Ken Burns’ Country Music on PBS

Reminder that if you use streaming devices and the PBS app is available to you, it may be free to watch this doc now OR you can gain access to the backlog for a small donation; I believe the minimum is $5 per month. Haven't checked on my Roku yet.

 

I am really enjoying this series so far. However, I was a bit shocked and disappointed that last night's segment completely ignored Hank Snow. While I realize that he may still be covered in the next couple of episodes, he was really having some his greatest success during the time period that was being covered (I'm Moving On was #1 for 21 weeks in 1950). He was not only one of the greatest country singers ever, but also a great guitarist and songwriter. I hope him being Canadian was not the reason for his omission.

 

I hadn't played my guitar in more than a year and last night, half-way through Episode 3, I had a strong desire to do just that. Played along for the rest of the show, then watched the rebroadcast at 9pm.
I've learned a lot so far. I was fascinated to learn that Chet Atkins started as a guitar player for the Carter Sisters & Mama Maybelle and how the Nashville music establishment didn't want him coming to town. It's been a great documentary, but I don't know enough about country music history to know what's been left out.

 

Anybody else note the size of the families?

Did the wives ever come up for air?

It took my attention off the number of men wearing hats.

 

That may well be - the "support from purchasers like you..." angle wasn't clear on the sale page, but if that is indeed the case it would certainly make those nutty prices go down a lot easier. And stuff like a coffee table book and BD set would be a lot better than another damn tote bag.

 

Your dad was a pretty cool cat! Not all of us were so lucky. I do hope you realized it growing up... not as an admonishment if you didn't, but hoping you enjoyed and reveled in it... and learned from it while your were forming who you were... while you were living it. By your being engaged here and by your posts it appears you have. Right on! < to you and your dad.

 

As someone who's experience with their father was the exact opposite... there was no positive relationship. *If it wasn't for a bad relationship, there was no relationship at all; we shared nothing. It's great hearing your experience which has been echoed by a number of others in this thread. I do understand I might be reading a bit more then was the case... but anything positive as a result of a fathers' actions sets me off. Feel free to send me a therapy bill.

*With apologies to William Bell

 

See my post #257

 

Amazon Prime has it as well if you're a member.

 

At 63 years of age, my understanding of the relationship I had with my late father is still evolving. He was a lot like those country stars when it came to drinking, carousing, and damaging our family. By the time he sobered up I was off on my own destructive journey. When I finally "came to" he had reverted to a lot of his previous behaviors minus the actual drinking. Much of his life has been lost to us now, shrouded in secret so it seems. So, a mixed bag for sure. But watching the tragedy of Hank unfold before my eyes brought up a slew of emotions. Maybe that's why Hank Williams was so great. He sure was a familiar figure to me.

 

It's quite likely a lot of artists will get overlooked for their importance as the series advances because it's impossible to profile them all. I haven't finished episode 3 yet, but did Floyd Tillman even get a mention? Playing up Eddy Arnold over Frizzell is a bit irksome, I admit, and Hank Snow as well. Surely we'll get a lot of Patsy Cline later considering Harold Bradley's included in the interviews, but what about Jim Reeves? How about Hank Thompson? Both sold tons of records, particularly Reeves before his own unfortunate death. That said, it's entertaining history, if not an altogether balanced look. Is any history completely objective? It's a remedial overview, more than good enough for the masses. The side roads are available elsewhere for folks who want more.

 

I thought I might’ve seen a photo of Hank Snow as part of a montage in last night’s episode. But nothing in the script.

 

For obvious reasons I find it difficult to 'Like' your post unequivocally without exception. I am sorry for damage to your family. But I do 'Like' and appreciate your openness and Hank... your real life story and truth and its relation to Hank and his music is truly insightful and an example of how great music, literature and art; all of which Hank was a master of lives on.

 

Definitely. Time constraints are a downside to any documentary of this nature and it's inevitable that a number of artists will be overlooked. The Ken Burns documentary is 16 hours, but what we really need is an ongoing TV series which explores country music and its subgenres over the course of at least one or more seasons.

 

You reminded me of a Jeannie Seely tune I had almost forgotten. Farm in Pennsyltucky.

 

While I like the fact that he’s moved away from an overly constricting “structure” like the Ellington/Armstrong device that all but ruined the jazz series or the 9 inning deal that bloated Baseball, I fear he’s overcorrected. There’s a kind of shapelessness creeping in where we are being told anecdotes but not actually a story.

 

I guess he was being prickly and didn’t want to rehash the same old anecdotes and it took bringing up Ernest Tubb to get him talking.

 

Loved episode 3. So far, perfection...to me.

 

I'm on episode four. One thing I can say it is thorough on names, yet a bit shallow on history. At times it does a good job putting the music in historical context. As previously mentioned; How much can you expect of 150 years of country music condenced to 16 hours of TV? So far I am very much amused.

 

My grandparents came from families of 9, 8, 3 and 12 respectively. Guess which family was middle class townies?

 

My favorite moment was Marty Stuart demonstrating how Scruggs plagiarized Bill Monroe for Foggy Mountain Breakdown. In 45 seconds substantive context to the Monroe/Scruggs feud is made clear AND the audience is reminded just how bleeping complex Scruggs’ runs really were.

 

I saw Ken Burns speak at Tulane earlier this year and he was so impressive. What a together, thoughtful and productive guy! He said the question he most often gets asked is about what he leaves out. In his mind, he says he thinks, "I gave you 8/16 hours and you are quibbling about what isn't there?"

 

The ease at which Marty pulled out those complex runs and showed the subtle difference was pretty amazing, all right.

 

You can sort of see why Monroe was mad!!!

 

It also reminded me that Marty is an absolute beast on that mandolin. I had to dig out his last album from the shelf. Great stuff. Then followed by Porter Wagoner's "Wagonmaster" produced by Marty. He didn't just listen - he obviously absorbed all things good in "country".