Ken Burns country music film continues

V

Victor

Senior Member
Location
midwest USA
On PBS some stations, an 8 episode series. They have run the first four
that I watched. Great amount of research went into this.
The thing that struck me the most is that when artists began
recording in studios, money was so important, even back then
in the 30's. Profit. And the performers were doing an act and they
were not always authentic---they pretended to be cowboys
or hillbillies for the audience.
 

worth the watch, whether your a hillbilly fan or not, it is part of our history
There were a lot of brawls involved when they played in beer joints, that seems to have been ignored.
Personal experience:
get a bunch of hillbillys together , add alcohol and women- by 11 p.m., your gonn'a have a bloody mess.
There were and are, dancing bars and fighting bars. At times you'd go to a dancing bar and get your block cleaned:
'Hey that ain't fair, this is a dancing bar, not a fighting bar'!
"I'm drunk so its a fighting bar."
Fist fights often turned into hitting your opponent with club, beer bottle, chair, or whatever came to hand.

Rule: do not go outside with a fell'a that wants to bust your ass. He is going outside where things are easier to grab:
cedar poles, chains, guns...
That's the way it was in the rural, it hasn't changed
 

I watched last night's episode which I thought was really interesting.I recognized almost everybody interviewed except for the 'session musicians' ,2 of the women
I'm wonder when they interviewed Mel Tillis and Roy Clark.Mel died in 2017,Roy last Dec
I look forward to tonight's episode
 
I've been watching it too. Lots of memories.

I love Ken Burns' work. I just recently re-watched The West. Had watched it when first released and was again embarrassed by the ruthless ways this country was settled.

Next I'm re-watching The Civil War, I think
 
jerry r. garner said:
worth the watch, whether your a hillbilly fan or not, it is part of our history
There were a lot of brawls involved when they played in beer joints, that seems to have been ignored.
Personal experience:
get a bunch of hillbillys together , add alcohol and women- by 11 p.m., your gonn'a have a bloody mess.
There were and are, dancing bars and fighting bars. At times you'd go to a dancing bar and get your block cleaned:
'Hey that ain't fair, this is a dancing bar, not a fighting bar'!
"I'm drunk so its a fighting bar."
Fist fights often turned into hitting your opponent with club, beer bottle, chair, or whatever came to hand.

Rule: do not go outside with a fell'a that wants to bust your ass. He is going outside where things are easier to grab:
cedar poles, chains, guns...
That's the way it was in the rural, it hasn't changed
Click to expand...
How true, there was another series run telling stories of how self destructive and crazy the men were. They are lucky to have lived through those days.
 
Pbs country music episodes 3 or 4 'Oulaws..."
given the majority of the hillbillys were raised in poverty, or at the least poor
I checked out the worth of:
Loretta Lynn-5 million (don't know if that is net or gross)
willie nelson 25 m net, remember Uncle Sam carried off his money
johnny cash 120 m at death
dolly parton 500 m-astute businesswoman, theme park, publishing company, too many others to mention
 
There is much to laud and much to criticize about Ken Burns documentary, that which is not explained and should be...

The self-destructive behavior as fmdog44 points out.

They all had to start offering their talent in hillbilly bars, was the drinking, adultery, drug use and chasing women an expected part of their behavior as that is how their audience lived and they decided to act as their audiences did? Was it a persona that became real.
Was it the 2-300 nights spent of the road merely an adopted behavior to cope with their lifestyle?

Yes, rock musicians have the same traits; apparently is a learned behavior to cope (?). It also appears to be a terrible waste.
The females are not know for their drunkenness, but they change spouses like bed sheets.
Is the entertainment field that big a mine field?

Much is made of the quality of the singer's vocal abilities. I find the songs lyric driven, the singer's voices all sound the same.
Yes, there are exception, but the music and lyrics outweigh any vocal artistry.

As Vernon Nobles, a true redneck said, '...that damn waling and moaning is interfering with my drinking."

The only singer that loves money more than the lifestyle is Dolly Parton, she has an open marriage with her spouse,
Oh, Carl, he's down on the farm,...bought a new tractor..." I'm sure she has been involved with her share of males; I'm also sure she never meet a dollar she did not like.

It just seems there is so much to this story of hillbilly singers that is not explored. What has been presented is excellent, but so much is missing.
Scattershooting:
Krisofferson was the darling of the college crowd in 60's. He sings like a frog and knows it, again lyrics outweigh vocal weakness.
Did you see the spot where his mother wrote him a letter, 'You have disgraced this family...please do not contact us again.'
Will have to goggle that
 
jerry r. garner said:
There is much to laud and much to criticize about Ken Burns documentary, that which is not explained and should be...

The self-destructive behavior as fmdog44 points out.

They all had to start offering their talent in hillbilly bars, was the drinking, adultery, drug use and chasing women an expected part of their behavior as that is how their audience lived and they decided to act as their audiences did? Was it a persona that became real.
Was it the 2-300 nights spent of the road merely an adopted behavior to cope with their lifestyle?

Yes, rock musicians have the same traits; apparently is a learned behavior to cope (?). It also appears to be a terrible waste.
The females are not know for their drunkenness, but they change spouses like bed sheets.
Is the entertainment field that big a mine field?

Much is made of the quality of the singer's vocal abilities. I find the songs lyric driven, the singer's voices all sound the same.
Yes, there are exception, but the music and lyrics outweigh any vocal artistry.

As Vernon Nobles, a true redneck said, '...that damn waling and moaning is interfering with my drinking."

The only singer that loves money more than the lifestyle is Dolly Parton, she has an open marriage with her spouse,
Oh, Carl, he's down on the farm,...bought a new tractor..." I'm sure she has been involved with her share of males; I'm also sure she never meet a dollar she did not like.

It just seems there is so much to this story of hillbilly singers that is not explored. What has been presented is excellent, but so much is missing.
Scattershooting:
Krisofferson was the darling of the college crowd in 60's. He sings like a frog and knows it, again lyrics outweigh vocal weakness.
Did you see the spot where his mother wrote him a letter, 'You have disgraced this family...please do not contact us again.'
Will have to goggle that
Click to expand...

Power and money bring out the worst in many of us.
 
Tonight, I expect to see Randy Travis sing. What a great singer. He has overcome some very harsh hardships, (some of which was his own doing), and will be touring again maybe later this year.
 
fmdog44 said:
I have to laugh at Willie Nelson in a suit and tie with a business man haircut. I neve knew Kris Kristofferson was such a gifted writer. This is the best thing on TV by far. I had forgotten when rock & roll nearly killed country music.
Click to expand...
Kristofferson wrote my favorite Johnny Cash song——“Sunday Morning Coming Down.”
 
Kristofferson's story is fascinating. From Rhodes Scholar to Army Ranger to being assigned to teach literature at West Point, he then wound up working as a janitor in Nashville to chase his dream and finally made it as one of the best songwriters ever. Can't remember where I read that his family completely cut him off and never reconciled with him after he left the army.
 
AnnieA said:
family completely cut him off and never reconciled with him after he left the army.
Annie A, thanks for info
Goggled topic-nothing, which seems strange??
I would think they reconciled once he achieved his goal, apparently not to be...
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
[QUOTE="AnnieA, post: 1134562, member: 6783
I've read it several places through the years. He talks about it in a 2016 Rolling Stone interview. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/kris-kristofferson-an-outlaw-at-80-183141/
Thanks Annie A
Apparently it is a family matter of not to be spoken of...understand the family has every right to not discuss to family matters; I wouldn't
and respect their decision.
This is all were going to get:
According to an interview with Rolling Stone, Kristofferson's parents disowned their son for going against everything the family stood for. It's unclear if they ever reconciled
 

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