episode. Totally forgot about it as I was engrossed with sorting out my music collection.

Hopefully they'll do repeats. I really need to buy a PVR....

 

Through some smart ebay searching and an order for Wal Mart, I was able to get each of the soundtrack variations (5-CD, 2-CD and the Wal Mart single CD) and I have to say in going through half of the 5 disc set so far, I am really happy with the song choices and sound quality. The book with the 5 disc set is nice as well, showing some memorabilia and having a few good essays.

Next is to get the companion book!

 

The first episode is too small a sample to judge, but it seems to be off to a better start. Coyote doesn’t sound like God, which is a good thing for these sorts of things.

 

If you have the PBS app on your phone, Apple TV, Roku, or whatever, you can watch at least the first four episodes on demand right now.

I’m somewhat amazed that anyone still watches TV the old-fashioned way.

 

You know, at this point Ken Burns' hair-style is just part of his "look" -- a look that's ALL his. (And I'm being more than half serious here.)

I wouldn't go so far as to call it his 'brand' -- but I would bet he wouldn't be the least bit recognizable without it. Think of it being like Frank Zappa's goatee, at this point.

 

Hey Rick, not sure if you can do this out of the States, but going on PBS.org, we’re able to stream episodes.

 

I liked the part about Rodgers recording for Peer in Bristol (Sleep Baby Sleep) then promising Peer that he'd be back with more material. Wow, did he ever! To come back with T for Texas, no less! Did he make a deal with the devil at the Crossroads, his soul for songs, on his way home to Meridian? And to book a room in a fine hotel ...

 

I thought the same thing! He cuts 2 songs, then did he ever make good on his promise to come back with some more songs!

Rodgers was right when he told the guys in his band that he would record on his own and didn't need them.

 

Ah cool I didn't know the AppleTV had the PBS app loaded on. I only discovered it had the Amazon Prime app on it earlier this year and I've had prime for some time (accessed it via my Samsung TV)

But it probably won't work as I'm in Canada. I'll check tonight. We get PBS free to air and via cable so that's how I normally watch it.

Usually if I miss a network show I can find it quite easily but PBS shows tend to be harder to find that way, so if I miss it, I miss it.

 

I call your post the grand Country Music quote of the week. Anyone who talks up "The Knoxville Sessions" and Roy Drusky (one of my favorite country singers ever, no less) gets my highest respect. This post I quote is fully McLover Approved and Endorsed. Thanks also for talking up lesser known and worthwhile artists.

 

I had major problems with KB Jazz. I know quite a bit about jazz, but know next to nothing about country. I hope Burns does not make the same kind of mistakes here that he made in Jazz, but if he does, I wouldn't know.

When this series is over, I will be interested to hear from country fans for a general assessment of how it went. Invariably, everyone will find something they don't like, but the negative view of KB Jazz has been pretty universal, based on my anecdotal experience.

 

This is perhaps my favorite SH Forum quote about anything, ever. Seems to be a perfect encapsulation of so much of the commentary here on any number of topics.

 

Not sure I follow you.

 

I loved Ken Burns’ Jazz.

 

I haven’t seen but know many who do as well.

 

It's geo restricted in europe, at least

 

During WW II country music was very regional but there were a lot of southern boy soldiers the Japanese faced! Japanese soldiers attacked with cries of "To hell with FDR, to hell with Babe Ruth, to hell with Roy Acuff." That's getting to be a WORLD WIDE profile! Country music would have been just as appropriate as swing music in "The War."

 

Watched the second episode and really enjoyed it.

 

Nice to have all that attention on Wills. He really seemed to have that undefinable quality, as some said. Gene Autry is kind of a cliché today, but that doesn't change the influence he had back then

 

I'm a little ways into ep. 2. I can't wait till they get past the Depression years - so depressing. Always makes me feel guilty about how incredibly lucky I have been, compared to the lives those folks back then led. Anyway, I am enjoying many things about the series. It is similar so far to me to "Prohibition" -- some pretty big things at the time, that I have absolutely never heard about - even some of the "big names" from the early 20s or so. I love how they are emphasizing the role of radio - spending lots of time on that, and in fact talking about the origins of a lot of the 50K watt clear channel stations, which I loved to listen to in the 60s. I am not too into that early country stuff. But tonight, we get Hank Williams! and things will really start cookin'!

 

I never knew the story about Willie Nelson booking Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, then getting to sing with them. I knew Bob Wills was an early influence on Nelson, but never knew about Nelson booking acts as a teen and all.

 

yes, neither did I. Talk about chutzpah at only 16 years old

 

I will have to say, so far, I'm enjoying the series. I have some knowledge of the music, since my dad was a huge fan of Country (his record collection has from the RCA collections on 33 of Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family up to late 1960's) but some of the stories so far have been nicely presented, going from things I knew (The Carter Family almost not going to Bristol, how The Maddox Brothers and Rose began with the thought in the field) to things like Willie Nelson being an impresario at 16!

So far, nicely done. Good stories, captures the history of what's going on in the US and the world at the time, and relating what was going on in the Country scene.

 

Enjoyed Episode 2. How could I not? It featured the great Gene Autry.

I will admit to never having heard of Bob Wills but I would have loved to have seen him live.