Country Music By Ken Burns
Catching up on Country Music By Ken Burns?
Don't want to miss an episode anymore? Set up a free alarm and receive an email when new episodes are available. Handy!
Last episode
55:00
55:00Country Music By Ken Burns
In the 1980s and 1990s, 'New Traditionalists' like the Judds helped country music stay true to its roots. The period also saw the rise of superstar Garth Brooks and the return of Johnny Cash.
55:00Bluegrass retained a strong core of avid fans during the 1970s, while in Austin, Texas, Willie Nelson discovered a new music scene where hippies and rednecks seemed to get along.
50:00The 1970s and early 1980s were a vibrant era in country music that saw Dolly Parton find mainstream success and Hank Williams Jr emerge from his famous father's shadow.
How country music responded to a nation divided by the Vietnam War. Army captain-turned-songwriter Kris Kristofferson set a new lyrical standard while Johnny Cash returned to the Ryman Auditorium.
How country music reflected a changing America. Loretta Lynn spoke to women everywhere, Merle Haggard became the 'Poet of the Common Man' and audiences looked beyond race to embrace Charley Pride.
55:00In Memphis, Sun Studios' budding artists Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley ushered in the era of rockabilly, while Patsy Cline showed off Music City's smooth new Nashville sound.
50:00How the bluegrass sound spread in post-war America. Honky-tonk star Hank Williams wrote songs of surprising emotional depth, derived from his troubled and tragically short life.
50:00How Nashville became the heart of the country music industry during the Great Depression and World War II as America fell in love with singing cowboys, Texas swing and the Grand Ole Opry's Roy Acuff.
50:00How what was first called hillbilly music reached new audiences through phonographs and radio, and launched the careers of country music's first big stars - the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers.