# (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:** 6
**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, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/101 "2019-09-26T02:07:36Z")
I missed a few of my favorites too. I think the Americana genre had too little a spotlight. There are 100s of good musicians there. The groups that were so popular got too little of a segment. But it was good overall. ---
**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, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/102 "2019-09-26T02:18:33Z")
[More Vintage Martina](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnfkPv_t7sM) ---
**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, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/103 "2019-09-26T02:41:41Z")
“What’cha doin’ with that lawn mower blade Karl?” My main Dwight Yoakam quote. ---
**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, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/104 "2019-09-26T02:46:52Z")
Dwight is not really a cowboy name, don’t you think? ---
**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 26, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/105 "2019-09-26T02:57:03Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Dwight is not really a cowboy name, don’t you think? He’s named for Eisenhower. His name is Dwight David Yoakam. ---
**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, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/106 "2019-09-26T03:01:44Z")
That’s a nice bit of trivia. Thx ---
**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, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/107 "2019-09-26T03:04:30Z")
Took some digging but I found the song that turned me on to Martina. Heard it on the radio driving to Arkansas for a paddling trip. [Love’s The Only House](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzM_lxnzi64) ---
**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, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/108 "2019-09-26T03:14:23Z")
That’s a good song. ---
**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 26, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/109 "2019-09-26T03:18:31Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > 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? You’d split the royalties with whoever wrote the music. In the case of the early country artists, a lot of those songs were old folk tunes that had never been copyrighted - or even published - and whoever (usually a music publisher or record company, not the artist) got the paperwork through the lawyers first, got the credit. ---
**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, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/110 "2019-09-26T04:16:08Z")
Here’s another of my favorite country songs. [Big White Gate](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wglSdQDYOzQ) ---
**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 26, 2019, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/111 "2019-09-26T04:35:08Z")
Vince Gill trying to see “Go Rest High on That Mountain” got me teary. ---
**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 26, 2019, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/112 "2019-09-26T04:43:21Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Vince Gill trying to see “Go Rest High on That Mountain” got me teary. \*sing ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/113 "2019-09-26T04:57:49Z")
I wish they had included a bit more Alan Jackson - if only to show [his performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbjpbqowX3Y) at George Jones’ memorial service. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/114 "2019-09-26T05:07:48Z")
Mr. Salinqmind never saw Garth Brooks and was quite astounded! Like ‘Queen’, only Country Western, lol. I have a relative who years ago took his wife on a ‘mystery tour’ for her birthday, they drove to the airport, took a plane, checked into a hotel, took a taxi to a venue to see…Yes, Mr. Garth Brooks! eeeeeeee! surprise, happy birthday!..jfc …sometimes I get a couple of cards, one from the cat, and a coffee mug for MY birthday… I thought this and last night’s episodes were kind of crowded and rushed, getting everything in, but what a wonderful series, we watched every single night, entranced. The old time Country Music was the best. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/115 "2019-09-26T05:27:35Z")
I found very interesting the story about how A.P. Carter would travel through the countryside and “collect” songs, then copyright them and make tons of money from them. They described how he would just go to people and say “Hey, I heard you have a good song. May I hear it?” Does that mean he didn’t pay them anything? If so, why didn’t Peter Coyote or any of the talking heads acknowledge that this was super shady? > [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > I’m not overly critical of shows such as this, and am enjoying pretty much every minute. I would say though that time spent on the Carter Family, Hank Williams, Jimmy Rodgers, and others, as undeniably important as they are, could have been trimmed a bit for other performers that are very worthy of inclusion. Hank Snow, for instance. Multiple number one hits and a big star of the 1950s. I don’t believe he was mentioned once, though I did see his face in one of the pictures. I have only seen the first episode and I think the fourth one about the 1950s. Snow was definitely mentioned in the latter. (I like his tune “Trouble in Mind”.) ---
**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, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/116 "2019-09-26T07:08:01Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Here’s another of my favorite country songs. > > [Big White Gate](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wglSdQDYOzQ) Oh, I love Grace Potter. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/117 "2019-09-27T01:34:27Z")
Did I hear the Garth Brooks story correctly? He had such a great attendance at a concert that he booked 2 more at the same place and then another one with free tickets because of the scalper prices paid for at the other concerts? and he showed up at a country event unannounced and signed autographs for something like 20 hrs straight. ---
**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 27, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/118 "2019-09-27T02:02:34Z")
Yep, that’s what they said. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/119 "2019-09-27T02:30:16Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Did I hear the Garth Brooks story correctly? He had such a great attendance at a concert that he booked 2 more at the same place and then another one with free tickets because of the scalper prices paid for at the other concerts? > > and he showed up at a country event unannounced and signed autographs for something like 20 hrs straight. The best story I’ve heard about Garth Brooks came from our own **Snowboarder Bo** : > [@Share your favorite hilarious rock'n'roll anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-favorite-hilarious-rocknroll-anecdote/836798/28): > > Way back in the early 1990s I lived in Tallahassee, Florida. I worked gigs at the Civic Center regularly; we had rock concerts, LOTS of country shows and we were a regular stop for off-Broadway tours. > > One day I show up for load-in and ask who the act is; I’m told it’s that new “hat” guy Garth Brooks. Oh, okay, I say. I had heard of him and even prolly played some his stuff when I worked at the country radio station, but I’m not a country music fan so my knowledge was very limited. > > A typical load-in back then would be 40-60 people working from 8am until prolly 4pm or so, then we’d drop down to show crew until the load-out. That was a lot of people to get together midweek in Tallahassee back then, so there was a larger pool of people than just 60 to be sure the calls would be filled. That meant that you worked with different people all the time, even tho the core group was mostly the same. > > Well, on this gig there were a bunch of new people. I do lighting, so I go off with the lighting folks. We start lining up the truss (it was all pre-loaded truss with PAR cans back then, pretty much), running the cables, etc. One of the new guys has come with us to do lighting. He’s maybe late 20s, early 30s, kinda husky. He’s got on a pair of sweatpants, a fanny pack (it was thing back then; don’t judge), a t-shirt and a baseball hat. I introduce myself: “Hey man, I’m Bo.” “Hey; Garth. Nice to meet you.” > > Now, this is Tallahassee. I have friends named Garth. And Bubba. And Winston. So it’s just “right on; nice to meet you” and work continues. This guy is right there with us, and he seems to know what he’s doing: cool. > > At lunch, I notice that he sits with the touring guys, which was unusual. Locals don’t really do that, at least not often. And I hadn’t really seen him buddying up with the Lighting Director or anyone all morning; he was right alongside me working. /shrug. Whatever. > > After lunch, the rig is flashed and flown. The upstage truss flies first and one of us gets ready to climb the rope ladder to focus. Usually I did that, but for some reason today it was someone else’s gig, so I was off stage left just watching things happen. As the downstage truss goes up, the lighting director is on stage calling the upstage truss focus. He finishes just as the downstage truss reaches trim and walks over to us and says “alright Garth; I’m ready for you” and this new guy walks over to the cable pick (where the lighting cables come from the truss to the ground where the dimmer racks are) _and climbs hand-over-hand up the cable pick, 40 feet, and focuses all the lights_. > > As he’s climbing I turn to the LD and I ask “waitaminnit… is that Garth Brooks?” The LD chuckles and says “yep.” > > “What the fuck? Why is he focusing his own lights? And building the rig? I worked all day with him!” > The LD moves to start calling focus and tells me “he does this every show; he likes doing it.” > “Every show? Seriously?” > “Yeah; he likes doing it. He thinks it’s fun.” > “Well, it is, sure, but what the fuck? How long has he been doing this?” > “As long as we’ve been doing these big shows; before this we only played little clubs.” > > They had met at a Holiday Inn in Tulsa, IIRC, in the early '80s and had hit it off and been working together ever since. > > The next time I saw them the LD remembered me but Garth didn’t work with us. I asked him why and he said his insurance company had gotten wind of what he was doing and had shut it down. But I’ll always remember the feeling I had when I realized I had just spent the day working with the main attraction. I don’t care much one way or the other about his music, except that I’m glad other people like it a lot. And I wouldn’t care _that_ much except for the fact that I know first hand that Garth Brooks totally fucking rocks. Absolutely one of the coolest “major stars” I’ve ever interacted with, and my career is approaching it’s 40th year. > > ETA: Okay, not exactly “hilarious” but hey, waddaya want for free? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317/120 "2019-09-27T17:35:28Z")
I’m a little late to the game, as I just started the 1st ep last night. First off - I’ve never been a fan of the Ken Burns schtick. I’ve often found that he takes a topic I expect to be interested in, and then bores the shit out of me with ponderous narration, slow pans of still photos, and over-reliance on a limited number of commentators. This seems to hit all of the same elements, but I expect to stick with it, mainly because I’m such a fan of the music that will be discussed. But only part of the way through the first episode, I’m already having difficulty with the purported topic. What KB is calling country music sure includes a heckuva lot of music I never had heard called country. A little background - I play in quite a few acoustic jam sessions and in a string band. I acknowledge how difficult it can be to “categorize” various performers/music. Heck, when I was in college, were Elvis Costello or the Pretenders punk? New wave? Rock and roll? Does it matter? It wasn’t until I attended a banjo camp that I appreciated the CLEAR distinctions between bluegrass and oldtime music. But here’s the rub - NONE of the bluegrass or oldtime pickers at that camp would’ve said they were playing “country” music. Heck, I’ll listen to ANYTHING Rhiannon Giddens is associated with. But aside from her influences generally having been played in rural areas, it sure isn’t anything I - or anyone I ever encountered - would have called “country.” In our jams we’ll generally play anything anyone brings. Last weekend I believe we played a George Jones song, a Gram Parsons song, and a Beatles tune. Along with any number of traditional fiddle tunes. I know for a fact that many people who see/hear us would call us a bluegrass band, simply because they lack any other frame of reference for acoustic music featuring banjos, fiddles, mandos. But we generally play pretty few bluegrass tunes. If KB was going to cast his net so widely, I wonder why he called it country music, or why he decided to skip folk? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ken-burns-country-music-documentary/840317.md?page=7)