Country Music

[ProudMary]

This documentary was obviously years in the making and I'd read that Ken Burns smartly sat down early on with the old timers. I'm so glad he did so we could have the testimony of so many important voices who are no longer with us. It's bittersweet to see them here but how wonderful to have gotten the input of Little Jimmy Dickens, Bobby Bare, Roy Clark, Tom T. Hall and of course, Merle Haggard. (I might be forgetting someone.) Also, Willie has not been well lately and Kristofferson has me worried too. I saw a benefit performance on TV within the last year. He was on stage with Sheryl Crow and seemed very lost. I'm very thankful for what Ken Burns has done here.

While I'm still going to watch, I don't have much interest in tonight's episode. I stepped away from country music somewhere in the mid-eighties. I didn't care for the direction it seemed to be going. While I liked some of the then newcomers like George Strait, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakum, there were more that I didn't care for. And then there was Garth Brooks, who pretty much ruined the genre for decades. Just my opinion; mileage will vary and that's fine. Our individual music preferences are highly subjective and there's really no right or wrong.

[AuntiePam]

It's notable that so many of these folks are in music because it's "in their blood" -- they grew up with it.  They might not have indoor plumbing, but there was a guitar or a fiddle, or someone with a sweet voice.  Or a poet who could write a good song.

Contrast that with today's contestants on the music competition shows.  From what I've seen (early American Idol, mostly), these people just want to be rich and famous. 

[Raja]

6 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

It's notable that so many of these folks are in music because it's "in their blood" -- they grew up with it.  They might not have indoor plumbing, but there was a guitar or a fiddle, or someone with a sweet voice.  Or a poet who could write a good song.

Contrast that with today's contestants on the music competition shows.  From what I've seen (early American Idol, mostly), these people just want to be rich and famous. 

In this I would give the modern performer the benefit of the doubt. While an earlier generation might not have been in it to be the star and the Idol with millions they were in it for the buck. Playing the clubs was a preferred life than the sharecropper picking cotton or the coal miner going down the dangerous hole.

However following the recording and radio/TV industry we also see the destruction of millions of jobs being able to support themselves playing in favor of the few who became the star or say The A-Team, Funk Brother, Bar-kay, Muscle Shoals section guy, Wrecking Crew etc. , depending on their city who got the bulk of the recording jobs

Edited September 25, 2019 by Raja

[Neurochick]

20 hours ago, mightysparrow said:

Many die-hard country fans probably view PBS as a bunch of commies and wouldn't be caught dead watching it.  I love Wynton Marsalis but I did wonder what the hell he was doing in a country music documentary.

I think Marsalis was there because it's about music, American music and remember Jimmie Rogers recorded a song with Louis Armstrong.

On 9/24/2019 at 2:20 PM, mightysparrow said:

I sympathize with the woman who lost two sons but can't believe she would continue to support that completely unnecessary war that took both of her children from her.  Especially since the war preyed on poor White and Black young men to keep it going.

It's not that people supported the war.  It's that they didn't want someone else to tell them how they were supposed to feel.   Many people saw the protesters as privileged young people who wouldn't have been drafted anyway.  

[proserpina65]

On ‎09‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 4:26 AM, bybrandy said:

That doesn't change the fact that like every single episode at least once the story has gone, "And they listened to these black performers and emulated them and had a huge hit"... every single episode. 

I wouldn't say that.  I'd say it went more "and they learned from them and had a huge hit".  Some of the artists acknowledged their debt to black music and some didn't, and yes, the money men paying for everything mostly really didn't.

On ‎09‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 11:35 AM, snarkylady said:

Was never a fan of Roger Miller's music or style, truly disliked Minnie Pearl and Johnny Cash had more songs I didn't like than those that I did.  I understand why they interviewed Roseanne Cash but would have preferred Rodney Crowell music. 

On the other hand, always thought Charlie Pride, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson were wonderful.  Willie is probably the reason I developed an interest in the country genre in the first place. 

I now have a new respect for Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton is a hoot.  Both ladies are oh so talented.  

All in all this series is wonderful.  I'll be sorry when it ends. 

I'm finding that this is kind of the beauty of country music: there's so many styles, there's probably something for everyone.

The section about how much time artists spent on the road doing fairs and small parks and whatever reminded me of my mom talking about going to Sunset Park in PA to see the stars of the Grand Ole Opry every summer.  And then they specifically mentioned Sunset Park.  This is like a trip through my mom's family history.

On ‎09‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 8:07 PM, mightysparrow said:

Before this documentary, the only Merle Haggard song that I could name was 'Okie from Muscokie' which isn't one of my favourites.  Last night I just sat there thinking that I need to listen to more Merle Haggard.

Me too.

Edited to note: I asked my mom about Sunset Park just to be sure I had that right, and she told me about her father taking the whole family (cousins and all) up to see people like Minnie Pearl, Grandpa Jones, and his favorite, Little Jimmy Dickens.  Her father listened to the Grand Ole Opry every Saturday night, and they would announce who would be playing at various venues - they always included Sunset Park.

Edited September 25, 2019 by proserpina65

[annzeepark914]

On 9/23/2019 at 8:18 AM, bosawks said:

I loved Jack White's anecdote about not getting Loretta's lyric and how explicit she had to be to explain the intent.

And his "wow" face when conveying the point at which he understood.

Could someone explain what they were saying?  I thought she was explaining how the music should emphasize the words in a particular section of the song but maybe I was not hearing it correctly?  I've always had a hard time understanding Loretta because of the way she speaks.

Edited September 25, 2019 by annzeepark914

[proserpina65]

On ‎09‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 1:25 PM, mightysparrow said:

It's been so interesting hearing the stories about these artists.  So many of them came from such painful beginnings.  George Jones story was harrowing. 

That story about his father making him play and sing outside the bus station and then taking all the money he made just about made me cry.

16 hours ago, stonehaven said:

I must say I am sad that Burn's documentary treated John Denver as a negative afterthought in Country music..22 years after his death, that community still hates him...even though SOME of those commentators (Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill and Kathy Mattea) have said they were influenced by him in other interviews and worked with him and had their songs covered by him but apparently not asked about him here. John even performed at the first Farm Aid!  I would have thought Burns might have respected John a bit more. Hell, Peter Coyote even narrated one of John's last PBS specials. I could say more in defense of John...and my username is one of his songs but this is a thread about the documentary not who got the short shrift although there are others who haven't even been mentioned...

He didn't treat him as a negative afterthought, imo.  He presented the situation at the time as what had happened, and a reflection of how some segments of the country genre felt about the folk musicians who were influenced by Nashville.  I didn't see it as being how country artists in general still feel about Denver.

15 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I burst into tears when they played Janis Joplin’s cover of “Bobbie McGhee.”

I just about did to.  And the bit in the previous episode where Dwight Yoakum was desperately trying to hold it together quoting the lyrics of that Merle Haggard song made me tear up too.

13 hours ago, ProudMary said:

They certainly did justice to Dolly! I thought she was being short-changed with just the early segment about her break from Porter Wagoner and a few of her earlier songs, of course including "I Will Always Love You" but then they tied it all up with a bow toward the end of the episode with all of Dolly's accomplishments over the decades. Beautiful treatment of an American treasure.

I'm so glad they included the performance clip of her original version.  It's so superior to that overrated shriekathon of Whitney Houston's.  Dolly Parton really is one smart cookie.  Her voice can be a bit of an acquired taste, but damned if she doesn't know how to write songs which work with it.  And she knows the business inside and out, and was smart enough to realize she needed to diversify.  Plus, she gives back to the people of East Tennessee (and elsewhere) because she knows what it's like to grow up in poverty.

13 hours ago, ProudMary said:

And I knew there would have to be a lengthy piece on "He Stopped Loving Her Today" often mentioned as the greatest country song of all time. I'd never heard that George Jones thought it was a sappy piece of junk that wouldn't sell. 

That song is just so perfect, and so emotional.  Can't imagine how he could've thought that, but he was wrong, fortunately.

6 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I'm still pondering how Dolly wrote I Will Always Love You about her WORKING relationship with Porter Wagner.  Okay.....I'm still trying to process it. It's the one thing that I have seen on this series that I'm having trouble digesting. lol 

It's not about romantic love, but about the love you can feel for someone you've been almost family to for years, and how sometimes you need to step away from that relationship in order to grow.  Nothing in the song lyrics requires that the singer be in a romance with the person to whom it's directed.

(It's Porter Wagoner, btw.  That's why he was so enamored with wagons and wagon wheels on his flashy suits.)

This show has made me realize that while I thought I didn't like Hank Williams, I actually do like a lot of his songs.  It's Hank Williams Jr whose music does nothing for me.

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, ProudMary said:

While I'm still going to watch, I don't have much interest in tonight's episode. I stepped away from country music somewhere in the mid-eighties. I didn't care for the direction it seemed to be going. While I liked some of the then newcomers like George Strait, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakum, there were more that I didn't care for. And then there was Garth Brooks, who pretty much ruined the genre for decades. Just my opinion; mileage will vary and that's fine. Our individual music preferences are highly subjective and there's really no right or wrong.

I'm with you on that.

[sophia-june60]

I never heard of Jan Howard and I thought she came across as a very bitter woman. My husband is a vietnam vet and the next morning he brought her up and said he was really bothered by her remarks. I understand she lost her son but the way she said she would blow those protesters away with her 357 magnum was a bit much especially over 50 years later.

I thought Willie looked so much better once he grew his hair out  and grew a beard.

I've never been a fan of country  music but I have thoroughly enjoyed this documentary.

[JudyObscure]

2 hours ago, Neurochick said:

It's not that people supported the war.  It's that they didn't want someone else to tell them how they were supposed to feel.   Many people saw the protesters as privileged young people who wouldn't have been drafted anyway.  

The protesters were expressing their constitutional right to express how they felt just like when we vote. They were not telling anyone else how to feel.  The majority of them were college students who would be eligible for the draft the moment they graduated or their grade point average dropped too low.  There might have been a few "senators sons" whose fathers managed to pull strings to keep them out of the service but those cases were extremely rare.  By the late 1960's it was clear to most people (even the president admitted it privately) that the U. S. would lose the war in Vietnam.  From then on anyone who died in the war was sacrificing his life for no American gain.  I can see why the mother didn't want to believe her son died in vain, but I don't see why other young men should have been asked to give their lives just for a facade of ''supporting our troops."   

[magdalene]

I didn't have a problem with Howard telling the people who bothered a mourning person at the door to go take a hike.  It was the kill with a shotgun threat that was quite frankly scary and totally uncalled for.

"I ain't dumb - and I am not a blonde".  "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap".  OMG, I had no idea Dolly Parton was so awesome and such a great song writer.

I also have been very impressed by Brenda Lee and Marty Stuart throughout this documentary.

I don't have the impression that John Denver was dissed.  He was mentioned and he was more of a folk singer, wasn't he?

[bosawks]

“There’s such a tension in the voices that you feel you’re starting to vibrate.”

That had me googling the heck out of The Louvin Brothers.

Thanks Emmylou!

[meep.meep]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

He didn't treat him as a negative afterthought, imo.  He presented the situation at the time as what had happened, and a reflection of how some segments of the country genre felt about the folk musicians who were influenced by Nashville.  I didn't see it as being how country artists in general still feel about Denver.

The John Denver thing.  I always thought of him as a pop singer, but what do I know.  This is one of those very rare times when Ken Burns is actually being subtle.  The Nashville establishment was refusing to change anything, or consider any new approaches to country music.  At the same time, in pop and rock and rhythm and blues there was nothing but innovation and change.  And you see this come back to bite them later in the episode when Waylon and Willie beat them at their own game.  The producer who worked with Willie for 10 albums of overproduced dreck, finally had to admit he was wrong when the Red Headed Stranger was such a giant hit.

And, the Nashville establishment goes on refusing to change, to the present day.  It won't be covered on this, but T Bone Burnett won the Grammy for Best Album in 2002 for the soundtrack to O Brother where art Thou, and walked up and received it in total silence because it hadn't been made by the Nashville establishment.  They want to control the business.  Ken Burns missed a big beat in not covering that part of the story.

[Dandesun]

John Denver is hugely important to me because my Dad loved him and played his music all of the time. I remember becoming aware of this... I was probably 3-4 years old so we're talking 1975-6. Here's the thing, I know my Dad fell in love with John Denver's work because of the folk scene -- Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, etc. 1975 we were living in Utah in the shadow of the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains. John Denver's music illustrated the landscape of my earliest memories because what he sang about was right outside our windows. Both my parents started listening to country music in the late 60s so this whole series is just... filling in those sounds of my youth. So, for me, John Denver is very much country despite what the establishment felt. (Olivia Newton-John is a very different story.)

I've been chatting with my Mom about the show and I know the most recent episodes hit particularly close to home for her. She LOVED Waylon. She loved George Jones and Tammy Wynette. My Mom had and EIGHT TRACK of Loretta and Tammy back in the day and, man, those songs were the soundtrack to going to the grocery store or softball practice.

When I was learning how to talk I knew Merle Haggard immediately on the radio and would announce it. But I spoke really fast and couldn't pronounce my r's so my grandmothers or my aunts and uncles didn't know what I was talking about when I would excitedly say 'Mua Hagga!' whenever he came on the radio. Apparently, I would get so mad I'd stomp my foot. Relatives STILL tell this story about me. And when we hear Merle, they all go 'It's Mua Hagga!'

There has not been one episode that hasn't hit me hard in the nostalgia bone. My sister and I saw Dolly a couple of years ago and it's just as magical as you might think. We're hoping Loretta goes on tour or something soon because we need to see her, too.

[LGraves65]

I'm officially over Johnny Cash in this documentary. 

[kaygeeret]

51 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

The John Denver thing.  I always thought of him as a pop singer, but what do I know.  This is one of those very rare times when Ken Burns is actually being subtle.  The Nashville establishment was refusing to change anything, or consider any new approaches to country music.  At the same time, in pop and rock and rhythm and blues there was nothing but innovation and change.  And you see this come back to bite them later in the episode when Waylon and Willie beat them at their own game.  The producer who worked with Willie for 10 albums of overproduced dreck, finally had to admit he was wrong when the Red Headed Stranger was such a giant hit.

And, the Nashville establishment goes on refusing to change, to the present day.  It won't be covered on this, but T Bone Burnett won the Grammy for Best Album in 2002 for the soundtrack to O Brother where art Thou, and walked up and received it in total silence because it hadn't been made by the Nashville establishment.  They want to control the business.  Ken Burns missed a big beat in not covering that part of the story.

BIngo meep.meep...couldn't agree more with your comments on the Nashville establishment.

If there is one thing that I think the documentary makes crystal clear is that the music moved on and embraced anyone who was creative and talented and Nashville stuck itself in glue and refused to admit all things change and grow.

The Lil Nas controversy is just the latest example.

By the way, John Denver took over the third voice on the Chad Mitchell trio when Chad left.  If I remember correctly at least 2-3 albums were released with him in the trio.  Folk songs.

[bosawks]

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I just don’t get “He stopped loving her today”.

I don’t hate it, it’s more of a whatever.

I remember listening to NPR a few years ago and they were doing some segment on country female singers and it came up.  One of the singers commented that the woman in the song probably went to see “him” to make sure the bastard was dead.

I confess to laughing out loud hearing that.

[Ohwell]

I don't remember any of Dwight Yoakum's songs, but I do remember him in Sling Blade.

[Neurochick]

1 hour ago, magdalene said:

I didn't have a problem with Howard telling the people who bothered a mourning person at the door to go take a hike.  It was the kill with a shotgun threat that was quite frankly scary and totally uncalled for.

I thought she was angry and upset.  It's not like she really got a gun and threatened them.  

[Dandesun]

10 minutes ago, bosawks said:

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I just don’t get “He stopped loving her today”.

I don’t hate it, it’s more of a whatever.

I remember listening to NPR a few years ago and they were doing some segment on country female singers and it came up.  One of the singers commented that the woman in the song probably went to see “him” to make sure the bastard was dead.

I confess to laughing out loud hearing that.

This is hilarious because my Mom's best friend never got it. But I don't think it was a 'whatever' thing... she honestly didn't get what the song was saying.

Mom repeatedly tried to explain it to her. "He's dead. Susan. He said he'd love her until he died. And that's what happened."

It's one of those quintessential country songs for me but every time I hear it I think about my Mom's friend and then also think 'Dude. She's over you. Move on.' And it wouldn't surprise me if the lady of the song did show up just to make sure she was free of that obsessive creep once and for all.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Dandesun

[JudyObscure]

Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens singing The Streets of Bakersfield together was one of my favorite moments.  When Dwight said that, "You don't know me, but you don't like me," was about everyone who as ever felt outcast or less than, I got a little misty and then when he did his own version of the song with the Tex-Mex flavor to bring in the border culture -- perfect. 

Then when Wynton Marsalis talked about music being a universal language for all humans and he was so eloquent about it all,  I would have liked the documentary to have ended right there.

[AuntiePam]

13 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I don't remember any of Dwight Yoakum's songs, but I do remember him in Sling Blade.

He doesn't/didn't get a lot of radio play, from what I recall anyway.

Now that I think on it, I don't know why I started buying Yoakam's records, or Rodney Crowell's, or any of the others in the 80's and 90's.  I don't recall listening to country radio at all, not after the mid-60's.  Maybe it was osmosis. 

I do recall "discovering" George Strait after he was on Austin City Limits, but by then he'd already had a second greatest hits album.  Maybe that's where I heard those other singers too.

I will be sad when this series ends and wish there were more.  Many of these artists certainly deserve their own docs.

[Brattinella]

Does anyone know the names of the people in the introduction?  It is 31 seconds and called "Connecting the Country". 

[crystalball]

18 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

Does anyone know the names of the people in the introduction?  It is 31 seconds and called "Connecting the Country". 

It’s a Bank of America commercial. After seeing the first episode, I did a search for “Country Music Bank of America commercial” and there are a few articles about it. Brief individual profiles are on the BoA site. 

[Brattinella]

Thank you, @crystalball !

[annzeepark914]

Dear Lord...more of Johnny Cash tonight.  It never ends.  I'm glad there was time to squeak out some info' re: George Strait and the Judds.  And, most importantly (for me) the angelic voiced Vince Gill.  I'm not a Ken Burns fan (he ruined the special on the creation of New York with his OTT annoyingly repeated musical refrain).  But I was interested in what he'd do with this special.  A lot of it was very good and interesting.  It's too bad that way too much time was wasted, IMO, covering Johnny Cash at the expense of other equally talented country music people.

[absolutelyido]

6 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Dear Lord...more of Johnny Cash tonight.  It never ends.  I'm glad there was time to squeak out some info' re: George Strait and the Judds.  And, most importantly (for me) the angelic voiced Vince Gill.  I'm not a Ken Burns fan (he ruined the special on the creation of New York with his OTT annoyingly repeated musical refrain).  But I was interested in what he'd do with this special.  A lot of it was very good and interesting.  It's too bad that way too much time was wasted, IMO, covering Johnny Cash at the expense of other equally talented country music people.

Couldn't agree more about too much Johnny Cash, but I did enjoy listening to Rosanne Cash telling stories about her life with him. I'm glad they did a segment about her career as well so her success didn't get overlooked. 

[Brattinella]

10 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Dear Lord...more of Johnny Cash tonight.  It never ends.  I'm glad there was time to squeak out some info' re: George Strait and the Judds.  And, most importantly (for me) the angelic voiced Vince Gill.  I'm not a Ken Burns fan (he ruined the special on the creation of New York with his OTT annoyingly repeated musical refrain).  But I was interested in what he'd do with this special.  A lot of it was very good and interesting.  It's too bad that way too much time was wasted, IMO, covering Johnny Cash at the expense of other equally talented country music people.

Oh yeah, and at the end they squeaked in TAYLOR SWIFT.   What??  Did she pay to be included in the show?

[ninjago]

21 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

It's too bad that way too much time was wasted, IMO, covering Johnny Cash at the expense of other equally talented country music people.

Yeah, I get what they were doing, as outlined by Marty Stewart (?): Cash was the embodiment of country music, someone from an impoverished background, self-taught, soul-bearing, and open to new influences, ever-changing.  But, Cash's story must also be the most covered, well-trod biography in country music history.  I would have liked a greater focus on stars whose stories aren't all ready known.

Also, I've been off Roseanne Cash since the third episode, when she talked negatively about her mother wanting a quiet life and worrying about her daughters' safety.  I get it-your dad is the legend, your dad and June had a Great Love, your dad paid your bills and still does, but your dad did your mom dirty in a very hurtful, humiliating way.  It is mighty cold for a daughter to rundown her mother like that.

[bybrandy]

44 minutes ago, ninjago said:

It is mighty cold for a daughter to rundown her mother like that.

I didn't feel like she was running down her mother, just admitting that her parents ultimately weren't compatible.  

[magdalene]

In general I have understood why the well-respected or famous/or both singers and musicians celebrated or even just mentioned in this documentary have had significance in Country Music. I have understood it even if I never even knew a single thing about them before this program, or when their music just isn't to my taste.

But I don't get the Garth Brooks thing at all. What am I missing?

[annzeepark914]

11 minutes ago, magdalene said:

But I don't get the Garth Brooks thing at all. What am I missing?

You & me both! He's a nice guy. But, IMO, his music is so bland. I've never understood his incredible popularity.

[Gwendolyn]

55 minutes ago, ninjago said:

Also, I've been off Roseanne Cash since the third episode, when she talked negatively about her mother wanting a quiet life and worrying about her daughters' safety.  I get it-your dad is the legend, your dad and June had a Great Love, your dad paid your bills and still does, but your dad did your mom dirty in a very hurtful, humiliating way.  It is mighty cold for a daughter to rundown her mother like that.

I didn't get that impression from Roseanne, if you read this article in the Guardian from 2006 she compliments  and loves her mother, and like her sister, Kathy, laments how she was portrayed in Walk the Line.

I think Burns used AP Carter through Johnny Cash as his narrative through line for the documentary to give it structure as the entire story was too large.  The last 2 periods felt rushed, then again the 70s through the 90s covered my youth and the music I was raised on, so I knew it better was lamented when favorite songs or artists were cut off or given barely a line. Mind I was griping to a co-worker today how PBS cut off Parton's Jolene playing through the credits to preview tonight's episode and she said she'd never heard the song.  How does one not know Jolene? Then again she preferred Whitney's version of "I will always love you", so I have to strongly suspect her musical taste.

[Raja]

5 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

You & me both! He's a nice guy. But, IMO, his music is so bland. I've never understood his incredible popularity.

I come from the Wynton Marsalis side of the American divide thus rarely heard anything covered on the doc except the crossover hits and the artist who had movies made about them. But I remember that first Garth Brooks TV concert and knew right away why he was a star even if I didn't know a single song from that concert 

[ninjago]

On 9/23/2019 at 7:18 AM, bosawks said:

I loved Jack White's anecdote about not getting Loretta's lyric and how explicit she had to be to explain the intent.

And his "wow" face when conveying the point at which he understood.

I caught the PBS American Masters on Loretta Lynn a couple weeks ago (it was from 2016), and Jack White is in it, again marveling at Loretta's lyrics and songwriting.  He's so in awe of her-it's like a puzzle he can't quit figure out.  He actually cries about it!

And, jeez, back when he was in the White Stripes, with that Edward Scissorshands hair, I never would have guessed he was so cute and dimply.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Brattinella said:

Oh yeah, and at the end they squeaked in TAYLOR SWIFT.   What??  Did she pay to be included in the show?

Maybe like Elvis was so big before Country lost him Taylor Swift flashed high for her generation before Country lost her? But in a montage of pictures that couldn't be spelled out.

[skipnjump]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm not a fan of the Nashville sound.  It just sounds like elevator versions of country music, - bland.  That's not criticizing the voices or the lyrics. It's just that the music all kind of seemed the same with all of the focus being on the vocalist and the music faded into the background.  I like the more twangy sound of bluegrass and older country music.

[sinycalone]

Taylor Swift never really was country... just pop-country....then moved on to straight pop.  I give her credit for cutting the ties so openly.

I do enjoy some of Garth Brooks catalog....The Dance, If Tomorrow Never Comes, 'Til the Sun Comes Up, Friends in Low Places, etc.  And I think he is a terrific showman.  Why he was included IMO:  as they said, he changed the expectations of record labels for financial success.  They wanted that level of $$ return from every artist after that.  They were no longer looking for new, promising acts...or even established artists that were not arena-level performers.

As to Johnny Cash...I understand the Carter/Cash family providing  a link through all the generations....but it went too far with the Johnny Cash portion of that theme IMO.   

They only had so many hours to tell the story of country music...so there are omissions, of course.  Personally, I wish they would have spent less time on Garth Brooks and Johnny Cash...and given Alan Jackson, Patty Loveless and Don Williams some real on-screen time.

But they did include a lot on Waylon, Vince, Dolly and Loretta....true greats.

For the past 10-15 years, we've had to endure FGL, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett...and an endless supply of guys whose only appeal seems to be cute smiles and gym-rat bodies.  And very little country music background.

[SunnyBeBe]

I LOVED that Bank of America commercial with the various artist singing and playing Wagon Wheel (written by Bob Dylan). I thought they were from NC! lol  Since the song sings about NC and the all appear very North Carolinian to me. lol  

Quote

Ken Burns SOBBED UNCONTROLLABLY WATCHING COUNTRY MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

the first time he watched it. 

https://www.foxnews.com/media/ken-burns-country-music-about-elemental-human-experience

Ref. the part on Garth Brooks. I don't think this episode quite captured the art behind Garth. His body of work is incredible. Songs like If Tomorrow Never Comes, In Another's Eyes, The River, Much Too Young, That Summer, Unanswered Prayers, A'int Going Down, demonstrate his depth, imo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Songs_written_by_Garth_Brooks

Plus, the man has a huge heart. I wasn't surprised that he showed up impromptu and greeted fans at Fan Fare and stayed until all were served, even though it took 20 straight hours!  It sounds just like him. 

[LGraves65]

I saw Garth Brooks in concert in 1991 and it was the best concert I've been to in my life. He did a 2+ hour show, and then came out and did at least four encores.

I realized this morning that they didn't feature any groups -- just one mention of Alabama, one of the Statler Brothers, maybe one of the Oak Ridge Boys? (My husband says they did; I didn't hear any.) I think they could have cut 15 or 20 minutes of Johnny Cash to cover them.

[JudyObscure]

2 hours ago, sinycalone said:

Taylor Swift never really was country... just pop-country....then moved on to straight pop.  I give her credit for cutting the ties so openly.

I do enjoy some of Garth Brooks catalog....The Dance, If Tomorrow Never Comes, 'Til the Sun Comes Up, Friends in Low Places, etc.  And I think he is a terrific showman.  Why he was included IMO:  as they said, he changed the expectations of record labels for financial success.  They wanted that level of $$ return from every artist after that.  They were no longer looking for new, promising acts...or even established artists that were not arena-level performers.

As to Johnny Cash...I understand the Carter/Cash family providing  a link through all the generations....but it went too far with the Johnny Cash portion of that theme IMO.   

They only had so many hours to tell the story of country music...so there are omissions, of course.  Personally, I wish they would have spent less time on Garth Brooks and Johnny Cash...and given Alan Jackson, Patty Loveless and Don Williams some real on-screen time.

But they did include a lot on Waylon, Vince, Dolly and Loretta....true greats.

For the past 10-15 years, we've had to endure FGL, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett...and an endless supply of guys whose only appeal seems to be cute smiles and gym-rat bodies.  And very little country music background.

Loved your whole post, particularly the bolded. I think you helped explain those guys in the muscle shirts to me with the "arena appeal."  I never go to concerts so I just didn't understand their talent beyond an ability to hold the final note of a phrase for a really, really long time.

[Sparger Springs]

12 hours ago, ninjago said:

Yeah, I get what they were doing, as outlined by Marty Stewart (?): Cash was the embodiment of country music, someone from an impoverished background, self-taught, soul-bearing, and open to new influences, ever-changing.  But, Cash's story must also be the most covered, well-trod biography in country music history.  I would have liked a greater focus on stars whose stories aren't all ready known.

Also, I've been off Roseanne Cash since the third episode, when she talked negatively about her mother wanting a quiet life and worrying about her daughters' safety.  I get it-your dad is the legend, your dad and June had a Great Love, your dad paid your bills and still does, but your dad did your mom dirty in a very hurtful, humiliating way.  It is mighty cold for a daughter to rundown her mother like that.

I don't think she was running down her mom. Johnny and Vivian weren't a good match and Johnny was a cheating drug addict. Its all old to her now and whatever hurt it caused she is over it.

[proserpina65]

17 hours ago, magdalene said:

I ain't dumb - and I am not a blonde".  "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap".  OMG, I had no idea Dolly Parton was so awesome and such a great song writer.

She is the bomb.  I'm only a casual country music fan, but I adore Dolly.

13 hours ago, Brattinella said:

Oh yeah, and at the end they squeaked in TAYLOR SWIFT.   What??  Did she pay to be included in the show?

Taylor Swift is a reflection of modern country music, and the ways it's continued to change since the mid-90s.  There's nothing wrong with including a brief shot of her along with many other modern stars.

As for those who are over Johnny Cash, you're entitled to your opinions, but Cash was the single most important figure in country music for more than 4 decades and positively towered over the genre.  He deserved to be included to the extent that he was, imo.

11 hours ago, Gwendolyn said:

The last 2 periods felt rushed, then again the 70s through the 90s covered my youth and the music I was raised on, so I knew it better was lamented when favorite songs or artists were cut off or given barely a line.

This should've been the music of my youth, but the 80s and 90s are pretty much where I drifted away from country almost completely.  So I'm fine with those eras getting less attention.  I'd have even preferred more of the early years and less of the 90s.

6 hours ago, skipnjump said:

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm not a fan of the Nashville sound.  It just sounds like elevator versions of country music, - bland.  That's not criticizing the voices or the lyrics. It's just that the music all kind of seemed the same with all of the focus being on the vocalist and the music faded into the background.  I like the more twangy sound of bluegrass and older country music.

I've found that I definitely am less of a fan of Countrypolitan, that's for sure.  And I'm not exactly sure why Tanya Tucker would be considered that other than being produced by the guy who created the sound.  She's definitely not smooth at all, but all rough edges and honky-tonk energy.

3 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Ref. the part on Garth Brooks. I don't think this episode quite captured the art behind Garth. His body of work is incredible. Songs like If Tomorrow Never Comes, In Another's Eyes, The River, Much Too Young, That Summer, Unanswered Prayers, A'int Going Down, demonstrate his depth, imo.

I hate his music.  Hate it.  To me, he is the epitome of bad country music.  But that's just my opinion, and since no one's forcing me to listen to it, it's not really a problem.  Well, except when I was working in Office Max years ago - but Garth was only a tiny part of that hell.

[Dandesun]

9 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

As for those who are over Johnny Cash, you're entitled to your opinions, but Cash was the single most important figure in country music for more than 4 decades and positively towered over the genre.  He deserved to be included to the extent that he was, imo.

I have to agree. Johnny Cash transcended country music. I will say that I wish they had gone further with the bit about being dropped from Columbia because the Nashville establishment did that to a lot of country stars. Rick Rubin revitalizing Cash's career at the end was a huge thing but it also not a stand alone. Merle Haggard went with a punk label to do an album and actually made a vow on stage in the 90s (maybe?) to never sign with a Nashville label again. Jack White produced Loretta Lynn's 'Van Lear Rose' on Interscope Records which was definitely not known as a country label.

You had a very brief segment of George Strait, Reba, Alan Jackson and Randy Travis where they were called the 'new traditionalists' but it wasn't acknowledged that, at the time, Nashville was cutting out their actual long-term stars out. What about at the CMA awards in the 90s where George Jones was up for single of the year but they would only give him a minute to play and told him to abridge the song to fit. Jones refused to show up. So Alan Jackson interrupted his own performance to insert some of 'Choices' as a protest.

So with all of that, showing Cash's resurgence is an important part of the story. Plus, it doesn't matter how many times I hear his version of 'Hurt' -- it guts me every time.

Meanwhile, 'Friends in Low Places' I call 'That Fucking Song' because when I was in college, in Kentucky, I couldn't escape it. My dorm shared a building with a frat house and it's all I heard. It was played at all the parties. It was played in the evening. When I came back between classes, there it was. When I woke up in the morning... THERE IT WAS. I can't stand Garth Brooks but he was so huge he infiltrated everything. My sister got tickets to see him last year and when she came back she was all 'I am not a Garth Brooks fan but I knew every song he played.' I said 'I HATE Garth Brooks but I'd probably know every song he played, too. He was everywhere.'

Also, Vince Gill crying as he sang at George Jones' memorial will rip my heart out every. single. time. Sweetpea, indeed.

[AuntiePam]

I was tickled to see snippets of k d lang, Lyle Lovett, and Steve Earle.  Hoped for a bit of Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the Flatlanders -- they have the cred -- but had to recognize that there wasn't time for everyone.  Darn it.

Would have liked to hear some of Rodney Crowell's music -- he can get ya moving, and crying too. 

Lately, seems like country songs have been all about "me" (the singer).  I call 'em "This is who I am" songs.  There's nothing universal about those songs, nothing I can relate to.  They're very self-involved, self-important.  This probably isn't true for most of the songs, but it's what I hear whenever I turn on the radio, which is less and less these days.  I get my country music recs from NPR. 

[JudyObscure]

7 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

  I get my country music recs from NPR. 

Bluegrass Ramble, Sundays at 6PM!

Also, Vince Gill crying as he sang at George Jones' memorial will rip my heart out every. single. time. Sweetpea, indeed.

I know! If I learned anything from this it's how much these people love each other.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Dandesun said:

Also, Vince Gill crying as he sang at George Jones' memorial will rip my heart out every. single. time. Sweetpea, indeed.

Since his brother and a mentor inspired the song I think that I must have missed what George Jones was to Vince Gill beyond a star 

[Ohwell]

Yeah, I know, I know.  They couldn't feature every country artist, but I wish they'd shown a flash of Joe Diffie singing Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox If I Die.  One of my favorite country songs.

[Brattinella]

5 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Yeah, I know, I know.  They couldn't feature every country artist, but I wish they'd shown a flash of Joe Diffie singing Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox If I Die.  One of my favorite country songs.

Seriously.  I had to look that one up this morning to hear it again!

[bosawks]

Listening to Johnny's version if "Hurt" I realized that over the years I've managed to block out just how wrenching the video for that song was.

June Carter on that stairway staring down at Johnny, oof, what a punch to the heart.