“Country Music: An Illustrated History” Is Perfect Guide to Ken Burns PBS Doc
We already knew about the incredibly-expansive scope that the upcoming Ken Burns PBS documentary on country music was going to take. Set to premier on September 15th, it encompasses over 16 hours of coverage across eight separate episodes, includes footage from 56 separate interviews with artists and historians, including interviews with 40 Country Music Hall of Famers, and a few artists who have passed away since film production commenced in earnest in 2013. Over 500 songs are featured throughout the film, and it begins way back in 1923 with Fiddlin’ John Carson in Atlanta, and goes all the way to 1996 with the death of Bill Monroe, and the revitalization of Johnny Cash’s career.
With the incredibly thorough job Ken Burns, co-producer Dayton Duncan, and the entire team of filmmakers and archivists did assembling the material for the series, it’s arguably the greatest undertaking to document the history of country music and disseminate it to the public in history, beyond the ongoing work of institutions such as the Country Music Hall of Fame. In fact the production of the film covered so much ground, a lot of what they researched and worked on couldn’t make the final cut.
That is where the companion book to the series, the 500-page Country Music: An Illustrated History comes into play. Following the chronology of the series, it will give country fans and other interested parties a deeper, more expansive experience within the series. Though you won’t see video of the interviews conducted, and you won’t hear the songs the series includes as audio illustrations, it includes all of the important points of the film, plus some information that ended up on the cutting house floor as they tried to encapsulate the story of country music in eight episodes.
Beyond being a valuable film companion, through the work the Ken Burns team did putting together this film, they were also able to assemble all the most important information on country music, present it in story form, align it with an incredible amount of archival pictures, and put together what very well may be the definitive country music history book, period. There are books that include more hard information and flurries of facts, like Bill C. Malone’s 700-page tome, Country Music USA, which was used as the initial guidepost for the new documentary, and was released in a 50th Anniversary Edition in 2018 to coincide with the Ken Burns film. The Country Music Hall of Fame companion book Will The Circle Be Unbroken by Paul Kingsbury and Alana Nash has been one of the best illustrated histories on country music on the market for the last many years.
However Country Music: An Illustrated History might do the best job of assembling both words and illustrations together to tell the story of country music in both an extensive, yet accessible and enjoyable form. Not just the amount of photos, but the rarity of the photos included in the book make it one of the most valuable country books on the market if nothing else. Though some of the most iconic and recognizable photos of country music legends made the cut, it’s amazing how many photos are included that even seasoned country music aficionados have likely never seen before, and are completely virgin even to the expansive archive of country photos available via the internet. Some of these photos will streak by in brief moments during the documentary, and this book will give fans the ability to study and revisit them. Some didn’t make the film cut at all, and this is the only place they’ve been published so far.
Whether enjoying it before, during, or after the airing of the documentary itself, this book will give interested parties the ability to dive a little deeper of they choose, or catch up on something they might have missed. Country Music: An Illustrated History also gives us a glimpse of what to expect from the film. It will not labor to ascribe every single detail of the music. Instead it puts the most compelling characters and stories in the forefront, and sells the public on why country music is a distinct American institution worthy of study, preservation, and continued enjoyment by every music fan into the future.
The mediums of television and video are the easiest, most accessible ways to disseminate information to most modern minds. But there’s just something about gazing at a photo strewn across a glossy page, and then finding the caption that captures the details of a moment frozen in time and sewn into the rich history of country music to spark the imagination of times gone by. Country Music: An Illustrated History affords those magical moments for country fans, and those that will become country fans after perusing this book’s pages.
Two Guns Up (10/10)
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Trigger
September 4, 2019 @ 6:44 pm
Normally don’t like querying the public, but wondering what people think about doing nightly live blogs during the airing of the episodes of the documentary where we can all congregate and share thoughts and opinions. Dumb idea? Or maybe it would be better to do daily reviews/recaps. Or maybe a daily blow by blow run down would be too much.
hoptowntiger94
September 4, 2019 @ 7:00 pm
I’d participate in the love blog.
JonnyBoy23
September 4, 2019 @ 7:04 pm
Whatever way you decide to cover it, I’m looking forward to it.
Mitch
September 4, 2019 @ 7:15 pm
Nightly live blog will be very nice. I know we’d enjoy it
Trainwreck92
September 4, 2019 @ 8:44 pm
I don’t have traditional tv anymore, but if I did, I’d love a live blog to comment on these episodes. Hopefully they’ll go to YouTube/Netflix/Hulu/ etc. not long after the initial airtime.
Trigger
September 4, 2019 @ 9:44 pm
All the Ken Burns stuff is on Netflix, and I’m sure it will be headed there after it airs.
Tex Hex
September 5, 2019 @ 7:42 am
I think there’s a pretty long wait time for new PBS content to hit Netflix. Months, probably. However, since PBS is a “public service” I believe they stream all their programs in-full from their website, same day. This series shouldn’t be hard to watch, even without access to traditional TV.
Mike W.
September 5, 2019 @ 3:23 pm
If you have a Roku/Apple TV/Amazon Fire TV Stick, you should be able to download the PBS app. I don’t know if they live stream stuff from the app, but they usually put up recently aired content the next day.
A.K.A. City
September 5, 2019 @ 7:15 am
I love the idea of a live blog, but in all honesty, I watch very little tv live and will probably end up recording this on my DVR and watching it when I can. Daily recaps make more sense for my viewing habits, but I enjoy going back and reading live blogs of shows I enjoy. Whatever works best for you.
Tex Hex
September 5, 2019 @ 7:36 am
Second this. The only “live” TV I watch is the news. Otherwise, it’s all DVR or subscription streaming. I will DVR this series, for sure, and watch when I can (I’m really excited for it, so probably not too long after air date). So, my two cents, I’d prefer a daily review/recap and let people discuss in the comments section.
Cody
September 5, 2019 @ 7:35 am
I like a few others here might not be able to watch it live – a hell on wheels three year often wrecks my early evenings – but I think a live blog idea is great and one I’d love to read later, as I do with the award show ones.
dukeroberts
September 5, 2019 @ 2:05 pm
Sounds fun.
Jim G
September 5, 2019 @ 6:16 pm
Live blog might be a bit much, but I really like the idea of daily recaps + your thoughts on the episodes!
Euro South
September 6, 2019 @ 4:12 pm
cutting ROOM floor
Put me down for daily review/recap.
Michelle
September 8, 2019 @ 5:42 am
My vote is for the recap.
Tony Dicerbo
September 25, 2019 @ 6:55 pm
Where is glen cambell one of the greatest and most love county musicians and shame on the producers to not devote him honor he let country crossover more than anyone in late 60s and 70s and by far the best all over guitar player with Chet Atkins a huge mistake in this documentary and shame the musicians who didn’t give him his respect as one of America’s
Greatest guitar players. SHAME ON YOU….
Kevin Smith
September 4, 2019 @ 7:17 pm
Not gonna miss a single minute of this documentary! I’m all aboard this train.
dukeroberts
September 5, 2019 @ 2:06 pm
I already have it set up on the DVR for a series recording.
Robert's Country Blog
September 4, 2019 @ 7:24 pm
Also, those interested in bluegrass history will likely enjoy the two-hour documentary called “Big Family, The Story Of Bluegrass Music,” which first aired on public television last weekend, and is available for free streaming.
Bill from Wisconsin
September 4, 2019 @ 8:04 pm
Yeah, caught that totally by accident. Pretty well done. Although they showed Molly Tuttle for about 10 seconds and didn’t name her. A little about her and Billy Strings would have been a good tie- in towards current and future bluegrass.
wayne
September 4, 2019 @ 7:27 pm
I agree with JonnyBoy. Cover it any way you would like so long as it’s covered.
I wonder how many of Marty Stuart’s photographs made the book?
sbach66
September 5, 2019 @ 5:54 am
Really been looking forward to this for a while. I took the tracklist for the soundtrack and made playlists for each of the 5 discs; boy is it good.
DJ
September 5, 2019 @ 6:54 am
Hope you remind us on it’s premier.
Michael
September 5, 2019 @ 7:13 am
PSA:
I believe you will be able to stream this for free from PBS.com for free when it drops. If you enjoy this please consider giving a donation to PBS so we can get more programs like this.
Massatucky Mike
September 5, 2019 @ 10:45 am
I like the live blog idea trigg, I’ll be watching most episodes live.
Conwayfan98
September 5, 2019 @ 10:48 am
I thought about purchasing a physical copy of the documentary, but it’s $59.99. I will wait until the price drops.
Chandler
September 5, 2019 @ 11:06 am
I’d love this idea of a live blog for each episode. I caught the preview of the show this past Sunday. I am 15 and I have a huge passion for traditional country music. Really looking forward to the series. Thanks for all you do Trigger!
Sam Cody
September 5, 2019 @ 8:36 pm
Was a little disappointed to find there was no chapter on Jason Aldean’s opinion of various towns he’s never been to, or an appendix listing of all the elementary schools Luke Bryan can be found trolling for new fans.
liza
September 6, 2019 @ 6:24 am
I just ordered the book. Thanks for the heads up.
Sarah P.
September 6, 2019 @ 2:54 pm
Went to the preview event in Dallas last night and was able to watch about an hour of clips. I got chills hearing Merle talk about Bob Wills and just loved every minute of the interviews we saw with legends, including Charley Pride. After the preview there was a short Q & A and I found it interesting that Dayton Duncan compared LilNasX to Ray Charles: someone trying to make it in country but not quite welcomed due to skin color/style. I have my own thoughts but I’d love to know what you think of that comparison, Trigger. I think the coolest thing from the Q&A was hearing Julie Dunfey talk about how they weren’t sure at first what kind of interviews they would get from these legends, but they started with asking questions about their heroes. Once they got these greats to open up about their own personal heroes, they provided so much history and excitement that allowed them to be more open about their own journeys. I can’t wait to watch the other 15 hours of the documentary – the brief part we saw was inspiring, joyful and informative. I think folks that have even a small interest in country music will be drawn into the film. For the rest of us, it’ll only increase our appetite for more.
wocowboy
September 10, 2019 @ 12:26 am
Sunday night’s Nashville concert on PBS, promoting the Country Music series was a tour de force, with blazing performances by some of the legends of country. I was surprised at the selection of songs each artist did, such as Vince Gill’s rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You”. Gill was an odd choice to do the number, but he nailed it. Rhiannon Giddens was electrifying with her spot-on rendition of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”. I applaud her decision to just do the song as Patsy would have done it instead of doing some off-the-wall rendition in an effort to make the song “hers”. It was an excellent 2 hours of music and I cannot wait to watch the PBS series.
Charlie
September 10, 2019 @ 9:08 am
I agree. Excellent sort of teaser for the series. I noticed 2 things:
1. The quality of the performances was amazing, almost across the board.
2. Dierks Bentley (bless his heart) stuck out like a sore thumb. For him to be a top tier Nashville artist he sure could not hang with the top tier Country artists he was on stage with.
And I actually kinda like Dierks, in a way. He appears to try sometimes, anyway. And what’s he gonna do–decline the invite? But man–that was rough on the ears.
Take away all the autotune and studio/stage tricks and the posers will suffer (Dierks).
When a true artist has the same bag of tricks used on them, it actually sounds worse (King George).
wocowboy
September 11, 2019 @ 4:48 am
Yes, I have seen Dierks on some of the Country’s Family Reunion shows on RFD and he does try, with limited success, to align himself with some of the more “traditional” aspects of country music. He was one of the more odd choices to be on the show, considering the raft of other artists who are still around and able to perform. I will give him an “E” for effort.
Blockman
September 10, 2019 @ 8:01 am
Just saw on Spotify there is a playlist for this and some quotes etc to go with the songs. Very cool!
Charlie
September 10, 2019 @ 9:15 am
I think it would be fine, but I’d urge people to not get distracted. This series is clearly going to pull the viewer in, and I wouldn’t want to miss the deeper meanings and insights and connections that are the bones of country music.