Ken Burns’ Country Music on PBS

I don't know what that is.

I do know that Burns has admitted he was never a fan of country music and did not know much about it, so someone had to guide him where to go with this series.

 

I would have used a Ouija Board to guide me. Hopefully, he did too.
:--)

 

"Travis" picking, classic songwriter - hugely influential. Is it important that Bob Wills pointedly saw himself as other than country? I think so - but how does that fit into the program's narrative? It's confusing, so just take it out and move on? Would it have been possible to acknowledged the importance of Western Swing and the Texas Playboys in "country" - and still point out that Bob Wills resisted the label? It's the constant need to throw the widest net in which all the subtleties get lost.

 

I'm lovin' it. Lots i didn't know, some i did. Read two bios on Hank and the story of leaving a 50 buck tip after listening to Tony Bennett's version of Cold Cold Heart, was super cool. And, the way Chet was portrayed was much different. Didn't realize his connection with the Carters. I had heard they, including Hank, thought he was puttin' on airs. Too sophisticated. Even Bob Wills would get this. Or Cab Calloway with Dizzy, that kind o thing. But, in the doc they portrayed it as they were a scared. Interesting to me. Lovin' the whole two episodes so far. Carlene Carter looks great! Love Marty so much! That dude is a Music lover. Would fit perfect in this forum.

 

Of the talking heads, in every Ken Burns doc a star seems to rise above all the others. This one it is definitely Marty Stuart.

 

I love Marty's music. He is very wide. He is country but digs all kinds of stuff. Which is right up my alley.

 

Merle does a fine job, too!

 

Merle's great. Adds gravity.

 

And there was a young guy who was in a lot of the first episode. Can't recall his name but he was real good.
Any help on the name, folks?

 

Damn, I just found out what's next from Ken Burns. A Muhammad Ali documentary. As if the four hundred already made aren't enough.
Damn, what a disappointing choice.

And it gets worse. What's on the horizon for Burns are documentaries on
- the Revolutionary War
- Ernest Hemingway
- Ben Franklin

No rock and roll, no WWII. I'm bummed.

 

Another episode ends in tragic death. Who's going to die at the end of Part 4?

 

The guy from Old Crow Medicine Show

 

Hemmingway should be great.

I don't care for interviews with Ken Burns. Just enjoy the shows. WWII? Again..... How many do we need on it...wait a few years.

 

Ketch Secor.

I saw Old Crow last year. As entertaining a concert as I've attended in my six decades plus on this planet.

 

SPOILER ALERT please!

Why can't people follow simple courteous rules of internet and write the word SPOILER? I am new to country music and though I know Maybell Carter was born a while ago, this documentary has made her my favorite guitarist and I am looking forward to seeing her in concert sometime soon. Your spoiler makes me think maybe it is her that dies in episode three.

 

Thanks.

 

Maybell lived a nice long life.

 

Yes, on second thought, a Hemingway doc has great possibilities.

How many WWII docs do we need? Did you see Burns' Vietnam doc? My God it was the best thing to ever come out of that whole mess. Incredibly well told going back 100 years before the war even started to get to the heart of it all. I can only imagne what Burns would do with WWII. That's the Holy Grail for me -- a Ken Burns 45 hour WWII documentary.

 

Thanks. I'm now looking forward to seeing her in concert. Maybe a double bill with Duane Allman.

 

Just finished the third episode. Hard to go wrong with Hank Williams and Bill Monroe. The musicianship of Monroe, Flatt, and Scruggs is still astonishing today.

 

Haha - yeah

 

I’ll wholeheartedly agree. I saw Old Crow Medicine Show this summer, and it’s easily in my top 20
concerts (out of about 1,200). I like “Tell It To Me” and “Cocaine Habit.”

 

Episode 4 was a Country Song.

The stories, the music and those glorious images!

After seeing this episode I've of the feeling; if the following can maintain what's already been aired... it will do more for the revitalization of the genre for a modern audience as anything every produced and it will be thought of as one of the best music documentaries ever made. I'm not sure I'll feel this strongly in the morning. Maybe I'm feeling this as I've just finished watching this episode which included much "of my time"; but there was an intangible feeling of I don't know... truth, yearning to rise and survive and better ones position; pathos, heartache, humanity, tragedy, invention, unapologetic drive and the American business ethic, history and industry woven in the way a quilter tells a story with endless meticulous hand drawn stitch after stitch. Or one of a patchwork of the American Experience told frame by frame, note by note.

 

... and the tape of Johnny doing Elvis. Priceless!

 

This one will make heads explode here, The Beatles were Brenda Lee's opening act in 1962.