Ken Burns Country Music Documentary

[canbelto]

I worked with a woman who screamed at me for saying I liked country. She said all country music was racist. Ok then.

 

[Cachoo]

I can remember my parents playing their Roger Miller album as much as their Beatles album. So on the same night that old, blonde wood Hi-Fi would crank out "King of the Road" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Great songs and this program is yet another wonderful Burns offering.

Now that he has tackled Jazz, Blues and Country I wonder if Rock and Roll is possibly in the future for Burns.

(I love Mary Chapin Carpenter too.)

 

[Cachoo]

Thinking about Patsy and her remarkable voice and pondering the female singers we lost so young: Patsy, Janis Joplin, Mama Cass, Karen Carpenter, Amy Winehouse ---all beautiful voices and all gone too soon...

 

[Susan1]

I always wonder when someone says they don't like "country" music given there are multiple styles that fall into the genre, what aspect they don't like. Did you like Elvis? Ray Charles? Ever listened to George Strait (smooth as butter...I recommend Amarillo by Morning). Did you like early rock? The Beatles or Stones, both of whom had records that were originally performed by country artists. Maybe you don't like Bluegrass, or classic country, but like outlaw country, western swing, the Bakersfield sound (Dwight Yokum), Louisiana (Mary Chapin Carpenter), Linda Rondstadt, Dolly Parton (Jolene is my absolute favorite). All of these have had country hits many of which crossed over to pop. Dolly Parton wrote and sang I Will Always Love You before she let Whitney Houston record the song. I always preferred Dolly's version as I thought her delivery was more moving than Houston's.

I have never liked any of the people mentioned above except The Beatles. Just because they sang a song that a "country" singer sang first doesn't mean I have to like all country songs or singers. (Can't listen to Whitney Houston or Linda Ronstadt. They make my teeth hurt. Dolly Parton is adorable, but her voice grates.) I used to play Ringo's Act Naturally more than what was on the "A" side of the 45 (I'd have to go look). That does not mean I'm going to go out and buy the album of whatever country singer sang it first. I already said I liked Southern Rock. Not the yodeling and twanginess, and somebody stole my truck and my dog ran away stuff. And I liked Glen Campbell and John Denver songs that they played on popular radio. What genre of "country" music does Wichita Lineman fall into? It's one of my favorite songs of all time. It does not mean that I would have to like every country song Glen Campbell ever sang. I liked a lot of the songs on Nashville, especially the duets, but not others.

Within each one of those genres you mentioned (and others) - you can't tell the songs apart. Watching the documentary, like when they were talking about Bluegrass, it was like the same thing over and over and over...............
Hey, I feel the same way about Frank Sinatra!

Just because I don't like all "rock" music, it doesn't mean that I don't like rock music. The only way I'm familiar with 50's rock is from watching Happy Days. I only liked a couple Stones songs, or The Who, or a few Pink Floyd..........I bought the CD that had Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park on it because I heard the song on VH1 and loved it. That doesn't mean I have to like whatever genre they are/were. I listened to the beginning of the other songs and it sounded like screaming and trash cans banging together.

I hate disco - always have, always will. If I like the song Do Ya Think I'm Sexy by Rod Stewart, do I have to say I like disco?

 

[easilydistracte]

. . . Ringo's Act Naturally . . . whatever country singer sang it first. . . .

That'd be Buck Owens.

Re: Dolly Parton--I've always thought that her "Coat of Many Colors" was one of the finest examples of country music. (As Ken Burns quoted Charlie Parker saying why he liked country music: "Because of the stories, man!")

 

[MacMadame]

I definitely prefer Coat of Many Colors to Jolene. The lyrics to Jolene annoy the crap out of me because they take all the onus for cheating off the man -- the one doing the actual cheating!

Finally watched Episode 4 and it didn't hold me like the first 3. I found the timelines kind of muddled too.

 

[Cachoo]

I've heard this story more than once and I'm trying to find the source. After her death Cline's mother reported she was sexually abused by her father and Cline developed a tough, no nonsense exterior and was so supportive of other female singers. Brenda Lee was just a child at the time and some lecherous adult males (who should have been jailed) tried to take advantage of Lee on tour. Apparently Patsy had seen and heard enough and put one of them in the hospital. After that Lee was not bothered. I love Patsy Cline.

 

[Susan1]

The lyrics to Jolene annoy the crap out of me because they take all the onus for cheating off the man -- the one doing the actual cheating!

Not because she repeats "Jolene" about 50 times? I went to school with a Jolene. She hated it.

 

[annie720]

Who knew that Johnny Cash was so good looking when he was young!

 

[Cachoo]

I worked with a woman who screamed at me for saying I liked country. She said all country music was racist. Ok then.

Well saying it is "all" racist is ridiculous. But there is certainly a history there that I think has less to do with most of the artists than with some of the fans.
This is anecdotal but I was shocked and will never forget this: There was a big, successful cowboy dance club in town and there were numerous smaller cowboy bars in town following the release of "Urban Cowboy." We went to a hole-in-the-wall smaller bar one night just drinking and dancing and and the most racist song I've ever heard---something about we don't want " no n-word" comes on. Now I wouldn't call us activists but wrong is wrong and we left. My friend made some calls the next day and the manager promised her the song was "retired." But we never went back and the place was not one of the cowboy clubs that made it.

 

[floridaice]

We've recorded the episodes and watched the first one last night (none tonight -- skating!). We knew the story of how the Carter family was first recorded in Bristol, but not about Jimmy Rodgers. I'm kind of ashamed, being from Mississippi, that I don't really know much about him. We were not big country fans in my family, but i love a lot of it now. Just not the 'pop' stuff.

Just heartbreaking about his struggles with TB. I think the story of TB is one that needed to be told, that's something that doesn't need to be forgotten.

 

[Simone411]

Well, I grew up loving so many styles of music, and I loved certain country singers like the multi-talented Barbara Mandrell. There was a concert of Barbara's that was televised in 2006 called The Last Dance. During that concert, Barbara sang a medley (different versions) that showed how versatile she could be. I totally loved it.

Barbara Mandrell - You Are My Sunshine Medley.

Other various artists I love include Dolly Parton. Various artists have used and performed songs that were written and sung by Dolly. One of my favorites songs is I'll Always Love you. My dad loved the version of that song by Whitney Houston. He heard Whitney perform that song at the end of the movie, The Bodyguard.

When my dad passed away in 2012, my stepmom wanted the song to be played during the Eulogy. We all agreed to it since it was so special to him - Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love you.

My dad also loved Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Have You Ever Seen The Rain was also played during his Eulogy. Various songs of Creedence Clearwater Revival were also used by other artists. My favorite song of theirs was also performed by Tina Turner - Proud Mary.

Another song that I totally love is Landslide by Stevie Nicks, and the Dixie Chicks made the song one of the top 40 hits in 2003. Landslide.

So when it comes to country music, I love several artists like Kenny Rogers and Parton singing together, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Eddie Rabbit, Billy Joe Royal, Reba McIntyre, Barbara Mandrell and Ronnie Milsap just to name a few.

 

[rfisher]

We've recorded the episodes and watched the first one last night (none tonight -- skating!). We knew the story of how the Carter family was first recorded in Bristol, but not about Jimmy Rodgers. I'm kind of ashamed, being from Mississippi, that I don't really know much about him. We were not big country fans in my family, but i love a lot of it now. Just not the 'pop' stuff.

Just heartbreaking about his struggles with TB. I think the story of TB is one that needed to be told, that's something that doesn't need to be forgotten.

I think Burns is doing such a good job focusing on the story behind the music. The focus on individual struggles, the social climate of the time, the evolution of the business of music is what makes this documentary so fascinating. My parents were county music fans so I grew up knowing the music through the time periods, but putting it into social context is different. This week's feature is Dolly Parton. I did not know she wrote I will always love you as her good bye song to Porter Waggoner when she left his TV program and went solo.

 

[skatesindreams]

I think Burns is doing such a good job focusing on the story behind the music. The focus on individual struggles, the social climate of the time, the evolution of the business of music is what makes this documentary so fascinating.

For Burns and his co-author; context illumines and explains, as a recitation of "facts" never does.

 

[floridaice]

I think Burns is doing such a good job focusing on the story behind the music. The focus on individual struggles, the social climate of the time, the evolution of the business of music is what makes this documentary so fascinating. My parents were county music fans so I grew up knowing the music through the time periods, but putting it into social context is different. This week's feature is Dolly Parton. I did not know she wrote I will always love you as her good bye song to Porter Waggoner when she left his TV program and went solo.

I think this is why I love Burn's films. He gives the normal history and the personal stories -- the entire picture. It was so hard to watch the Vietnam series because I remember so much about from a child's perspective -- knowing friends of my older siblings that were actually there, hearing the casualty counts on the news every night, wearing a POW bracelet and seeing 'my' POW getting off a plane. Hearing those stories as an adult, along with the political details I was too young to understand at the time, was painful. Same with the letters in the Civil War series

I remember when Dolly left Porter Wagner's show and I knew she wrote I Will Always Love You, but didn't know she wrote it about leaving the show til The Bodyguard. My parents weren't really country fans, but they loved music & variety
shows and we watched them all in the 60s & 70s. If the show had skits, comedy or music, we watched it.

 

[PRlady]

I was raised to think that country music was for racist hillbillies, proving that prejudice flows many ways. But in 1991, in the midst of divorce and then tumultuous love affair, I heard Mary Chapin Carpenter’s You Win Again on the radio.

That didn’t sound like the twangy country I grew up making fun of, but the lyrics really resonated. Turned out Mary was my gateway drug for learning to love it all, from Reba to Garth to Alan and more.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

I was raised to think that country music was for racist hillbillies, proving that prejudice flows many ways. But in 1991, in the midst of divorce and then tumultuous love affair, I heard Mary Chapin Carpenter’s You Win Again on the radio.

That didn’t sound like the twangy country I grew up making fun of, but the lyrics really resonated. Turned out Mary was my gateway drug for learning to love it all, from Reba to Garth to Alan and more.

I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing MCC and her band last fall here in Richmond. I have loved her music for decades and it was an amazing time.

@PRlady, did you know she's a Ivy Leaguer (a Brown graduate IIRC)?

 

[skatfan]

This week's feature is Dolly Parton. I did not know she wrote I will always love you as her good bye song to Porter Waggoner when she left his TV program and went solo.

I just learned that too. Dolly says that she tried to tell him she was leaving and he wouldn't let her tell him, so she finally realized that she had to write it in a song. Isn't there also a story that much later when his songs came up to be sold that she bought them for him? I don't remember the details.

Fresh Air did a review of the series and Ken Tucker gave it a pretty bad review - I was pretty shocked. His main criticism is that he isn't including enough historians this time in the series, and too many artists who are back-slapping each other. His other complaint that it is focusing too much on the "big men" kind of history, but some of that is stuff that has never been covered before.

 

[PRlady]

I’ve seen the historians whining on Twitter too. Buzz off guys, this is not the Civil War and Marty Stuart knows more than you do.

 

[Cachoo]

I am so happy to read of the love for Mary Chapin Carpenter. I felt she might be overlooked. I remember the ladies of Country joining her on stage to sing "The Hard Way" years ago. It gave me chills.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, Kathy Mattea and Alison Krauss are on the list of concerts we always attend whenever they play in our area.

 

[skatesindreams]

Marty Stuart knows more than you do.

Amen!

 

[skatesindreams]

If the "critics" watched the preview show; all concerned said that they knew that they weren't going to be able to cover every influential figure from every perspective. Their emphasis became to uncover the personal history/stories of those who lived them, while they could still share; as well as appreciating their ongoing influence in a format that a viewer will want to watch.

The "historians" will have their way, later.
We'll see how many people accept their view of something which they have usually trivialized, marginalized or denigrated.

 

[Susan1]

If the "critics" watched the preview show; all concerned said that they knew that they weren't going to be able to cover every influential figure from every perspective. Their emphasis became to uncover the personal history/stories of those who lived them, while they could still share; as well as appreciating their ongoing influence in a format that a viewer will want to watch.

The "historians" will have their way, later.
We'll see how many people accept their view of something which they have usually trivialized, marginalized or denigrated.

16 hours to cover all those decades and genres. And they even stop at 1996. How could they tell everything about everybody?

Funny - this week in 1973 on American Top 40, there were songs by Kris Kristofferson and Conway Twitty (that I never did like). And two 45s that I still have - Brother Louie (The Stories) and If You Want Me to Stay (Sly and the Family Stone). I wasn't even listening that close because I was reading. That's just what stuck in my mind when I came on here.

 

[PRlady]

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, Kathy Mattea and Alison Krauss are on the list of concerts we always attend whenever they play in our area.

I agree with every single one of them. Kathy plays the Birchmere in VA every year and I try to go. Alison has the voice of an angel. Roseanne has such a range of songs she can sing, she’s amazing.

 

[canbelto]

Now I still want to know how Hank Williams really died.

 

[skatesindreams]

Now I still want to know how Hank Williams really died.

I found this:

Hank Williams' last ride: Driver recalls lonesome end

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Dec. 30, 2002. Montgomery --- Just before sunrise on New Year's Day 50 years ago, a sleek baby-blue Cadillac roared up to the rural Oak Hill, W.

www.ajc.com

 

[canbelto]

I found this:

Hank Williams' last ride: Driver recalls lonesome end

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Dec. 30, 2002. Montgomery --- Just before sunrise on New Year's Day 50 years ago, a sleek baby-blue Cadillac roared up to the rural Oak Hill, W.

www.ajc.com

Wow sounds like Amy Winehouse all over again -- years of abuse caught up to him at the ripe old age of 29.

 

[Karina1974]

I’ve seen the historians whining on Twitter too. Buzz off guys, this is not the Civil War and Marty Stuart knows more than you do.

What historians are they expecting to see??? Someone like my youngest cousin, who has a Ph.D in musicology, but focuses on Viennese operetta (the subject of her dissertation) and opera on general? I'd hardly think she'd be an expert on country or folk music!

The experts are the people who perform the music or have otherwise worked in the genre. Period.

 

[Karina1974]

If the "critics" watched the preview show; all concerned said that they knew that they weren't going to be able to cover every influential figure from every perspective. Their emphasis became to uncover the personal history/stories of those who lived them, while they could still share; as well as appreciating their ongoing influence in a format that a viewer will want to watch.

The "historians" will have their way, later.
We'll see how many people accept their view of something which they have usually trivialized, marginalized or denigrated.

I'm happy they mentioned The Kingston Trio, brief as it was. They weren't "country," (they didn't consider themselves "folk," really), but they did have a big hand in popularizing music that covered numerous genres, as well as Martin guitars, which they played exclusively (and Vega's long-neck "Pete Seeger" banjo) .