If you have not watched Ken Burns - "Country Music" you should..... It is a great history lessen about music that started in our country , and - obviously - continues to day....
It goes back to Jimmy Rogers,, and Mother Maybell Carter ..... Hank Williams,,, Bob Wills, etc and moves forward to how the Grand Ole Opry started in the Ryman Auditorium and then moved to Opryland where it is today.... Ken Burns does a fantastic job of Outlining the Music and Musicians,,in similar fashion that he did in his documentary about Baseball and of course the Civil War ...
He tells the story of the old timers,,, and all the folks that we know - Johnny Cash, Porter Wagner , Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, George Jones and Tammy Wynett, Merle Hagggard, Willie and Waylon, and on and on....
IF by chance you only have time or get to see one the episodes - "Are you sure Hank done it this way?" is #7 ,,,,, and really highlights the ones that We/ I are familiar with
The way that These folks came into their own ,,, the confidence that they had in their musical ability,,, Dolly - knowing that she needed to get away from Porter Wagner - as he was too controlling to her career,,, Waylon - forcing RCA in his contract to give him control of the Recording process on his records,,, using his band, his producer and making the Record in the studio HE chose so that his records sounded like he sounded on stage..... Wille making the Album "Red Headed Stranger " for just $4k and not using ANY voice over dubs, or fancy Background strings, horns, etc,, Just his guitar and vocals, a string bass, and a back up guitar,,, Colombia did not want to release the Album - cause it did not have the "Nashville Sound" of the day,,, but a Guy named Jackie Sherril - a Colombia record producer at the time said - lets make Willie happy ,,, we will release it - It will totally fail and he will come back to making records the way we - Colombia records - want him too... HA - the record was a multimillion seller ,, stayed on the Top Country Charts for over 2 and 1/2 years !!! Sherril even says in the Film - "Man - was we WRONG!" and he says - everyone left Willie alone after that !
It discusses Emmy Lou Harris ,,,her rise from a Quasi - Hippy folk singer to country music artist,, her getting all these great studio musicians to tour with her as her back up band that hse called the HOT BAND - Partnering with Rodney Crowell,, Her Label wanting her to turn more main stream - country folk // Folk Rock and her then putting out 2 hit albums in one year that featured a turn to Blue Grass sound and featuring Ricky Scagggs.. Like "Roses in the Snow" .. much to the dismay of her record label. Oh - that just happened to win a Grammy as best Female vocal performance
They Talk about Waylon and Outlaw music - the release of the Record the "Outlaws" and that propelled them - Waylon , Willie, Jesse Colter (Waylons wife) and Tompall Glazer Careers,,, and Waylon saying that we now realized that "They" no longer needed Nashville that Nashville needed them !
and the episode ends with Willie and Merle making the Album - Pancho and Lefty,,,,, and how that Title song came from a former hippy singer - Emmy Lou Harris record that Willies daughter played for him that night, and that she (EmmyLou) got the song from a Cosmic Cowboy - Graham Parsons who converted her to playing country music, and Parsons heard the songs years earlier and he knew the song from the guy who wrote it - Townes Van Zant - then it was recorded by Merle and Willie at 5am in the Morning - Willie insisting that Haggard get up - he was asleep on his bus- and come into the studio and record it with Willie - Haggard getting up the next morning, and asking that he get to rerecord the vocal - and being told that the final cut of that song was on it's way to NY and the record company. , the album went right to #1 on the Country charts and crossed over to top ten on the pop charts !!!
Pancho and Lefty
Jambalya
Mama's don't let your Babis grow up to be Cowboys
Are you sure Hank done it this way ?
I will always love you
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