DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Ken Burns, Country Music

I am a big fan of Ken Burns. Tonight he takes a 16 hour look at Country Music.

He did one on Jazz maybe 15 years ago, it was excellent.

I am looking forward. It is on your PBS station at 8 eastern.

Jazz and Country. The two music genera's born in this country. It should be good viewing.

Peter Coyote does such a fantastic job of narrating Ken Burn’s documentary’s.

I will watch it at some point, but I was interested when I heard about this the other day.

he's great at what he does and I'm a bit of a music history geek, plus I knew country music before I knew anything about rock.

We need more country music threads. If I had to pick a fave, it'd be Garth Brooks, also love Hank Jr., Travis Tritt, Alabama and a few Milsap ditties. Smoky Mountain Rain is a great song.

I hope he chronicles how country music on the radio since the mid 2000s has basically been pop music with banjos. Miranda Lambert has been the only bright spot of the last 10 years on country radio. Zac Brown started great, and then he deicded to start making terrible EDM music...

The independent artists (Sturgill Simpson, Cody Jinks, Jason Isbell, Sara Shooks, etc.) keep the spirit of country alive.

Isbel runs the voodoo down.
I love what he does.

I assume you've looked up Sturgill Simpson? If not, start with Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.

Going to see her in Columbus on the 25th of this month. I've never been much of a fan of country, but my wife has gotten me into it a bit. Saw her in Cleveland about a year and a half ago as well. I like Old Crowe Medicine Show and Tyler Childers as well. I've always been a fan of Johnny Cash. Love going to Nashville as well, some of the live bands, especially during the day, are great. At night it turns more into the pop-country at most of the bars.

Just finished his War between the States for the 2nd time. Looking forward to Country Music.

I stayed up until 2:30 am this morning watching the episode chronicling the years 1973-1983, which is probably my favourite decade of country. I could have recorded it but I got into it and had to finish watching.

Hank Jr., Waylon, Willie, plus people like Emmylou, Townes van Zandt, and George Jones in the 70s and into 1980, when he did He Stopped Loving Her Today.

Let me know when there's a better song written in that genre.

Truly great stuff to watch.

To add: Pancho and Lefty is a great song even when I warble through it.

Funny how we mellow over the years. My mother was the Okie in our family and how I ended up in Oklahoma. Growing up in my home, we listened to country music. She didn’t prevent us from listening to what we liked but what was playing in the house was country, if my mother was home. So this series has been like a time capsule for me, bringing up memories of my mother. Because of that, I’ve enjoyed this series very much. I also found, the contempt I had in my youth for this style of music has faded and I wish my mother was still with us so I could spend some time listening to it with her.

I certainly agree with you about the outlaw country episode. As a child I felt like country music was being force fed to me. My parents listened to it and I just couldn't relate to any of it. Then came outlaw country. Waylon was certainly my favorite out of them. Songs like Lonesome On'ry and Mean, I Don't Think Hank Done It This Way and Honky Tonk Heroes were actually songs that had something I could relate to.

Of course my dad who loved country hated the outlaw movement. lol

With the death of June and his death shortly after, his version of the Nine Inch Nails song, Hurt, really hit home for me. It was shortly after my own fathers death as well.

The best concert I ever saw was a Haggard concert maybe 5 years ago....maybe 3 years before his death.


My wife is a non-country fan, but a ageing Haggard fed off the sold out crowd. The guy played for 3 hours. They played way past the play list on the floor. Merle said lets play this, and the Strangers did....it was great. They just jammed

Merle is #1 in my book. That guys life was incredible.

As you know I like a wide range of music. There are quite a few country concerts I've seen that stand out to me but #1 in my book way "The Highwaymen". Waylon is pretty much my country idol and Johnny Cash is a true legend. Getting to see them all perform together before Johnny and Waylon passed means far more to me now than it did then.

How do you feel about today’s country music that is on the radio?

The vast majority of it is pop music.

There is no country music on the radio.