Ken Burns' COUNTRY MUSIC Documentary

Assuming you told them that in the email.

i wrote an itunes review for that :)

Leafing through the tie-in book, which does indeed have incredible photos and more details, more stories. Carlene Carter’s dad, Carl Smith, is discussed and there is even a photo of him and June. Random thing I never knew: the Patti Page hit version of “The Tennessee Waltz” was a B-side, the A-side being “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.” Random thing I always forget: Jimmie Rodgers covering up the smell of his medicine with Black Narcissus perfume.

Just saw a busker presumably cashing in on the current country boom and doing Ray Charles singing “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

Was going to get around to watching this on PBS website...but uh I guess you can't do that once it's stopped airing? That's some bullshit. I pay their salaries etc etc. (Yes I am John D and Catherine T MacArthur.)

There was a two week window when you could watch it, I think, otherwise you need a special membership

I really enjoyed the first half of this but the latter part suffers from trying to extend the narratives. The lack of Glen Campbell was severely disappointing. Also, I missed the graphical devices they used to animate the early years.

Yup.

Just barreled through to the end of the book. The afterword by Dayton Duncan sheds some light on the generally high quality of this documentary, albeit with the various caveats expressed throughout thread: he was already a serious fan for a few decades before starting this almost a decade-long project.

The bibliography is reasonably serious too.

Also wondering if we should repurpose this thread as some kind of Good Books About Old School Country Music or find or start another thread for that purpose.

*fingers crossed*

i like that idea!

Yes plz

First post should be about charlie louvin’s autobio

otm

Yes, repurpose this thread or yes, start a new one? Leaning towards the latter.

By the Time I Get to ILX: Good Books About Country Music

Okay Lefty Frizzell singing Jimmie Rodgers’s “Brakeman’s Blues” on the official Spotify playlist for episode 1 of this is totally reminiscent of Dylan’s country voice.

I don't know if this happening elsewhere, but Houston PBS is re-airing this starting tonight in weekly installments.

mr veg got me the book & the soundtrack for christmas #ahHAH

yup i saw a promo abt this re-air whilst watching antique roadshow xp

Oh, I hope it’s on near me. I had dvr’d some episodes but missed the first one. They are selling them but not otherwise making them available for free online. The 1960s and 70s episodes were very interesting

Although yes those episodes didn’t give Glen Campbell and others their full proper due

I'm in a bar for a Clash Day thing, and the TV is running the Kristofferson ep on mute, and even then, that bit where Charley Pride goes over the lyrics to "Loving Her Was Easier..." is worldbeating.

Where's his movie?

...and of course there's a Charley Pride American Masters that aired afterwards.

Charley Pride was my aunt's favorite singer. That era of country was the music I heard in the cradle.

Via re-airing, finally saw more of the one about Outlaw etc.: Good that they slipped Freddie Fender and Flaco Jiminez in there for a second (FF's bilingual "I'll Be There Before The Next Teardrop Falls"=soulful starpower), somehow thereby mentioning them as Texas Tornadoes, but not Doug...)
Can see why Alfred was querying whether Emmylou really loomed *this* large for people of the 70s lol--my impression at the time, without hearing much of her post-GP work 'til later decades, was of her as good ambassador from outside world (post-counterculture, for inst?), and contributor to the country and countryoid community, learning from and creatively responding to tradition, esp. with her bands, trying for albums of distnctive focus (with signature sound, but also striving for records you could tell apart). Still, my more recent impression, of 70s-80s concert tapes, is of a big proto-Americana jukebox/CD carousel on random (if often gorgeous) shuffle.
Several excerpts from Heartworn Highways--the DVD I have incl. an hour's worth of bonus footage, and the color edition is worth seeking, though black and white would prob be pretty effective. The mercurial Townes segments certainly demonstrate that he wasn't always dark-to-stark, as some of this doc's commentary claims. HH has other dynamics I won't spoil, just git it and see.

Can't remember if this was said upthread, but I believe one specific example of Emmylou Harris's influence was having the CMF release The Louvin Brothers' Radio Favorites, for which I think she wrote the liner notes, when almost everything they did was out of print at the time.

Cool, didn't know that!
"Gram Parsons also recorded 'Cash on the Barrelhead.' And the biggest favor that Gram Parsons ever did for The Louvin Brothers was when he introduced Emmylou Harris to the Louvin Brothers sound. He played this song for her — I don't know exactly which song it was — but her remark was, 'Who is that girl singing the high part?' And Gram said, 'That's not a girl. That's Ira Louvin.' And so Emmylou did a big favor for the Louvin Brother music catalog. I guess it's about 500 songs in all, and she recorded five or six of them, which I appreciate. I know Ira would've, too."
Good interview:
https://www.npr.org/2011/01/27/133246237/charlie-louvin-remembering-countrys-harmonizer

Parsons also brought "The Christian Life" to the Byrds for Sweetheart.

"Muh Good Friend--Mistah John Denvah!"

Damnit Ken, where was the discussion of this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEPfxI0BO98

Minnie Pearl Doc Coming Soon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpBbHN1_FNg

Episode #9: TRY THAT IN A SMALL TOWN