REVIEW: Country Music

Courtesy of PBS

Prolific documentary filmmaker Ken Burns’ previous epic was a comprehensive look at the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, so his new project – a 16-hour deep dive into the history of country music titled, appropriately enough, Country Music – might seem light and trivial by comparison. That’s where you’d be mistaken.

Any country fan will tell you there’s plenty of heartache and tragedy in the roots of the beloved genre, tied to both the artists’ personal lives and the music itself. It’s even the basis for a classic joke:

What do you get when you play a country song backwards?
You get your wife back, you get your dog back, and you get your truck back.

But in addition to emotionally devastating songs and the loss of towering performers like Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, there’s also plenty of uplifting music, great stories and groundbreaking moments in country’s past. Not-so-coincidentally, many of them are tied to pivotal changes in the history of America itself.

Burns chronicles dozens of them in this eight-episode masterpiece (nearly a decade in the making), utilizing 101 interviews with musicians, producers, family members and other important figures who were a part of this cultural revolution. He and his team miraculously found some way to craft a coherent, emotional narrative from more than 175 hours of conversations; over 700 hours of archival footage; 100,000 still photographs; and 564 pieces of music.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the doc is there’s only one “official” historian featured – Bill C. Malone – because the artists know so much of the history themselves. For example, there’s a moment early in the first episode when Dolly Parton goes into full-blown professor mode as she explains how the roots of country music reach across the ocean to Europe, where ballads once served as a form of news for people in rural areas. Then, out of nowhere, she breaks into a stunning a cappella version of “Barbara Allen” to illustrate her point.

The opening of Episode 1 alone is like Babe Ruth calling his shot. Stitched together with Peter Coyote’s soothing narration, we get thoughts from Parton, Kathy Mattea, Carlene Carter, Rodney Crowell, Garth Brooks, Charley Pride and Kris Kristofferson.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, there’s the stunning revelation that Burns captured a wide-ranging discussion with Merle Haggard before the iconic artist’s 2016 death. That feat alone preserves a vital piece of historical knowledge for future generations.

Throughout the film, there are also conversations with Marty Stuart (one of the film’s MVPs thanks to his amiable presence and the archive in his brain), Willie Nelson, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Trisha Yearwood, Rosanne Cash, Connie Smith, Brenda Lee, Dwight Yoakam, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ray Benson, Larry Gatlin, members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and far too many more to list here.

Prolific songwriter Harlan Howard nailed it when he said, “country music is three chords and the truth.” It’s a sentiment Burns captures through his filmmaking technique, which makes the ridiculously complex seem natural and easy. He covers the macro view of history by focusing primarily on the micro: individual stories of the artists who influenced the genre and the effect that had on their loved ones, and how those moments are woven to form a rich tapestry.

It’s much like country music itself, with no singular origin. Instead, an eclectic range of cultures blending their influences to make something new. It’s America’s immigrant story in melodic form. Country Music begins in the early 20th century with that very argument, as various cultures’ musical traditions merge in the South and spread across the nation thanks to the recent invention of the phonograph.

Burns’ thesis is that the genre’s Big Bang happened in the 1920s, when Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family began recording for the same label. They represent the bedrock of country: the hell-raising of Saturday night and the sanctification of Sunday morning. From there, each episode covers 5-10 years and focuses on several narrative strands.

There’s the rise of Nashville; the distinct brands of country found in Texas and California; the incorporation of the cowboy mythos; the rising and waning popularity of subgenres like hillbilly, gospel, rockabilly, and how those evolved when they cross-pollinated with jazz, soul, rock ‘n roll, etc.; and how those aspects are embodied by various legendary artists.

The doc concludes in the mid-’90s with the rise of megastar Garth Brooks, not counting a brief coda in 2003 to mark the death of Johnny Cash. To be honest, that cutoff is my only complaint with the film. It’s ridiculous to complain a 16-hour history lesson isn’t long enough, but I would’ve loved to see how Burns covered moments like the Dixie Chicks backlash and the rise of “bro country” in the 2010s.

However, in recent interviews, the director said closing with the end of the 20th century was the right choice because he’s in the history business. It’s up to journalists and critics to judge the present and recent past. I suppose that’s fair, but I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to a sequel series in a couple of decades.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the Country Music project is what we don’t see in the documentary. According to writer and co-producer Dayton Duncan, out of the 175 hours of interviews they conducted, only six made it into the finished product. The team is donating all their footage and research to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, so there’s no telling what treasures that future students and filmmakers will unearth in the coming years. Country Music is not rated, but contains mild language and thematic elements. Begins Sept. 15 on PBS and streaming on PBS.org; available on Blu-ray/DVD Sept. 17.

Grade: A+