Anybody going to Watch Ken Burn's Country Music? (1 Viewer)

[Steve Armbrust]

Although Steve Earle and Gram Parsons didn't get the attention I thought they deserved, I'm glad Townes Van Zant's "Pancho and Lefty" did. And I'm especially glad that Emmylou Harris did too. My favorite personal Emmylou moment was seeing her in St. Paul, MN as the opening act for Michael Martin Murphey in the mid-seventies. Most of the fans in that concert were Murphey fans (Wildfire), and didn't bother to show up until later on. So the place was almost empty when Emmylou started to play. I got to go right down in front and see her from center stage doing all the great material from her first couple of albums. She was fabulous. When her set was over, I could only take so much of Murphey and left about half-way through.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Although Steve Earle and Gram Parsons didn't get the attention I thought they deserved, I'm glad Townes Van Zant's "Pancho and Lefty" did. And I'm especially glad that Emmylou Harris did too. My favorite personal Emmylou moment was seeing her in St. Paul, MN as the opening act for Michael Martin Murphey in the mid-seventies. Most of the fans in that concert were Murphey fans (Wildfire), and didn't bother to show up until later on. So the place was almost empty when Emmylou started to play. I got to go right down in front and see her from center stage doing all the great material from her first couple of albums. She was fabulous. When her set was over, I could only take so much of Murphey and left about half-way through.

I thought Gram Parsons got more attention than you did as his story was told and his connection with Emmlyou Harris was more than just a mention.

TBH, these type of documentaries always generates comments about certain people being short-changed. It's just the nature of them and choices that Ken Burns and his crew have to make in order to edit the documentary down to its final version.

 

[Steve Armbrust]

I also always thought of "Okie from Muskogee" as a serious rant against "hippies" as that's how it was viewed in my part of the country. It's one I had to play on that radio show I DJ'd and absolutely hated it (at the time I had little use for any country music which made that shift doubly hard - I would often start a song and turn the monitor down until I saw the needle getting close to the lead out and would turn it up long enough to know when to come in to announce the next record). It's interesting to find out it was written as more of a spoof and satire. Puts it in a whole new light.

Yes, at the time, I thought Okie was a bit of a satire. But when "Fightin Side of Me" came out afterwards, I changed my mind.

 

[BobO'Link]

I watched episode 7 over the past couple of days. I think that's the best episode so far. So much information in it about lots of acts. And, again, lots of new information for me. Quite a lot of that is simply because I'm not a fan of country music and never really followed anything that went on in that genre. There are a few "modern" artists for who I like a song or two but that's about it and none of them well enough to have purchased any of their product.

One of the things I like best is they mention some of the new pop/easy listening country songs but seem to focus more on the acts that stayed closer to the roots. Those are also the acts I tend to like the best.

Anyway... this series is far better and more interesting than I ever expected. A delightful surprise.

 

[BobO'Link]

I watched episode 8 yesterday. It ties it all together and somewhat makes an argument of it being a huge circle of creation. OK... I still like the pre 70s stuff far more than anything that's come since - in spite of efforts from lots of people trying to take it back to the roots. Many of those performers I've never considered to be "roots" type music but the more commercialized product (Garth Brooks for one - but I did like that story of him showing up to sign autographs - that's class). I'd hoped for a stronger ending considering just how good episode 7 was.

Overall, it was a good series.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I've been revisiting the series with a friend who wanted to see the series. (I DVR'd the latter episodes to ensure the on demand window wasn't a factor in viewing the series in its entirety.) We've watched the first six episodes and will probably get to 7 and 8 over the next week or so.

It held up remarkably well on the revisit and I picked up a few details that I missed the first time around. I enjoyed Jeannie Seely's observation regarding Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn. (Wynette sung 'Stand By Your Man' but went through multiple marriages and Lynn composed and sang a number of songs geared towards men behaving better in their marriages but was married for nearly 50 years.) Of course in the do as I say, not as I do category - Ray Benson observed that contrary to the lyrics of one of Haggard's biggest hits he did in fact smoke marijuana. (Not that I would confuse a person's personal life with their artistic output.)

It may just be a matter of raised awareness, but it seems like in the last week or so I've heard more country music in television ads (in particular Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.)

Found a YouTube clip of Glen Campbell singing New San Antonio Rose with Bob Wills on a television program in 1964. He (Campbell) looked so young, it was kind of strange.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

It may just be a matter of raised awareness, but it seems like in the last week or so I've heard more country music in television ads (in particular Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.)


- Walter.

Yeah, you have Hank Williams singing "Hey Good Lookin" on an Applebee's commercial. I heard the Man in Black singing "Same Difference" on a Volkswagen commercial.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Yeah, you have Hank Williams singing "Hey Good Lookin" on an Applebee's commercial. I heard the Man in Black singing "Same Difference" on a Volkswagen commercial.

I didn't specify in my previous post, but those are the two that I've encountered.

- Walter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I didn't specify in my previous post, but those are the two that I've encountered.

- Walter.

I've been seeing those two commercials quite often over the last couple of weeks which is how I knew which of them you were referencing.

 

[BobO'Link]

Yeah, you have Hank Williams singing "Hey Good Lookin" on an Applebee's commercial. I heard the Man in Black singing "Same Difference" on a Volkswagen commercial.

That's one thing I don't miss having my TV disconnected from "live" TV - creative bankruptcy. Of course I then miss all the unintended humor of knowing the song's lyrics and how it really doesn't work for the product - sometimes really meaning exactly the opposite of what some ad person thinks.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That's one thing I don't miss having my TV disconnected from "live" TV - creative bankruptcy. Of course I then miss all the unintended humor of knowing the song's lyrics and how it really doesn't work for the product - sometimes really meaning exactly the opposite of what some ad person thinks.

I don't mind commercials as I usually just change the channel or bypass them on my DVR if I'm not interested in watching them. Some of them I do enjoy seeing.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Found a YouTube clip of Glen Campbell singing New San Antonio Rose with Bob Wills on a television program in 1964. He (Campbell) looked so young, it was kind of strange.

Thx, Walter! That was great. Back when Campbell was heavily into the studio work and had his hair slicked back.

 

[benbess]

Country is not usually my first choice when it comes to music, although a few things have gotten through over the years—including the surreal album by The Byrds called Sweetheart of the Rodeo. But wow, Ken Burns and his team really know how to tell stories while keeping the music front and center. This show like all of his other documentaries blew me away at times. And since I'm not that familiar with country music most of the stories behind the scenes were new to me, and many of the songs were new to me too. For those with amazon's music unlimited there's a big album (105 songs) called "Country Music: The Soundtrack" available for listening that has complete versions of most of the songs from the show, plus I think some that weren't in the show....

https://music.amazon.com/albums/B07SXS6HKD?tab=CATALOG&ref=dm_wcp_albm_link_pr_s

PS Here's the track list for the first two discs:

Disc: 1
1. Can the Circle Be Unbroken - The Carter Family
2. Blue Yodel No. 8 (Mule Skinner Blues) - Jimmie Rodgers
3. Barbara Allen - Bradley Kincaid
4. I'll Fly Away - James and Martha Carson
5. If the River Was Whiskey - Charlie Poole with The North Carolina Ramblers
6. Fox Chase - DeFord Bailey
7. Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standin' on the Corner) - Jimmie Rodgers
8. Wildwood Flower - The Carter Family
9. In the Jailhouse Now - Jimmie Rodgers
10. Comin' Round the Mountain - Uncle Dave Macon and Sam McGee
11. Pretty Polly - Coon Creek Girls
12. T.B. Blues - Jimmie Rodgers
13. Mountain Dew - Grandpa Jones and his Granchildren
14. Home On the Range - Gene Autry
15. I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart - Patsy Montana & The Prairie Ramblers
16. Tumbling Tumbleweeds - The Sons Of The Pioneers
17. Medley: Keep on the Sunny Side / I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes - The Carter Family
18. The Great Speckled Bird - Roy Acuff
19. Whoa Babe - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
20. New San Antonio Rose - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
21. Wabash Cannonball - Roy Acuff
22. Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel #8) - Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys

Disc: 2
1. Honky Tonkin' - Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
2. It's Mighty Dark to Travel - Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys
3. New Mule Skinner Blues - Maddox Brothers and Rose
4. I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms) - Eddy Arnold
5. Foggy Mountain Breakdown - Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs with The Foggy Mountain Boys
6. Molly and Tenbrook - The Stanley Brothers
7. Lovesick Blues - Hank Williams
8. I Saw the Light - Hank Williams
9. Hey, Good Lookin' - Hank Williams
10. It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels - Kitty Wells
11. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
12. Jambalaya - Little Brenda Lee
13. New Step It Up and Go - Maddox Brothers and Rose
14. I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two
15. Crazy Arms - Ray Price
16. Bye, Bye Love - The Everly Brothers
17. The Long Black Veil - Lefty Frizzell
18. El Paso - Marty Robbins
19. Night Life - Ray Price
20. Hello Walls - Faron Young
21. I Fall to Pieces - Patsy Cline
22. Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
23. Crazy - Patsy Cline
24. I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles