# (Ken Burns) Country Music Documentary **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317 "2019-09-16T15:26:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/81 "2019-09-25T03:04:04Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > For a guy I get choked up pretty easy, but it’s always something random. When Kathy Mattea was talking about her uncle that always told her he’d be watching for her on “Hee Haw” and then she got on it and got to do a “Salute!” to her home town…I teared up a little. Burns must own a guitar called “heart”. he really knows how to pluck those strings. The Dolly Parton song “I will always Love You” story dealing with her need to break away from her mentor Porter Wagoner. I won’t be able to listen to THAT again without getting misty eyed. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/82 "2019-09-25T03:07:37Z")
I liked that producer who thought Willies album he recorded in Texas was crap. But released it anyway. Wow! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/83 "2019-09-25T03:30:18Z")
Man, I grew up with all those old country songs. There were limited radio stations in Anchorage, and the pop station would have segments of country songs, many of which were crossover tunes on the pop charts. I had LPs of Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, and of course the rockabilly stars. When a lot of the country stars began “smoothing out” the music, more and more of the songs crossed to the pop side, so I have solid base of that music in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/84 "2019-09-25T04:01:57Z")
I have the country music channel on my direcTV on. They are playing cuts from the soundtrack to the Documentary. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/85 "2019-09-25T04:15:52Z")
Clearly, Marty Stuart also visited that Mississippi crossroads where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. The first two albums the kid owns were Johnny Cash and Bill Monroe, and he goes to see Connie Smith and vows he’ll someday marry her. Today, the only two jobs he’s ever had are playing in Bill Monroe’s and Johnny Cash’s bands, and he’s married to Connie Smith. All that aside, I’ve found him a perceptive and entertaining commentator throughout the series, sort of the Shelby Foote of Country Music. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/86 "2019-09-25T04:21:42Z")
I have always thought Marty Stuart was cool. I didn’t know how his rise up through the music biz went. So interesting. The George Jones and Tammy Wynette story was just sad. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/87 "2019-09-25T05:03:15Z")
Hehehe, **Beckdawrek** , I would have figured you would have been weirded out by the high amount of Willie content in tonight’s episode. Of course, I was brought to tears by some of the Texas content in this episode, and loved the amount of it. I do think it was appropriate. Van Zandt’s coverage because, damn, that man could write. Even the small amounts of “If You Needed Me” that they included made me just about bawl. That they had the time for a slight inclusion of Freddie Fender and Flaco Jimenez made me tear up out of happiness and remembering being a kid and listening to the radio with my parents. I did not know that Waylon was the first RCA artist to use non-RCA engineers. That’s kind of amazing. That’s almost like telling AT&T to screw off at that time - and he got away with it! I’d also never noticed how drone-y and sitar-y “Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way” starts out. 🙂 Vince Gills’ story of opening for KISS and it being Spinal Tap worthy was priceless, as was Marty Stuart’s story of Deliverance being his and Scruggs’ ticket to getting booked. Chance is a screwy thing, always. Burns tying all of that into the greater story was pretty masterful. On the other end of the spectrum, Burns actually saved me from myself for brief moments with the montage over “He Stopped Loving Her Today”. _Every_ time I hear that song, I react like Hazel Smith does the first time she heard it\*. I have to pull over to the side of the road, because I don’t have the self control to turn it off, and I can’t see because I’m crying. A while back there was a thread about what songs can you recognize from the first beat. I can recognize that one. I just go ahead and hit the turn signal to go ahead and move over to the shoulder and hit the hazards. (I apologize, Ken, but this actually happened) When I was looking at the screen, my brain said "nope, this image is so sappy and cliche, it cancels out the effect of the song. I turned away and walked into an adjacent part of the room to retrieve something, couldn’t see the images, and the waterworks started. Turn back for a sec to make sure what I think is happening is happening, and yep, those images are too _something_. It doesn’t work any more. Return to retrieving what I wanted, and more waterworks. At this point I commented on it to my wife, who is aware of my affliction with the song\*\*, and she agreed. Kind of hammy, but I’ll be damned if I can come up with an appropriate image that isn’t overwhelmingly hokey for that song, so all three of us are defeated. I always knew Dolly was nowhere near stupid. Somehow I was dense enough to miss that she’s not a natural blonde. I’m just not observant enough to be able to figure out whether that hair color is natural or not. So, her response to the stereotype was both humorous and educational. \*Oddly, I don’t really cry a lot. Bitch and moan, idle threats? Yeah, but not a lot of tears. That song, though. Luckily, I have yet to need to explain to a cop “Well, I was pulled over because while this country song is on the radio, I can’t drive safely”. \*\*She bought me a George Jones’ greatest hits at some point. I usually can’t resist listening to music immediately when i receive it, but that remained in the wrapper for something like five years before I couldn’t resist anymore. She knew I loved The Possum, but she knew what song I was avoiding. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/88 "2019-09-25T05:15:53Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Since I don’t listen to country music per se it was difficult to follow. But it is very well done and fascinating to watch. I love music and this has been a very satisfying documentary. It could be the world standard of documentaries going forward. > > I will never be able to listen Hank Williams JR’s Family Tradition again without smiling. Often when it’s played in bars there’s a crowd participation element to it. Now I know the meaning behind the song. Hehehe, my mom explaining what that song actually meant when it came out (and that she had any idea what the lyrics meant) was a very strange bonding moment for myself and what I thought was a very straight-laced woman. > [@Magiver](#): > > Ken Burns brought to light all the behind the scenes mentoring that went on. A lot of good stories that will warm your heart. > > I loved the music award announcement of John Denver which the announcer set on fire before reading. Hehehe, I feel for both sides of that. As this episode asked: at what point have you changed what the art form is itself, and the other side asks when are you just strangling the art with the form. It’s a question that any art has asked since “high” art first tried to separate itself from another form of “low” art. Always worthwhile asking, always without a definite answer. > [@Magiver](#): > > I never realized Willey Nelson started Austin City Limits on PBS. I never realized it had been on longer than Hee-Haw! If I’d thought about it, and done math, I would have realized it. But I had done neither. Annnnnnnnd…now I feel old. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/89 "2019-09-25T05:23:44Z")
I feel the same way about that song. I remember being very young and realizing it meant the guy died. Jones is up there with Sinatra in vocal phrasing and way he shapes a note to his voice. And Willie does kinda creep me out. I’m more apt to appreciate him now after hearing about how he got back to Texas and made a great music career for himself. Him and Merle singing ‘Pancho and Lefty’ just leaves me in a cold sweat. So haunting. I love Merle, he cannot do much I don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/90 "2019-09-25T06:23:19Z")
Hazel Smith is killing it. I love her. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/91 "2019-09-25T07:07:03Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Hazel Smith is killing it. I love her. She’s the Shelby Foote of this documentary. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/92 "2019-09-25T18:58:38Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Clearly, Marty Stuart also visited that Mississippi crossroads where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. > > The first two albums the kid owns were Johnny Cash and Bill Monroe, and he goes to see Connie Smith and vows he’ll someday marry her. Today, the only two jobs he’s ever had are playing in Bill Monroe’s and Johnny Cash’s bands, and he’s married to Connie Smith. > > All that aside, I’ve found him a perceptive and entertaining commentator throughout the series, sort of the Shelby Foote of Country Music. Holy crap, Marty Stuart is a freakin’ _library_ of country music knowledge! I’m not sure what his Count Dracula outfit is about, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/93 "2019-09-25T19:23:13Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Clearly, Marty Stuart also visited that Mississippi crossroads where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. Emmylou Harris must have been there, as well. She’s _ **72 years old!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/94 "2019-09-25T19:31:29Z")
She’s such a pretty woman. She’s aged gracefully. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/95 "2019-09-25T23:29:19Z")
Marty Stuart’s first marriage was to Johnny Cash’s daughter Cindy. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/96 "2019-09-26T00:47:37Z")
Watching the final episode now. I will be disappointed if they don’t give a nod to Martina McBride. IMHO, one of the best country singers ever. Not a big fan or follower but I always thought she had an amazing set of pipes. I’m a big Steve Earle fan, haven’t seen his mention yet. They did talk some about Townes Van Zandt, one of SE’s influences. Agree that Emmylou is one beautiful woman. Classic. Heh, Steve Earle just popped up with “Guitar Town” one of my favorite songs. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/97 "2019-09-26T01:11:00Z")
Omg. Vince Gill. I’m crying. Hippie, I like Steve Earle, alot!! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/98 "2019-09-26T02:00:46Z")
Holy-moly. Ended perfect. Johnny Cash brought it all the way around. The circle is unbroken! ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/99 "2019-09-26T02:01:54Z")
[Vintage Martina McBride](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56k5HgBsOtU) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/100 "2019-09-26T02:05:58Z")
Maybe the last episode could have been divided into a couple; lots of good artists just mentioned quickly. But nice to see a couple Canadians mentioned. I was wondering how things work when an artist keeps a tune but changes the words. I’m specifically thinking of “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Toni Angels” and “I’m Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes”, which the Carter Family remembered as an old song their great aunt used to sing, or something. How would royalties work if I wrote something using a familiar tune? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317.md?page=6)