A ‘Wonderful Parade Of Sons And Daughters Of America’

Things we love at Frontier Partisans: Forests, mountains and deserts; a good story; a good rifle; good music. Mostly, that means country music. No, HELL no! Not that packaged dreck on the radio — I’m talkin’ the real deal. The 100-proof stuff that is getting the Ken Burns treatment.

Country Music will chronicle the history of a uniquely American art form, rising from the experiences of remarkable people in distinctive regions of our nation.  From southern Appalachia’s songs of struggle, heartbreak and faith to the rollicking western swing of Texas, from California honky tonks to Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, we will follow the evolution of country music over the course of the twentieth century, as it eventually emerged to become America’s music.

It will be directed and produced by Ken Burns; written and produced by Dayton Duncan; and produced by Julie Dunfey—Emmy-award winning creators of PBS’s most-acclaimed and most-watched documentaries for more than a quarter century, including The Civil War, Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, The Dust Bowl, and many more.

Country Music will be a sweeping, multi-episode series, exploring the questions, “What is country music?” “Where did it come from?” while focusing on the biographies of the fascinating characters who created it—from the Carter family, Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills, to Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Garth Brooks and many more—as well as the times in which they lived.  And like the music itself, Country Music will tell unforgettable stories—stories of the hardships and joys shared by everyday people.

We will trace its origins in minstrel music, ballads, hymns, and the blues, and its early years when it was called hillbilly music played across the airwaves on radio station barn dances. We will see how Hollywood B movies instituted the fad of singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, and watch how the rise of juke joints after World War II changed the musical style by bringing electric guitars and pedal steel guitars to the forefront.  We will follow the rise of bluegrass music with Bill Monroe and we will note how one of country music’s offspring—rockabilly—mutated into rock and roll in Memphis.  And we’ll see how Nashville slowly became not just the mecca of country music, but “Music City USA.” All the while, we will note the constant tug of war between the desire to make country music as mainstream as possible and the periodic reflexes to bring it back to its roots.

“Defining (country music) has been something that’s been debated and argued about from the get-go, and we embrace that,” says Dayton Duncan, the film’s writer and co-producer. “Part of our motivation is trying to answer that question, ‘What is country music?’ I suppose if we have an answer — and I think we’re more interested in pursuing that question than in necessarily answering — it isn’t a music. It is many different musics.”

A tip of the hat to Duncan for that. I think it’s worth mentioning that I’m listening to Led Zeppelin as I write this. If Bron-Y-Aur Stomp and Hey, Hey, What Can I Do ain’t country I’ll kiss yer ass, as David Allan Coe would say. Speaking of the Coe Clan…

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The history of country music is pretty wild and wooly. Just ask Tyler Coe, who has made himself a podcasting star with his exploration of the colorful underbelly of Country Music in Cocaine & Rhinestones, which is just as good as everybody says.

Yeah, he’s David Allan Coe’s kid, which had to have been interesting…

The episodes are exceptionally well-researched and the presentation is stellar. Well worth the time. Season 2 is on the way… At some point he’s got to take on the story of the man who did up the front half of his title like nobody’s business…

Y’all got cocaine eyes
Yeah, you got speed-freak jive…