Austin-based filmmaker Eric Geadelman has been working on 12 hour documentary film series with the Country Music Hall of Fame for several years. I was lucky enough to see a working version of one episode a few years back when I was a guest on the Outlaw Country Cruise IV. The episode I saw was called "Bob Wills Is Still King" and concentrated on the Austin scene, in particular the two homes of country music in that city, the traditional Broken Spoke and the much more cosmic Armadillo World Headquarters. The former was for genuine cowpokes who would slap the dust off their jeans, and put on a bolo tie to dress up, while the ladder would often feature folks in hats with ostrich feathers and paisley shirts. Somehow, Willie Nelson managed to travel between both of these worlds, and drew them together. The full title of the series is They Called Us Outlaws: Cosmic Cowboys, Honky Tonk Heroes And the Rise of Renegade Troubadours which is a bit of a mouthful but should have enough search engine mojo to find an audience. Here's the announcement in Rolling Stone: ‘They Called Us Outlaws’ Documentary Tells the Story of Country’s Rebel Period – Rolling Stone Here's a trailer for the series:
Hell yeah. I'm in. Ken Burns did a pretty good job hitting the outlaw highlights in his series, so 12 hours of it sounds right up my alley.
I often call a lot of country music from the past 40 years "designer country". That's because I grew up with what they called outlaw country. It was gritty and real. That's how I thought it should be. Slicking it up missed the point, IMO. Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash both bridged that gap. Had Patsy Cline lived, I'm sure she would have, too. Bring this on!
I checked IMDb, and here are the titles of the six parts: They Called Us Outlaws Chapter 1: Wishing, Lord, That I Was Stoned They Called Us Outlaws Chapter 2: Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? They Called Us Outlaws Chapter 3: Bob Wills Is Still the King They Called Us Outlaws Chapter 4: Back to the Basics of Love They Called Us Outlaws Chapter 5: Ladies Love Outlaws They Called Us Outlaws Chapter 6: Live Forever
Here's a screen capture of when they listed the various artists who appear in the series. I don't know if this is complete, or just the most famous names: Waylon Payne Matthew McConaughey Delbert McClinton Bruce Robison Tom Hiddleston Chris Coleman Kelly Willis Steve Earle Kix Brooks Jon Randall Aubrie Sellers Rodney Crowell Richie Albright Tony Brown Ray Wylie Hubbard Gary Allan Nathaniel Rateliff Shooter Jennings Jessi Alexander Frank Liddell Parker McCollum Emmylou Harris Jessi Colter Miranda Lambert Ray Benson Daddy O Wade Willis Alan Ramsey Rhet Miller Jack Ingram Wesley Schultz Mickey Raphael Billy Gibbons Huey Lewis Bobby Bare Tom T. Hall Jason Aldean Jerry Jeff Walker Joe Ely Randy Rogers Jeff Hanna Charlie McCoy Holly Williams Eric Church Kris Kristofferson Tyler Childers Leon Russell Kimmie Rhodes John R. Miller Billy Joe Shaver Roger McGuinn Guy Clark Margo Price Michael Martin Murphey Chris Shiflett Al Kooper Charlie Daniels Lee Ann Womack Charley Crockett Ronnie Dunn Bob Livingston Chris Gantry Scott Borchetta Gary P. Nunn Jeremy Tepper Marcia Ball Joe Nick Patoski
Without Townes Van Zandt? At least they got Guy Clark. I will watch it when it comes up. Not sure what to expect.
I'm sure they talk about Townes, but I think the list I posted was just the people that they interviewed. Unless they started production on this back in the mid-90s, they missed him.
Glad to help. This really does look to be the definitive work on outlaw country. Well that and the country season of Mike Judge Presents Tales From The Tour Bus. It's been several years since I saw the rough edit of episode 3 on the Outlaw Country Cruise, but the person I was most surprised to see interviewed was Marcia Ball. I didn't really associate her with the Armadillo World Headquarters crowd, but that's my own mistake. It was bittersweet seeing Leon Russell being interviewed, as he had died not long before the cruise, and had played Knuckleheads Saloon several times. Sweet guy, but very shy.
Very much looking forward to this. I had read about it a while back, nice to see the trailer. Thanks Chris!
That's how you get in-laws. Has anybody written a country song yet called "All My In-Laws Are Outlaws"? Because if they haven't, I got dibs.
See if I get this right off the top of my head: Chapter 1 - Kris Kristofferson/Johnny Cash Chapter 2 - Waylon Jennings Chapter 3 - Waylon Jennings Chapter 4 - Waylon Jennings Chapter 5 - Waylon Jennings Chapter 6 - Billy Joe Shaver
Well, what I saw in episode 3 (with the understanding that this was years ago, as part of a very busy music cruise) was a large number of people who played in Austin during the '70s and early '80s. Including some people that I didn't expect, like Marcia Ball.
There was an event at the Grammy Museum back in December with Chris Shiflett: https://www.gratefulweb.com/article...-event-125-they-called-us-outlaws-film-series
