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Ken Burns’ ‘Country Music’ Series to Release Massive Soundtrack

Five-disc box set will be available on August 30th

Disc One

  1. “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye)” – Carter Family
  2. “Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)” – Jimmie Rodgers
  3. “Barbara Allen” – Bradley Kincaid
  4. “I’ll Fly Away” – James and Martha Carson
  5. “If the River Was Whiskey” – Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers
  6. “Fox Chase” – DeFord Bailey
  7. “Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standin’ on the Corner)” – Jimmie Rodgers
  8. “Wildwood Flower” – Carter Family
  9. “In the Jailhouse Now” – Jimmie Rodgers
  10. “Comin’ Round the Mountain” – Uncle Dave Macon and Sam McGee
  11. “Pretty Polly” – Coon Creek Girls
  12. “T.B. Blues” – Jimmie Rodgers
  13. “Mountain Dew” – Grandpa Jones and His Grandchildren
  14. “Home on the Range” – Gene Autry
  15. “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” – Patsy Montana and the Prairie Ramblers
  16. “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” – Sons of the Pioneers
  17. “Keep on the Sunny Side”/ “I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes” – Carter Family
  18. “The Great Speckled Bird” – Roy Acuff
  19. “Whoa Babe” – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
  20. “New San Antonio Rose” – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
  21. “Wabash Cannon Ball” – Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys
  22. “Mule Skinner Blues” – Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys

Disc Two

  1. “Honky Tonkin’” – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
  2. “It’s Mighty Dark to Travel” – Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  3. “New Mule Skinner Blues” – Maddox Brothers and Rose
  4. “I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)” – Eddy Arnold and His Tennessee Plowboys
  5. “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” – Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys
  6. “Molly and Tenbrook” – Stanley Brothers
  7. “Lovesick Blues” – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
  8. “I Saw the Light” – Hank Williams
  9. “Hey, Good Lookin’” – Hank Williams
  10. “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” – Kitty Wells
  11. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
  12. “Jambalaya” – Little Brenda Lee
  13. “New Step It Up and Go” – Maddox Brothers and Rose
  14. “I Walk the Line” – Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two
  15. “Crazy Arms” – Ray Price
  16. “Bye, Bye Love” – Everly Brothers
  17. “The Long Black Veil” – Lefty Frizzell
  18. “El Paso” – Marty Robbins
  19. “Night Life” – Ray Price
  20. “Hello Walls” – Faron Young
  21. “I Fall to Pieces” – Patsy Cline
  22. “Ring of Fire” – Johnny Cash
  23. “Crazy” – Patsy Cline
  24. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” – Ray Charles

Disc Three

  1. “Dang Me” – Roger Miller
  2. “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail” – Buck Owens
  3. “Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” – Loretta Lynn
  4. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” – Loretta Lynn
  5. “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride
  6. “Hungry Eyes” – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
  7. “Mama Tried” – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
  8. “Harper Valley P.T.A.” – Jeannie C. Riley
  9. “Don’t Touch Me” – Jeannie Seely
  10. “Folsom Prison Blues” – Johnny Cash
  11. “Stand by Your Man” – Tammy Wynette
  12. “She Thinks I Still Care” – George Jones
  13. “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” – The Byrds
  14. “Me and Bobby McGee” – Kris Kristofferson
  15. “Help Me Make It Through the Night” – Sammi Smith
  16. “Sunday Morning Coming Down” – Kris Kristofferson
  17. “Okie From Muskogee” – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
  18. “Man in Black” – Johnny Cash
  19. “Girl From the North Country” – Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash
  20. “Grand Ole Opry Song” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  21. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Disc Four

  1. “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” – Waylon Jennings
  2. “Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)” – Dolly Parton
  3. “Jolene” – Dolly Parton
  4. “I Will Always Love You” – Dolly Parton
  5. “We’re Gonna Hold On – George Jones and Tammy Wynette
  6. “Texas Cookin’” – Guy Clark
  7. “If I Needed You” – Townes Van Zandt
  8. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” – Johnny Rodriguez
  9. “I’ve Been a Long Time Leaving (But I’ll Be a Long Time Gone)” – Waylon Jennings
  10. “Love Hurts (Live)” – Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels
  11. “Boulder to Birmingham” – Emmylou Harris
  12. “Bluebird Wine” – Emmylou Harris
  13. “Whiskey River” – Willie Nelson
  14. “Miles and Miles of Texas” – Asleep at the Wheel
  15. “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” – Willie Nelson
  16. “Good Hearted Woman” – Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
  17. “Family Tradition” – Hank Williams Jr.
  18. “Seven Year Ache” – Rosanne Cash
  19. “Pancho and Lefty” – Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
  20. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” – George Jones

Disc Five

  1. “Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’” – Ricky Skaggs
  2. “On the Road Again” – Willie Nelson
  3. “Amarillo by Morning” – George Strait
  4. “Somebody Should Leave” – Reba McEntire
  5. “Diggin’ Up Bones” – Randy Travis
  6. “Why Not Me” – The Judds
  7. “Honky Tonk Man” – Dwight Yoakam
  8. “Streets of Bakersfield” – Dwight Yoakam with Buck Owens
  9. “Where’ve You Been” – Kathy Mattea
  10. “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” – Keith Whitley
  11. “Go Rest High on That Mountain” – Vince Gill
  12. “Guitar Town” – Steve Earle
  13. “She’s in Love With the Boy” – Trisha Yearwood
  14. “Tennessee Flat Top Box” – Rosanne Cash
  15. “Get Up John” – Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers
  16. “Uncle Pen” – Ricky Skaggs
  17. “I Still Miss Someone” – Rosanne Cash
  18. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

 

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5 hours ago, Underdog said:

Per Wiki, he has one in the works for Ali, looking forward to that one. 

The "What's my Name" doc is really superb, IMO.  It captures the electricity of racial politics that crackled off of Ali until his death.  It also takes an unflinching look at the tragedy of seeing a formerly transcendent champion absorbing some terrible beatings at the end of his much-too-long career.    

To the topic:  I agree that this subject seems to be in Burns' wheelhouse.  

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17 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

Ken Burns’ ‘Country Music’ Series to Release Massive Soundtrack

Five-disc box set will be available on August 30th

Disc One

  1. “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye)” – Carter Family
  2. “Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)” – Jimmie Rodgers
  3. “Barbara Allen” – Bradley Kincaid
  4. “I’ll Fly Away” – James and Martha Carson
  5. “If the River Was Whiskey” – Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers
  6. “Fox Chase” – DeFord Bailey
  7. “Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standin’ on the Corner)” – Jimmie Rodgers
  8. “Wildwood Flower” – Carter Family
  9. “In the Jailhouse Now” – Jimmie Rodgers
  10. “Comin’ Round the Mountain” – Uncle Dave Macon and Sam McGee
  11. “Pretty Polly” – Coon Creek Girls
  12. “T.B. Blues” – Jimmie Rodgers
  13. “Mountain Dew” – Grandpa Jones and His Grandchildren
  14. “Home on the Range” – Gene Autry
  15. “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” – Patsy Montana and the Prairie Ramblers
  16. “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” – Sons of the Pioneers
  17. “Keep on the Sunny Side”/ “I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes” – Carter Family
  18. “The Great Speckled Bird” – Roy Acuff
  19. “Whoa Babe” – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
  20. “New San Antonio Rose” – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
  21. “Wabash Cannon Ball” – Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys
  22. “Mule Skinner Blues” – Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys

Disc Two

  1. “Honky Tonkin’” – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
  2. “It’s Mighty Dark to Travel” – Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
  3. “New Mule Skinner Blues” – Maddox Brothers and Rose
  4. “I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)” – Eddy Arnold and His Tennessee Plowboys
  5. “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” – Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys
  6. “Molly and Tenbrook” – Stanley Brothers
  7. “Lovesick Blues” – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
  8. “I Saw the Light” – Hank Williams
  9. “Hey, Good Lookin’” – Hank Williams
  10. “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” – Kitty Wells
  11. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
  12. “Jambalaya” – Little Brenda Lee
  13. “New Step It Up and Go” – Maddox Brothers and Rose
  14. “I Walk the Line” – Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two
  15. “Crazy Arms” – Ray Price
  16. “Bye, Bye Love” – Everly Brothers
  17. “The Long Black Veil” – Lefty Frizzell
  18. “El Paso” – Marty Robbins
  19. “Night Life” – Ray Price
  20. “Hello Walls” – Faron Young
  21. “I Fall to Pieces” – Patsy Cline
  22. “Ring of Fire” – Johnny Cash
  23. “Crazy” – Patsy Cline
  24. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” – Ray Charles

Disc Three

  1. “Dang Me” – Roger Miller
  2. “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail” – Buck Owens
  3. “Don’t Come Home a-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” – Loretta Lynn
  4. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” – Loretta Lynn
  5. “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” – Charley Pride
  6. “Hungry Eyes” – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
  7. “Mama Tried” – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
  8. “Harper Valley P.T.A.” – Jeannie C. Riley
  9. “Don’t Touch Me” – Jeannie Seely
  10. “Folsom Prison Blues” – Johnny Cash
  11. “Stand by Your Man” – Tammy Wynette
  12. “She Thinks I Still Care” – George Jones
  13. “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” – The Byrds
  14. “Me and Bobby McGee” – Kris Kristofferson
  15. “Help Me Make It Through the Night” – Sammi Smith
  16. “Sunday Morning Coming Down” – Kris Kristofferson
  17. “Okie From Muskogee” – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
  18. “Man in Black” – Johnny Cash
  19. “Girl From the North Country” – Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash
  20. “Grand Ole Opry Song” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  21. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Disc Four

  1. “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way” – Waylon Jennings
  2. “Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)” – Dolly Parton
  3. “Jolene” – Dolly Parton
  4. “I Will Always Love You” – Dolly Parton
  5. “We’re Gonna Hold On – George Jones and Tammy Wynette
  6. “Texas Cookin’” – Guy Clark
  7. “If I Needed You” – Townes Van Zandt
  8. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” – Johnny Rodriguez
  9. “I’ve Been a Long Time Leaving (But I’ll Be a Long Time Gone)” – Waylon Jennings
  10. “Love Hurts (Live)” – Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels
  11. “Boulder to Birmingham” – Emmylou Harris
  12. “Bluebird Wine” – Emmylou Harris
  13. “Whiskey River” – Willie Nelson
  14. “Miles and Miles of Texas” – Asleep at the Wheel
  15. “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” – Willie Nelson
  16. “Good Hearted Woman” – Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
  17. “Family Tradition” – Hank Williams Jr.
  18. “Seven Year Ache” – Rosanne Cash
  19. “Pancho and Lefty” – Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
  20. “He Stopped Loving Her Today” – George Jones

Disc Five

  1. “Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’” – Ricky Skaggs
  2. “On the Road Again” – Willie Nelson
  3. “Amarillo by Morning” – George Strait
  4. “Somebody Should Leave” – Reba McEntire
  5. “Diggin’ Up Bones” – Randy Travis
  6. “Why Not Me” – The Judds
  7. “Honky Tonk Man” – Dwight Yoakam
  8. “Streets of Bakersfield” – Dwight Yoakam with Buck Owens
  9. “Where’ve You Been” – Kathy Mattea
  10. “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” – Keith Whitley
  11. “Go Rest High on That Mountain” – Vince Gill
  12. “Guitar Town” – Steve Earle
  13. “She’s in Love With the Boy” – Trisha Yearwood
  14. “Tennessee Flat Top Box” – Rosanne Cash
  15. “Get Up John” – Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers
  16. “Uncle Pen” – Ricky Skaggs
  17. “I Still Miss Someone” – Rosanne Cash
  18. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

 

Can't really see anything out of place except for one damn song. 

“She’s in Love With the Boy” – Trisha Yearwood

Seriously WTF including that on this compilation!

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  • 2 months later...

It’s been discussed a little on the TV forum. I’m really excited. 500 songs sampled. Link to Spotify playlist in thread.

Ken Burns: Country Music. 8 episodes. 16 Hours. Starts Sep. 15.
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=2053247&share_tid=9679&url=https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/index.php?/topic/9679-Ken-Burns%3A-Country-Music%2E-8-episodes%2E-16-Hours%2E--Starts-Sep%2E-15%2E&share_type=t

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14 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

You don't need to worry about anything after the mid-1990s.

I will debate you on this re the current crop of folks like Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, etc.  There's good stuff out there.  

 But there was a long while there of nuthin'.  

 

In any case, I thought last night's episode was pretty good.  I had always enjoyed Jimmie Rodgers stuff, and appreciated the Carter Family, but I didn't know much about their stories and how it all tied into recording in Bristol.  

 

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Just now, Chad Fuck said:

I will debate you on this re the current crop of folks like Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, etc.  There's good stuff out there.  

 But there was a long while there of nuthin'.  

There is good stuff, but I get why they made the decision they did, even if it means leaving out folks like Lyle Lovett as well (unless I'm wrong, I didn't see him in the soundtrack).  Given that he's worked with Burns before, maybe he's in there (I hope, I like the guy), but I digress.

Stopping where they appear to have stopped allows them to only talk about music that's stood up for decades, so it makes sense.  And they have brought in younger folks to talk about it, so it's kind of a nice mix.

Just now, Chad Fuck said:

In any case, I thought last night's episode was pretty good.  I had always enjoyed Jimmie Rodgers stuff, and appreciated the Carter Family, but I didn't know much about their stories and how it all tied into recording in Bristol.  

Yeah, that's kind of crazy to think how things would have played out if he had not gone to Bristol to record.  You'd like to think Rodgers and the Carter Family would make their way to the top anyways, but it might have been with somebody else, and who knows how that plays out.

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7 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

I will debate you on this re the current crop of folks like Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, etc.  There's good stuff out there.  

 But there was a long while there of nuthin'.  

 

In any case, I thought last night's episode was pretty good.  I had always enjoyed Jimmie Rodgers stuff, and appreciated the Carter Family, but I didn't know much about their stories and how it all tied into recording in Bristol.  

 

Yeah there definitely is some good country out there. The problem is there's a lot of shitty affected southern drawl shit that makes my hair stand on end.  

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2 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I hope they dig into the Louvin Brothers.  I'm a big fan of the Cocaine & Rhinestones podcast (hopefully season 2 comes out some time soon) and their story is wild.

Spoilers

https://www.al.com/life/2019/09/alabama-artists-make-an-indelible-impression-as-ken-burns-explores-country-music.html

 

 

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14 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Yeah there definitely is some good country out there. The problem is there's a lot of shitty affected southern drawl shit that makes my hair stand on end.  

This is one of my biggest pet peeves about modern country.  Linguists in the future will look back and say, "People bought this crazy generalized 'Southern' accent that really can't be placed anywhere, but is basically the Nashville version of Reporter Speak?  Bizarre."

18 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

There is good stuff, but I get why they made the decision they did, even if it means leaving out folks like Lyle Lovett as well (unless I'm wrong, I didn't see him in the soundtrack).  Given that he's worked with Burns before, maybe he's in there (I hope, I like the guy), but I digress.

Stopping where they appear to have stopped allows them to only talk about music that's stood up for decades, so it makes sense.  And they have brought in younger folks to talk about it, so it's kind of a nice mix.

Yeah, that's kind of crazy to think how things would have played out if he had not gone to Bristol to record.  You'd like to think Rodgers and the Carter Family would make their way to the top anyways, but it might have been with somebody else, and who knows how that plays out.

Yeah, point well taken about where they stopped the doc.  I have a Smithsonian compilation of Country from the mid-80s that tried to go all the way through the mid 80s.  The first three CDs are a brilliant summation of Country to the early 70s.  The last CD is a bit of a mess.  Really proved to me at the time that you need some perspective before you contemplate history.

 

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Or the wealth of incredible country music that's been made in the past decade by folks like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers, James McMurtry, Cody Jinks, Todd Snider, Old 97's, et al.

Like any genre, there is still a lot of great music out there, being made today, it just isn't commercially popular.

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3 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Yeah, point well taken about where they stopped the doc.  I have a Smithsonian compilation of Country from the mid-80s that tried to go all the way through the mid 80s.  The first three CDs are a brilliant summation of Country to the early 70s.  The last CD is a bit of a mess.  Really proved to me at the time that you need some perspective before you contemplate history.

During interviews for the Vietnam War, Burns said several times they turned down offers in the ‘80s and ‘90s to do a Vietnam War Series back then, because there needed to be enough “space”.for people to develop a perspective.   I think he carried that over to this.

He did hold out the possibility of a follow-up 1-2 episodes later on, like with his baseball series.   

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6 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Or the wealth of incredible country music that's been made in the past decade by folks like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers, James McMurtry, Cody Jinks, Todd Snider, Old 97's, et al.

Like any genre, there is still a lot of great music out there, being made today, it just isn't commercially popular.

That's why it's good, because fuck commercialism....

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18 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Or the wealth of incredible country music that's been made in the past decade by folks like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers, James McMurtry, Cody Jinks, Todd Snider, Old 97's, et al.

Like any genre, there is still a lot of great music out there, being made today, it just isn't commercially popular.

This. There is great music being made in every genre and always has been. It just isn’t fed to you on the radio. 

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@Chad Fuck Straight from the horse's mouth:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/08/26/ken-burns-country-music-documentary-pbs/1767605001/

Quote

And how did you know where to end the story?

Ken Burns: We are in the history business. The journalist and the critic are going to be the better judge of the present and near past. So, we need to stop. It always causes endless grief because whether it’s baseball or jazz or country music, you’re always stopping 20 or 25 years away from the present. For many people, their relationship to it is just that present moment. Finding the moment of Garth Brooks’ extraordinary success in the ‘90s was a way to say, "We can put a cork in this bottle here."

We are covered in the scars of what was left out.

Dayton Duncan: It really is the difference

 

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First episode was great.  Classic Ken Burns.  I wasn't aware that anyone didn't dig his style.  Civil War and The West are my two favorite docuseries of all time, and I've watched both in their entirety multiple times.

Was cool to see the bit about Shenandoah, IA.  I would imagine it will reappear when they talk about the Everlys (appears from the soundtrack they will), as they got their start playing on the two radio stations mentioned in Episode 1.

Marty Stuart is a good choice to be Shelby Foote of this series.  His knowledge of country music is on par with anyone's.

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Watching the first episode, but even more so the second, I was struck at how many people who he interviewed are talking about their personal experiences and interactions with the early stars of country. Intellectually I know that it wasn’t that long ago, but it still impressed me hearing Willie talk about conjuring up a piano for a Bob Wills show, etc.

So far so good.

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40 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

With Ray Benson covering the Texas stuff - really was cool learning about Bob Wills and his Playboys.

A Philadelphia born front man of a band formed in West Virginia.

ETA:  In no way do I question Ray Benson's Texas Swing bona fides.  I would have guessed Benson was from Texas until the first episode that listed Pennsylvania under his name.   

 

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