Ken Burns Country Music Film Comes at the Best & Worst Time
The broadcast of the Ken Burns-produced 8-part, 16-hour documentary on country music could very well be the most significant event to happen in country music in 2019, if not in the next few years. For country music to receive the expansive documentary treatment for America’s preeminent filmmaking archivist is a monumental honor, and could have significant implications.
On the positive side, the Ken Burns film could be the spark to light the fire for a real country resurgence, and not a moment too soon. Marty Stuart—who is the primary commentator in the project—says the new film is “like the cavalry coming.” With the way the term “country” has been co-opted and stretched over the last decade or more, Country Music will help to reset the public mindset of what country music is and always has been, along with highlighting many of the country legends who’ve been virtually forgotten in the Top 40-nature of the current country format. And since the film concludes in the mid 90s, classic country won’t be buried by attention for more modern artists and music.
“The traditional end of country music sometimes gets overshadowed by the contemporary,” Marty Stuart says. “And to have 16-and-a-half hours’ worth of footage and interviews coming from the nation’s premier documentarian—it’s an awesome gift.”
However the timing of the release of this film could also arguably not be more terrible. With the current acrimonious nature of race relations in the United States, the polarization around President Donald Trump, and the media storm instigated by Lil Nas X and the removal of “Old Town Road” from the Billboard country charts, a bullseye has been placed squarely the back of country music, and the Ken Burns documentary has become a target in the fervor itself, specifically for not doing enough to address race in the film.
It’s important to note that the Country Music documentary project was commenced over seven years ago. At the time, Barack Obama was President. “Identity politics” was not a widespread part of the American lexicon. Few were worried about how much diversity country music embodied. And as for Lil Nas X, he was 12-years-old at the time. Now, after many academic papers on the matter, and quite literally hundreds of think pieces targeting country music as the bastion for American conservatism and whiteness that must be disrupted and undermined, the country music project from Ken Burns has become swept up in the larger culture war.
None of this could have been anticipated when the film was being composed, and is completely out of the control of Ken Burns and co-producer Dayton Duncan. The documentary has basically been done for well over a year, aside from final edits and music sequencing work. The major outline and approach of the film was already established, and many of the interviews conducted before President Trump was even elected. And since the film bows at about 1996, it wouldn’t be possible to address current race relations, and how they interface with country music at the present.
This doesn’t mean that Country Music doesn’t address race relations in country music at all. In fact in the first episode to air on Sunday (9-15), it’s one of the primary focal points. African Americans that were seminal to the formation of what we know as country music today have rarely received their proper due, and the Ken Burns film works heavily to correct that. Rhiannon Giddens, who has been a long-time leader on this front, is one of the primary contributors to the opening episode, and the installment goes in depth about how black minstrels and blues players helped set the wheels of country in motion, and then were often stricken from the history due to systemic racism present in country music early on.
Later in the film, the career of Charley Pride is covered extensively, including his interactions with overtly racist fellow performers and others in the country music business, and how he came to be respected in the genre despite being African American, and overcame any adversity to be regarded as one of the most successful performers in country music history. The country contributions of Ray Charles and other African American performers are also touched on in the film.
Nonetheless, Ken Burns, PBS, and the film’s promoters and publicists are clearly very worried that promoting country music in the current political and cultural climate could damn this documentary out of the gate and paint them in a negative light, especially since the primary demographic of PBS swings much more progressive. That is why majority of the promotion of the film in the last couple of weeks leading up to the premier has focused on how the film labors to give proper due to African American performers in country music, anticipating this is where criticism for the film will center. And they are fair to be worried.
Reviews of Country Music by the few who’ve seen the whole film so far have been mostly mixed, with some positive. One concern broached almost universally about the film is that it tries to cover too much ground without ever going in-depth into one particular story or moment. Right as you really begin to be intrigued in an artist or a moment, the movie moves on. But the other major criticism of the film is for not focusing more in depth on race. Many major periodicals, including The New Yorker, Stereogum, Vulture, Daily Beast, and others have all criticized the film on the race point, saying Burns side stepped his opportunity to call out the blatant racism in country music. In fact, this has been on of the prevailing focal points of the media coverage of the film so far.
“Burns gets dinged by conservatives for turning his blockbuster projects into considerations of American racism — as if national life wasn’t not so secretly about that anyway — but this time, he keeps doing a catch-and-release thing,” Vulture decrees. “Burns isn’t cynically avoiding the subject of inequality, mind you. It’s all over Country Music, just not as consistently as in his masterworks.”
David Cantwell writing for The New Yorker says, “The silence and hostility with which African-American performers have often been greeted by the country establishment needs even greater emphasis.”
This is the reason Ken Burns and co-producer Dayton Duncan have been on the offensive in the last few weeks, trying to frame the film as one where the revising of history to emphasize the African American contributions to country should be taken as one of their primary efforts. And like many entertainment writers, they have been evoking the name of Lil Nas X to do it. An Op/Ed written by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan published in The New York Times on September 13th starts,
This spring the rapper Lil Nas X, who is black, released “Old Town Road,” a twang-inflected song that rocketed to the top of the country music charts — even though Billboard temporarily removed it from the list, saying it wasn’t sufficiently “country.”
A few months later, when the Country Music Association announced that three women — Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood — would host its annual awards show, some people criticized the choice as political correctness, as if “real” country music was restricted to good old boys.
Both controversies reflect the stereotypes that chronically surround country music. They overlook its diverse roots, its porous boundaries and the central role that women and people of color have played in its history.
Such narrow views would astonish the two foundational acts of the genre — Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family — who contributed to country music’s early commercial success in the 1920s. They knew firsthand that what has made American music so uniquely American has been its constant mixing of styles and influences.
It’s first important to note that Lil Nas X was not temporarily removed from the Billboard country charts. He was permanently removed from it—one of the many misnomers that swirl around the Lil Nas X controversy. But the above missive from Country Music‘s primary producers clearly show their concern for this film being relegated as an “also-ran” in the Ken Burns canon that side stepped important issues, as many in the press have already espoused, as opposed to talking about the importance of the film itself, and it’s overall mission to chronicle the rise of country music as a cultural institution.
One of the problems with the film ending in 1996 is it doesn’t give Ken Burns the opportunity to highlight how race relations and inclusion of African American artists in mainstream country has never been better. This is also something that many of the critics of country music tend to ignore as they look to characterize country as overtly racist, as opposed to an art form that just happens to be primarily performed by American whites, similar to how hip-hop is primarily performed by African Americans. Darius Rucker found a second wind in his career as a country artist, and is currently a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Kane Brown is one of the most successful mainstream artists in the last five years. Jimmie Allen’s debut single “Best Shot” was one of the best debuts by any country artist in nearly 20 years when it spent three consecutive weeks at #1.
That’s not to say that racism hasn’t been, and may still not continue to be a concern in country music. According to many, including Country Music contributor Rhiannon Giddens, the work of Ken Burns and this film is vital in helping to frame the mindset about how important African Americans have been to country, especially in its origins. But like many critics are saying about the film at large, by trying to cover so much ground, little details get lost. It wasn’t that Ken Burns punted on putting a spotlight on some of country music’s race problems, it’s that he just didn’t have enough space.
In this current political and social climate, it can be argued nothing Ken Burns could have done would have been enough for activist journalists and those who’ve publicly pushed the idea that country music as a cultural institution must be undermined as an artifice of white America. Ken Burns has been put in an impossible situation that he could have never anticipated when scripting and outlining this film. Harping on certain sore subjects when it comes to race in country could have also tuned off the film’s core demographic of country listeners, who probably can use a dose of history about the African American contributions to the music. Even now, Burns runs this risk with how the first episode plays out by underscoring the importance of African Americans in the formation of the music.
If this film was being released in 2015 instead of in the immediate aftermath of the Lil Nas X controversy and the increasingly contentious discussions about race in America, it would be considered in a much different light. But Ken Burns did not make Country Music for 2019. Like all of his films, he made it for forever—to be a master work of history to be enjoyed for generations to come. It’s the task of Ken Burns, or any historian, to tell the story accurately and not allow whatever prevailing popular sentiments roiling popular culture at the moment to affect the authenticity and objectivity of their work.
Perhaps like many of the mixed reviews of this film have been saying, not focusing enough on details, and trying to cover too much material may render Country Music good instead of great. But that will be for the public to decide. And regarding a film that has taken over seven years to make with 2019 eyes that are constantly looking for social injustices would be unfair to the work, and the filmmakers. Just like the songs and careers of country legends, time will be the ultimate objective judge of the quality of the Ken Burns country music film. And unfortunately, not much in 2019 is ever regarded objectively, especially when it comes to country music.
September 15, 2019 @ 11:25 am
By the way, I had talked about perhaps live blogging during episodes, or doing recaps. I’m going to play that by ear, but am not planning live blogs at the moment. However, if I do feel important points need to be highlighted, I will be posting tweets during the documentary. You can follow me here:
https://twitter.com/KyleCoroneos
October 10, 2019 @ 1:10 am
One bad thing about this documentary. Pbs has control over it. Meaning, while taxpayer funded you will only get to see it on the date it airs. unless you get your wallet out.
September 15, 2019 @ 11:35 am
Another great article Trig.
It sucks that the contemporary criticism is going to focus a lot on race, and a lot of criticism is going to go on Burns for not including it. I mean c’mon, if anyone who’s seen a Ken Burns documentary before can call him racist that’s some Olympic level mental gymnastics. My hope is that when the “cancel culture” dies down this documentary can be reviewed for what it is, not for what people wanted it to be.
September 15, 2019 @ 11:52 am
I don’t think cancel culture will ever die down though. I mean, people have been whining about stuff in the media for generations now. The internet makes it easier, but so long as religious institutions believe it is their right to tell me what media I should be able to consume and people in Manhattan believe they know what is best for middle America, the “cancel culture” will persist.
September 15, 2019 @ 11:48 am
Nothing Burns could have done would have satisfied either side. People who write for the New Yorker will always virtue signal because that’s what their audience craves. Similarly, Troy from Alabama is gonna rant on Facebook and Twitter about how even broaching race in the documentary is Burns pushing some absurd leftist agenda.
I suspect the film will handle race the way it should be handled in Country music. Pointing out how it was a significant problem, how things have gotten better, but work still needs to be done. Ending it in 1996 is random though, I’ll be curious as to why they chose that specific year.
September 15, 2019 @ 12:12 pm
The reason Burns chose to end in 1996 is because this was the year Bill Monroe died, and Johnny Cash saw a resurgence in his career from working with Rick Rubin. How exactly that works as a period in this long story, we’ll have to see.
September 15, 2019 @ 9:24 pm
In my opinion, if a film gets criticism from both sides of the political divide, it’s done a pretty decent job of being balanced and fair. I recall his Vietnam War film receiving similar criticism two years ago. (Merrill McPeak, former Air Force chief of staff who was interviewed for the Vietnam film, said as much after it aired, and I agree with him.) Burns has always, I feel, done a pretty good job of giving both sides of an issue a fair shake.
That said, I’m enjoying it so far. I’m learning a lot and developing a new appreciation of some of the pioneer performers of the genre.
What I can’t wait to see is the Twitter accounts of the 13-year-old girls who somehow found their way over to PBS this evening and bitch about there being no mention of Kane Brown or Thomas Rhett.
September 15, 2019 @ 11:50 am
Trig,
Call the truth out here. If Burns does a documentary on rap, the focus of whites is also going to be minimal. The reality is for the majority of country musics history, the format was centered around southern whites. Especially pre Garth and Shania, before country music blew up on a national scale. I am keeping an open mind going into this, but African Americans contributions to country music will likely be overstated in the documentary, as well as the focus on Johnny Cash. I mean for the love of God, the pre concert launch at Ryman focused on songs from Townes, Willie, And excessively Cash without ever focusing on the genres greatest vocalist in Jones. I’ve heard the doc also completely skips out on all time greats such as Paycheck and Gosdin. It’ll probably be fine for what it is, but I expect large gaps which is to be expected with a 8 series documentary trying to cram over 6 decades of information.
September 16, 2019 @ 11:00 am
Amen Truth5!
Everybody knows King George is the GOAT with 5 decades of iconic hits.
September 16, 2019 @ 11:29 am
THANK YOU! I have the utmost faith in Ken Burns, and don’t necessarily fault him for this, but even if they were doing the most abbreviated run through of Country Music history (the Concert) George Jones would have to be highlighted. The only time I heard him (& Faron & The Louvin Brothers) mentioned was when they read a concert bill for the Patsy segment. Unreal when they had time to highlight Cash twice (essentially 3 times when you count KK) and why in the world was Kristofferson featured?! I like and appreciate him, and he’s worth being mentioned in the big picture but not in a summary.
And I’m being very selective here (personally I’d like nothing more than for Faron to have been acknowledged…..and Marty and Ray Price but I know in a 2 hour program that’s a fat chance), however Ernest Tubb and Kitty Wells should have unequivocally been mentioned. And how did they omit Acuff?! At the Opry House?! I mean I’ve never been his biggest fan, but I respect him and appreciate his music, and am not simple enough to not know (whether I agree or not) he was the “King”. I mean after Jimmie, before ET, there’s Roy. And he was the steward of the Opry forever. All the cats involved with that show better be prepared to have their asses haunted by that old man.
September 15, 2019 @ 11:53 am
Haters gonna hate. I’m looking sooo forward to it and not going to let them ruin it for me. But good reporting on what’s going on Trigger.
September 15, 2019 @ 11:59 am
I wish musicians would be treated like musicians first, not political pawns. Musicians care about music and don’t care if you’re green or purple. The only thing that matters is whether you can play.
People who pay more attention to race, class (hello?), and sex or gender have little to nothing to say of interest to musicians.
I look forward to hearing whether Giddens is more interesting in explaining the music more than in scolding the dead.
Hooray for ballads, waltzes, blues, spirituals, cakewalks, boogies, barrelhouses, shuffles, fiddle tunes, gospel, swing, schottisches, Tin Pan Alley, vaudeville, the whole gamut. That’s America, which is all our inheritance.
September 15, 2019 @ 2:15 pm
A lot of music is inherently political. Punk is a political movement in the form of music.
Folk is another one that derived from the struggles of the working/unemployed man.
It is up to the artist to determine what they want the song to be, anything else is co-opted for an agenda.
September 15, 2019 @ 3:25 pm
Lyrics, yes. The politics can be overt, and for that reason, always reduces the power of music by subjugating it to a political platform. Any idiot can write a political song. All you need is a list of words in the platform that rhyme and a few chords that protestors can manage to play when they’re walking, shouting, or high.
Musically, punk is profoundly conservative. Rock tends to be musically conservative. Folk music is more harmonically adventurous than punk.
The most radical music is “jazz,” which is what Miles Davis preferred to call “social music.” What pop culture calls “classical” music is often just as (if not more) musically radical. The varieties of rap can be musically radical to the extent they avoid the urge to be popular. Why? Because pop music is cautious and quickly becomes conservative once a profitable formula is found.
Country is flexible but stays mostly major/minor and establishes traditions for a good reason: without tradition, there is no “development.” If you chuck every tradition, you just have random mutations. Pop likes random mutation on principle because it wants to discover whatever sells. Once it finds out what sells, it becomes conservative.
Country music is more about musical families and extended relations. Politically, it’s one of the healthiest forms of music. IMO.
September 15, 2019 @ 2:40 pm
This –> “Musicians care about music and don’t care if you’re green or purple. The only thing that matters is whether you can play.”
As a multi-instrumentalist (and long time musician) who plays country, rock, blues and bluegrass, I agree wholeheartedly with this opinion. Multi-racial (and multi-cultural) bands make great music. Great music is not about color of skin.
As for this documentary/movie, I will be watching tonight (and this week) and already have pre-purchased the DVD set to enjoy all over again.
September 15, 2019 @ 12:14 pm
I’m a hardcore left-winger and I love country music with all my heart. This is the best music America’s ever produced and it’s brought so much joy, solace and entertainment to so many people. Nothing compares to listening to country, that’s why so many of us still care so much about this music over 90 years since it started.
September 15, 2019 @ 12:35 pm
Also, as Kris said “if you don’t like Hank Williams, you can kiss my ass”.
September 15, 2019 @ 9:17 pm
Reminds me a bit of a Sons of Bill line
Hank Williams mighta been a love sick drinker, but bein a love sick drunk don’t make ya Hank.
September 15, 2019 @ 12:28 pm
I just like country music. And I don’t need politics mixed in. As a country fan for over 50 years, it’s about damned time the genre gets its due.
September 15, 2019 @ 12:29 pm
“Conservatism” not “conservationism” I’m guessing?
I hear the doc doesn’t mention the origin of the steel guitar and its incorporation into country music after (along with) the “Hawaiian craze.” That, to me, seems to be the most egregious omission. I love the sound of the steel guitar, and that sound has been so important to the genre for so long.
Covering that would’ve highlighted the fact that country draws from many influences and cultures and isn’t simply some sort of wholesale “theft” of black music – a fantasy so many try to propagate.
Pretending country is inherently racist, or implying that some sort of theft or white washing is involved, feeds into the dumb notion that “cultural appropriation” is a malicious crime. It’s not. Barring some isolated jungle tribes on the far edges of the earth, all culture (music, food, dress style etc.) is a mixture of, and an evolution from, many sources.
September 15, 2019 @ 1:49 pm
No mention of Hawaiian music?! How the hell can they leave that out? I guess it’s out of the question that they’ll mention Indiana and southern Michigan as the incubator of Buddy Emmons and many other great steel players. Please Burns, don’t turn this into another reductive morality play…
September 15, 2019 @ 2:09 pm
Well, no idea why Burns would leave out the Hawaiian influence, whether by ignorance or by choice, but Hawaiians aren’t exactly a dominant player in today’s culture wars, so it’s not going to be a major concern for the doc producers, audience, or culture war propagandists (I mean, “journalists”). There’s bigger fish to fry.
September 15, 2019 @ 2:18 pm
FYI, forgot to mention. Another PBS music doc series, American Epic (I think Jack White was a producer) that came out a few years ago (only 3-4 hours long) is probably a good supplement to the Ken Burns doc. It covers country, blues, and other American folk genres. It covers the Hawaiian stuff pretty well.
September 15, 2019 @ 4:07 pm
Thanks for the tip, Tex. I’ll look for that.
September 15, 2019 @ 12:35 pm
Look at the history of rock and roll as well and see the exclusion of blacks from the genre at the beginning and how their songs were pawned off to white singers to become mainstream.
September 15, 2019 @ 1:03 pm
That’s debatable. Black artists in the 50’s like Chubby Checker, Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry were arguably just as big as their white counterparts.
Thing is, in the 50’s, rock & roll was basically a fad genre enjoyed primarily by teenage girls so by the end of the decade, what with its primary founders getting caught up with the law, serving in the military, or moving on creatively to other things, the whole scene fell apart (or out of the limelight, at least).
That is, until white Brits picked it up and reimported it to the US in the 60’s. By then, rock & roll had fallen out of favor with black artists and audiences who’d moved on to other genres like soul, r&b, and proto forms of funk etc. Genres that coincided with the nascent civil rights movement.
So, from then on, “rock” was considered an exclusively “white” genre, despite a large portion of its founders being black.
September 15, 2019 @ 1:26 pm
I agree but I was also talking about before the 50’s and what separates Rythym and Blues from Rock and Roll. A lot of R and B songs by blacks were repackaged as originals by white rock and roll artists. But I definitely see what you are also getting at.
September 15, 2019 @ 1:41 pm
It was more the fans of rock who were white than the artists, though. There have many black musicians in rock, but they generally made little impression on black audiences e.g. Jimi Hendrix, who desperately wanted to be popular with black music fans but never really was.
September 15, 2019 @ 1:13 pm
So what? Like it or not, this genre has predominantly been Caucasian. Big deal.
Rap had predominantly been African-American. Again, so what? Nothing wrong with it.
Many of the genres have been predominantly contributed by a certain ethnicity. It is what it is.
We do not need to re-write history. It is what it is, warts and all. We cannot affirmative-action everything. Will we next see a documentary about the history of rap and have a segment lamenting the Caucasian contribution? Of course not because it does not fit into the political narrative of some.
For those who are challenged in thought and ability to read, I am NOT saying that there have been no contributions from other non-Caucasian groups. Of course there has. And report it to the applicable extent.
I am sure Brandi Carlsile will next be beating the drum on the lack of recognition that the LGBTQ community has received for their great impact on the history of the country music genre.
September 15, 2019 @ 1:14 pm
Trigger,
Curious, did you get a screener copy of the series ahead of time? Sounds like not. Why did so many non-country publications and blogs get screener copies, but not country-focused publications like SCM?
That seems odd and shortsighted on the part of PBS and Burns’ team. Why aren’t they promoting this series to the journalists and audience that’d appreciate it the most. Seems like a missed opportunity at best, and a snub at worst.
September 15, 2019 @ 1:21 pm
I did not get an advanced copy.
September 15, 2019 @ 2:08 pm
Anybody in the Country music business if they truly believed in their product (video, audio, or this beautiful hardcover book I got from my library that accompanies this film) and wanted to stand by it should make damn well sure Trig gets an advanced copy of everything. You’d think it’s be automatic by now!
September 15, 2019 @ 11:33 pm
Ironically, I did get an advanced copy of the book, and it is great. Essential if you ask me.
September 15, 2019 @ 1:55 pm
I’m glad the documentary has been made, but I anticipate being disappointed. From what I’ve heard, it is a high level overview, which will bring nothing new for someone like me. It’ll be a crash course for the interlopers and neophytes.
Plus, I agree with the above commenter, that the black contribution will be overstated in the name of politics, and too much time will be given to Johnny Cash; while some all-time greats and fan favorites will be ignored.
It’s pathetic that Ken and team are already apologizing. Losers.
Trig,
Is there any way to stream this thing without the PBS Passport?
September 15, 2019 @ 2:13 pm
I believe it is going to be streamed online free to everyone, but don’t quote me on that.
I agree, from everything I’ve read, it’s going to be mostly a primer. Though that might be a bit boring for core fans, it will still be important for folks who want to learn about country music.
September 15, 2019 @ 4:10 pm
Trig, what’s your opinion of Szalapski’s documentary, “Heartworn Highways”? I think that was a pretty decent job.
I’d like to see Wayne Erbsen given a consulting gig with a documentary about the music of the Appalachias.
September 16, 2019 @ 11:53 pm
It’s great. Covered it pretty extensively when they re-released it back in 2013.
September 16, 2019 @ 5:58 am
I found the first part streaming at https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music
It appears that the entire documentary will be available, although it does not say how long this will be the case. I checked just now and the first episode is still available in its entirety.
September 15, 2019 @ 2:09 pm
Typo – it would be
September 15, 2019 @ 2:21 pm
Trig, do you know if the documentary series will be available digitally for those of us outside the United States?
September 16, 2019 @ 11:54 pm
I honestly don’t know. I will try and find some answers.
September 20, 2019 @ 6:35 am
If it is not, then a simple VPN based in the USA should do the trick. ( I use a British VPN to watch the BBC Olympic coverage. I can’t stand how the American coverage is all about politics.)
September 15, 2019 @ 2:27 pm
Media sources like you named are helmed by urban, university educated elites who are VERY detached from the country music culture and it’s people, period. They are genuinely clueless about the people and the lives of southern, rural and even Midwestern America. They know nothing of the joys of small town and rural living, farming, county fairs, rodeos, outdoor lifestyles of hunting, fishing, camping etc. These folks genuinely believe their lifestyle is somehow superior to anything else on the planet. They write about what they genuinely do not understand. And since they don’t understand it, it must be discredited, and destroyed, and yes politics is indeed the driving motivation.
How sad.. I think the real truth is, most people aren’t hardcore racists, sure there are some to be found here and there unfortunately, but most of us live and interact in our everyday life with people of many different origins and backgrounds and somehow manage to get along and respect each other quite well.
Personally, I take issue with anyone who wishes to disparage a form of culture or entertainment based on the skin color or ethnicity of it’s supporters. Let people be free to find what moves them, or what speaks to them. Country music is a beautiful artform and expression made by musicians who do it, not to spread hatred but for the sheer love of the music, and anybody is free to enjoy and participate.
September 15, 2019 @ 2:44 pm
Well said.
I saw Burns’ Civil War doc repeated on a local PBS station a while back and watched a bit after many years and the thing that struck me was how Burns and the late Shelby Foote would be canceled in a millisecond if they produced the same product today and that is why Burns is working like hell to cover himself. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if they made some adjustments to emphasize the racism angle.
Honestly this doc could be 16 hrs of ‘country music is racist’ repeated on a loop and these critics would still bitch.
September 15, 2019 @ 3:36 pm
In fairness, in being annoyed about people stereotyping Country music fans, you just sterotyped it’s critics. I know plenty of University educated people who completely understand Country music and small-town culture. Many of these same people live in large urban areas as well.
Shades of grey and all that….
September 15, 2019 @ 7:54 pm
Wow Mike,
University educated people, of which i am (going to spare you a smart assed response, such as, of which i are one).
Are we talking about the recently University educated people, or the University educated, before the major, and very decisive, agenda oriented, in your face, you had better give us a foamingly rabid, cross-you-heart, swear to the extremist left liberal response? Your grade most assuredly, depends on it.
And before you stroke out, have attended Purdue, i W. Lafayette, Michigan in Ypsilanti, Davidson County in Lexington, North Carolina (had our son 9 days after end of semester there), classes at Macdlll Air Force Base, in Tampa. God help me, the University of Vermont (what a joke), and Keiser University in Miami.
Met some wonderful people at each place.
While we as a family were moving around the country with the federal government, chose to continue education where i could, first and foremost keeping family number one.
Kevin Smith is spot on.
September 21, 2019 @ 7:16 am
For a university educated person, you writing doesn’t appear to be on level.
September 21, 2019 @ 9:41 am
Heard part of an interview on Sirius yesterday with Yola and Sierra.
They both sound like lovely people.
September 15, 2019 @ 5:50 pm
Well stayed Kevin Smith.
September 16, 2019 @ 7:12 am
I’ve read all four articles now and I’d say they’ll all generally positive and written by people with good knowledge of and enthusiasm for country music. And the author of the New Yorker piece (David Cantwell) is a real deal country music journalist. Of the four, the Vulture article (Ken Burn’s Massive Country Music Is Powerful, Beautiful and Somehow Still Incomplete) spends the most time on the topic of race, but I personally don’t find it to be damning. At one point, the author has some sympathy for why race wasn’t dealt with as deeply as he thinks it was on his other projects, saying basically it’s because Burns is so excited about the artists being covered that he just wants to tell the story about them. And that reminds me of the one of the first promos for the series where Burns says something like “what if we could just relax and exhale and hear some music that brings us together.”
There’s always criticisms of Ken Burns’s projects about what wasn’t covered. I thought The Viet Nam War series was excellent and have watched it twice, but I remember reading a criticism about how there should have been more interviews with the Vietnamese people who suffered during the war. I thought there was a fair amount of that in the series, but OK. Maybe there could have been more, I don’t know. And I seem to recall a mild criticism from Trigger on how 9/11 was covered in Baseball, where the Yankees made it to the Series. They didn’t show the George W Bush first pitch, maybe?
September 16, 2019 @ 7:39 am
The point of this article was not to run down the media coverage of other outlets, as I am sometimes known to do. It was to illustrate the difficult environment in which this film is being released, and the interface with identity politics and specifically the Lil Nas X controversy. I included a quote from David Cantell and named him specifically BECAUSE he is a country music writer and has a history with the genre to illustrate this concern was coming from all directions. I don’t believe I portrayed their overall viewpoints on the film as negative, and linked to the articles so readers could make their own conclusions. I believe for some, my reputation preceded what I actually put in print here.
September 16, 2019 @ 8:39 am
I personally made a mental note of you naming Cantwell, which signalled to me that YOU know who he is. There was no mention of who he is or his bona fides, so I’m not sure how many of the readers know that he’s not some clown pushing a political agenda. Also, I acknowledge and appreciate that you included links to the articles, which is what I used to read the Stereogum, Vulture and Daily Beast articles. I was leery of all three (less so The New Yorker) as far as how they would cover anything to do with country music, but was pleasantly surprised. Also, I know that your enemies out there (the blue checkmark crowd) have at times pulled quotes from articles here and framed them on Twitter in such a way that they hoped to inflict damage, but don’t include a link to the article, which is complete bush league.
For me, it’s not so much your reputation as what sometimes happens in the comment section on articles like this. Some people will just use the title or the general subject as a springboard to air their grievances without bothering or caring to understand all of what you’re trying to communicate.
September 16, 2019 @ 8:21 am
Thanks for sharing Jack. My use of hyperbole is a passionate response to folks that I perceive as fairly clueless. Take it as a Haggard fightin’ side of me reaction to people who seek to put down our kind of music. I’m a mid-westerner ; heartland America I know well. Years ago a job opportunity of sorts took me to NYC of all places, where I spent many years. These days I’m back where I came from and couldn’t be happier. Oh NYC had its moments sure, but man its like another universe, just world’s removed from the country way of life. I met some country music fans there, to be fair , but most of the people were pretty removed from the lifestyle country music espouses. They were clueless in understanding what life is all about in middle-America. Honestly, I don’t think that rat race big city life is for me.
Trig has been regularly reporting on think pieces being written by folks high up in academia. For example, there was that disgraceful piece on the problematic nature of Dolly Parton and her whiteness, written by a white female college prof. Then, there was an awful article written in The Guardian claiming Americana was a politically and morally superior form of music than country music. Rolling Stone doesn’t even try to hide their bias against country artists they suspect hold conservative viewpoints. And according to Trigger there are many more articles out there saying similar. I don’t spend my time seeking out these articles, but Trig does to an extent, and I trust what he’s saying is generally accurate. So, that’s where I’m coming from. Also, for the record I’m not all against education either, just making the point that when highly educated journalists removed from country culture start pontificating about culture and music of working class , blue collar men and women in heartland America, it rings hollow to a lot of folks. Finally, I’m no tin foil hat guy, by any means, but there is a culture war brewing out there, which is quite disturbing. I could say a lot more, and link to many stories , but I will refrain. While you and I may see things a bit differently, I would gladly drink a beer with you and I have no doubt we could find much in common, particularly about the great music we both admire. Cheers brother!
September 16, 2019 @ 10:09 am
Hey, Kevin. Well, a lot of them are clueless. I was pleasantly surprised that none of these four were hit jobs and they could have been a lot worse. I first cringed at some the links listed, particularly The Daily Beast. And I absolutely agree with the examples that you bring up in the second paragraph. And as far Rolling Stone Country, it does seem that they have completely abandoned their pledge not to be overly political in how they cover country music. And I regularly find myself maddened by the country music coverage in my local paper sometimes (Washington Post, although the NYT is worse in that regard, I think)
I responded to you in particular because I enjoy your contributions here and respect your knowledge of country music and other forms of roots music (e.g., blues) and I figured we could have a civil discussion. And was that your photographs that were featured in a No Depression article on Nashville Boogie 2019? I assumed it was.
You’re right that we don’t see things always the same, but we often do, especially with respect to music. I’m an east coaster suburbanite (raised in NYC area, live in DC area) who leans moderately left politically. I don’t have any first hand knowledge experience with rural life, but have second hand knowledge from my Mom, who hails from the west of Ireland and grew up on a small, poor farm that my grandmother called the arsehole of Ireland. I do enjoy traditional Irish music like some of my other siblings and cousins (and probably a little more passionately than them), but I’m the only one with a passion for country music. And if I told them country meant more to me (much more, tbh) than traditional Irish music, that might not be something they would understand. Or that Hank Williams meant much, much more to me than Frank Sinatra.
I would be more than happy to drink a beer or two with you.
September 16, 2019 @ 4:49 pm
Was enjoying all of the feed back on the first episode until this post, by this “elitist” referring to everything but the music. I love country music, I don’t go to rodeos, or fish, or hunt and I do not think I am superior to those who do. If that is what you enjoy, have at it. Just trying to figure out why that makes me an “elitist?”
September 17, 2019 @ 8:29 am
Hi jeff,
Thanks for an honest question. This blog and the comments section is sometimes used as a sounding board by die hard country music fans who get frustrated at times, feeling that this amazing music they are passionate about, tends to be imaligned or at least misunderstood by some perhaps well intentioned media folks who don’t relate all that well to the base audience. My use of hyperbole is a gut response to hearing that some are once again discrediting this great artform by implying it’s creators or audience are somehow racist. (Jack, who comments here did clear up this point for me as he read the articles and found only one to be a bit negative) As for elitist, it’s a general thought about folks who seek to put down what they don’t understand. Personally, I can’t imagine ever writing a piece that disparages another music genre or discredits it based on a few bad actors in its distant past. I wad raised to respect all cultures , and in general I assume other people do as well. Sadly, though there are some out there that seem to have an axe to grind with the music. How unfortunate, they are missing out on a powerful and deeply moving art form, unique to American culture. Honestly, as we all know, Country music has had an uphill climb since it’s beginning to find wide acceptance. Oddly enough, my grandfather who grew up during the depression, felt it was a “hillbilly” thing and he looked down on it. Never mind he was a farm kid!
Quoting my last line , about Country Music, anybody is free to listen or participate. I genuinely believe that. You don’t have to be from the country to make the music or be a fan. Country Music is for all people, it’s even gaining popularity in the UK right now. So, no I wasn’t implying that an urban based fan is an elitist. Hopefully, that clears it up , at least where I’m coming from.
September 15, 2019 @ 2:43 pm
Based on some of the reviews mentioned in the article, I wonder if Country Music will have similar ratings as Dave Chappelle’s recent comedy special, Sticks and Stones: (very) poorly rated by pundits and reviewers in the media, but highly rated by the general public.
September 15, 2019 @ 3:05 pm
I read the article by David Cantwell in The New Yorker, which is titled Ken Burns’s Delightful” Country Music” Gets the Big Things Mostly Right. I thought it was a good and fairly long article that touched on racial issues in one paragraph. David Cantwell is no culture war hack. I read his book The Running Kind, which on the recording career of Merle Haggard. Also, he and Bill Friskics-Warren were co-authors on the book Heartaches By the Numbers – Country Music’s 500 Greatest Singles. They both were writers and editors at the old No Depression print magazine and one of Cantwell’s pieces was a great article on Ray Price. I haven’t read the other articles you’ve linked to yet.
I’ve watched a few interviews of Ken Burns, which are have been pretty good for the most part. One annoying moment was on the Today Show, where Burns and Vince Gill were being interviewed by two people. Burns was talking about how country music bores into “who you are” and was reciting a line from I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry as an example, which he was very moved by. One of the interviewers started asking a question before Burns was even finished (Was it Carson Daly, was used to be on MTV?), and he asked why some people want to protect country and keep it from evolving (his co- host interjects with “purists” at this point) and what are they afraid of. Ken Burns was ready. He explained how all art forms look to expand and some artists within a genre want to push the boundaries, but that there will be others within the same genre form who advocate not going too far so that they don’t forget where they came from. He added that it’s been true in all genres and it’s been really true in country.
September 15, 2019 @ 6:20 pm
Yup. I saw the same interview and was so impressed by Burns (and it was great as always to see Vince Gill 🙂!) I was like, “This guy gets it!” 🙂
September 15, 2019 @ 3:11 pm
Many valid points made but let’s not lose sight of the main thing that viewers are tuning in to learn about: THE MUSIC!
September 15, 2019 @ 6:25 pm
Loving this Ken Burns documentary!
Wish artist’s such as the ones depicted so far, were the norm today. Along with stellar talents such as Dolly.
While sequestered at home for a semester, in high school, with mono, asked my father to get enough money out of my savings, to go to Tom Pickett’s and purchase a banjo.
The banjo had always fascinated me. Mr. Pickett told dad to sign me up for lessons. So being at Tom Pickett’s, when it was on 25th St. in Columbus, Indiana, was my reprieve from going stir crazy that semester.
Twice a week, once for lessons with an incredibly patient, and amazing banjo instructor. And once a week, on a weeknight, in the store on 25th St. in the basement, sat in a circle, with 7 other gentlemen, who to my 16 year old years, were all amazing musicians. They were extremely kind to let me sit in with them, because i didn’t know what the hell i was doing on that banjo. But i sure loved learning. Doc Terry, a surgeon, was the guy on mandolin in that group. He PLAYED that mandolin.
Will forever be grateful to Mr. Pickett, and my dad for taking the time.
Columbus is very close to little Nashville, Brown County, IN. Great music and talented musicians in the area, not to mention the unbelievable bluegrass that comes out of Bean Blossom, just N. of little Nashville.
September 16, 2019 @ 4:06 am
‘The place to take your pick.’. I’m sure I’ve spent a few dollars there.
Good points–thinking of the Zach Bryan approach to recording. Just get together and stick a mic up and hit record. Tap in to some of Dave Cobb’s so-called genius approach, lol.
September 16, 2019 @ 7:19 am
God Charlie,
What a concept, huh?
Get musicians together, forget all the props and bullshit, and recording just for the music’s sake.
I’m with you brother!
Trigger, (and forgive me for sounding familiar) apologies up front if this is a no-no.
Wanted to let people know that Uncle Pen Days, in Bean Blossom, IN. will be held this Wednesday, Sept. 18th, through Saturday, Sept. 21st. at the Bill Monroe Music Park.
I know there are many music festivals going on around the country, but thought if anyone was geographically close, they might enjoy going.
September 15, 2019 @ 7:20 pm
No complaints about the first episode.
September 15, 2019 @ 7:49 pm
Agreed, I thought it was very well done.
September 15, 2019 @ 7:52 pm
One complaint, at the risk of beating a dead horse. They briefly covered Jimmie Rogers’ “Everybody Does It In Hawaii” but didn’t emphasize (or even mention?) its novel use of steel guitar – an instrument and sound that would become integral to so many country recordings and performances for the next ninety years!
Maybe they’ll mention it in a future episode, though other reviewers who’ve seen the whole series say they don’t.
There was a doc on the steel guitar called “That Thing, That Sound” in production years back but it looks like they only got to 34% of their $15K crowd funding goal. Shame.
September 15, 2019 @ 7:25 pm
im hoping that the series includes the D.C.country music scene of the 1950’s jimmy dean, roy clark, chubby wise and others. and of course there was tragedy.
http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2016/06/the-1957-jo-del-tavern-murders-tragedy.html
September 15, 2019 @ 9:32 pm
Just got done watching episode one and I think it was very good. It did justice to Jimmie Rodgers who was the musical hero of so many of the great country artist of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. It also did justice to the Carter family…I thoroughly enjoyed it.
September 15, 2019 @ 9:39 pm
Episode 1 was exactly what I thought it would be, exhaustive and thorough, just like Ken’s Jazz doc.
The people have become so inundated with the immediate and passing pleasures of viral culture that an expansive piece like Country Music seems to be lost on even the self-appointed critics of our time.
I’ll admit, the narration could use more personality. It’s too objective and impersonal. That much becomes evident every time Dolly or Merle chime in with a smile and a quip.
On the topic of racism, I felt that the African American influence was reiterated to the point of being repetitive in the premiere ep.
I can’t speak to what I’ve not yet seen but African American culture has never been one of Ken’s blind spots.
September 16, 2019 @ 5:56 am
I agree. Sounds like a lot of people passing judgement over something they haven’t watched. Par for the course for our society.
September 15, 2019 @ 10:39 pm
Oh no a documentary film about Country Music focuses on Country Music and not race relations. How dare they! What’s the worst part of your job, Trig? Having to sit and seriously read then account for all these dumb articles and opinions from people who have no idea what they are talking about ? Reading the quotes alone in this article just about gave me an aneurysm. Are you the Country Music Messiah who is suffering taking all the sins of the industry upon yourself so that we all may be redeemed?
September 16, 2019 @ 5:42 am
“In this current political and social climate, it can be argued nothing Ken Burns could have done would have been enough for activist journalists and those who’ve publicly pushed the idea that country music as a cultural institution must be undermined as an artifice of white America.”
This, unfortunately, is true. For the activists, EVERYTHING has to be about their pet peeve and if you take your attention away from said pet peeve for five friggin’ seconds it “proves” that your a “____ist” or “____phobe”. What a barren way to live your life!
I very much enjoyed episode 1, and I learned a lot.
September 16, 2019 @ 6:04 am
Dolly’s version of “Mule Skinner Blues” is my ear worm this morning so I have no complaints! I actually felt they addressed the African contribution, and the history of African Americans in the genre, very effectively. They certainly did not shy away from anything, including the use of blackface, which today appears grotesque but back then was accepted. They presented the history accurately and did not skip over it. We are living in a society that wants to erase history instead of learning from it. So far I feel this documentary is doing a good job.
September 16, 2019 @ 7:28 am
Everyone of the reviews you linked to was completely reasonable, nuanced, and overall quite laudatory of the documentary. I don’t see the controversy, and certainly don’t see evidence of some war on country music from these reviews. I got to see some of it (an hour curated to mostly focus on bluegrass) when on the the producers came through Asheville last year – and I’m looking forward to the whole thing.
September 16, 2019 @ 7:40 am
Again, the point of this article was not to run down the media coverage of other outlets, as I am sometimes known to do. It was to illustrate the difficult environment in which this film is being released, and the interface with identity politics and specifically the Lil Nas X controversy.
September 16, 2019 @ 8:05 am
Fair enough. Given the linking of those pieces alongside the mention of “activist journalists and those who’ve publicly pushed the idea that country music as a cultural institution must be undermined as an artifice of white America” it was hard not to infer that.
Seems like critics are having a thoughtful and nuanced response to a well-made but (like all works) imperfect documentary.
September 16, 2019 @ 7:46 am
I agree. Also, Rolling Stone gave it a glowing review, which was a relief of sorts.
September 16, 2019 @ 4:16 pm
Part of me wonders if the 1996 cut-off isn’t deliberately to leave room to address these things down the line, as he did with his Baseball film.
We’re in the middle of these issues in country music. To me, drawing any conclusion on the situation would be unsatisfactory before we get a real resolution to it. And, at the end of the day, country is a genre that’s had real problems with race, but is mostly a positive force in the world. There’s definitely not been enough work put in on resolving that in the decades it’s been a major problem, but making that a constant focus of the film would tend to paint country as something fundamentally broken, IMO, rather than something flawed, but worth saving.
For better or worse, race relations just aren’t an overt theme in the overall story of country music. I mean, black and minority exclusion is a /constant/ theme, but it’s never really been that much of a cultural battleground in the past. To go back to the 1996 cut-off, I think that leaves a great window to revisit in 2026. By then, we should have a resolution to whether country will become inclusionary and rediscover its positive roots or double-down on the exclusion and become a complete negative force. Or maybe it won’t resolve at all.
No matter how it goes, I think a two-episode look-back on this era down the line would be a better fit than tacking it onto the end of a greater narrative that maybe doesn’t fit with that.
September 17, 2019 @ 5:06 am
Sheesh, I skimmed “major periodicals, including The New Yorker, Stereogum, Vulture, Daily Beast”. The first 3 weren’t too bad but Daily Beast was plainly fictional. Country music didn’t exist until radio invented it!? Completely absurd.
Even without Newsweek Daily Beast still isn’t worth a dollar.
September 19, 2019 @ 10:38 am
This is my first foray into 1) this website; and 2) commenting on what I have been reading about the Ken Burns documentary “Country Music”.
Trigger has done a great job of reviewing the Ken Burns documentary. But the comments always bother me. Without exception, they (his documentaries) all get the same treatment… “Why didn’t he cover this more?” and “Ken Burns left that out and so his work is shoddy!” or “Well, he sure screwed that up!”
Try telling the story of an entire war (two of them… Civil and Viet Nam), or entire sport (Baseball) or an entire genre of music (Jazz and now Country Music) in 16 hours. It can’t be done. You leave things by the wayside maybe for a visit later or because everyone already knows that fact!
Does Ken Burns address race? He certainly does right down to blackface Jimmie Rdgers? Could he do more? Sure but what would be the context? Yes, country (read hilly-billy) music has always had a white bias because that is the race of its creators. But A.P. Carter wasn’t a racist… his talent for lyrics was supplemented by a black man who remembered melodies, Deford Bailey was an original Opry member… yes, it was disgraceful then to kick him out just as today it was diegraceful for Billboard to pull the recording of “Old Town Road” for obviously racist reasons.
But does that make Ken Burns or his co-producers bad people? Or diminish the importance of their work? If it does, then I guess you should really pillory Spike Lee over one of his very lesser known works that pokes at the whole “who is a racist?” issue. View “Bamboozled” sometime and tell me what you think.
Here is the crux of the matter… do I learn something new with each Ken Burns documentary? If I can answer yes (and an historian, that’s crucial), then it didn’t fail. Let me illustrate… how many people knew the origin of the call letters of WLS in Chicago and WSM in Nashville? How many people knew about Dr. Barkley’s previous profession prior to founding XERA in Del Rio and putting the Carter family literally on the American map? (A side note, how many of you remember the other powerhouse Mexican station of the 1960’s XERB out of Tijuana? And how that station made Wolfman Jack a nationally know personality?) How many people knew that “Cold, Cold Heart” was written by a drunk Hank Williams sitting in the hallway outside a friend’s apartment after a fight with his wife, Audrey?
There are some things more important than making everything “equal” in this day. Yes, we are victims of our own “success”. But not everyone deserves a trophy all the time. Does that make Ken Burns and Florentine Films insensitive? Hardly… racist? Not even… privileged? Well, he does have quite the bully pulpit. But then again so does Spike Lee! When was the last time you read someone saying “Spike Lee doesn’t have enough white people in his film(s)!”
We all should watch, appreciate, and learn instead of looking for the flaws. I’m sure that the omission of the steel guitar was not overt (and I would be miffed if he did that feature that insturment and never mention Rusty Young!). But there are lots more doucmentarians and much more footage to be shot. Give it time. There might be an “extra inning” as in the “Baseball” series. Who knows? It might be titled “Bonus Tracks”. But let’s just enjoy what is there and not watch to pick out what is not there.
By the way, who wants to make a trip with me to Nashville to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and see if we can make it through 171 of raw footage that was donated? I’d give it a try just to see listen to Merle, Little Jimmy, Dolly, Emmy Louy, Marty, and the countless other contributors. Anyone else in? It’s only 56 days at 8 hours per day. I’ve got nothing else to do!
September 19, 2019 @ 11:08 am
Thanks for reading Patrick, and I’m glad you found the site.
And I agree on all points.
September 20, 2019 @ 2:32 pm
I love the Epic so far (only seen episode 1). We will be looking forward to more “Real Country Music” If anyone is interested, I keep a couple hundred of these real songs updated on Spotify.
Florabama Beach Americana:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZgcAN1bfu4oF5B3fdvSdD?si=QOs9ULX0SWagCMO9m4vBcw
September 24, 2019 @ 6:28 pm
pure garbage, its obvious that neither ken nor duncan had a clue but like good liberals they fed at the taxpayer trough/PBS one more time, pathetic