American songwriter Harlan Howard described country music as "three chords and the truth."
If you watched Ken Burns' "Country Music" documentary, you know it's that and much more.
PBS broadcast the 16-hour documentary over eight days. I have long been an admirer of Burns' work, especially his "Civil War" documentary, so I looked forward to "Country Music." I wasn't disappointed.
The only downside was for days I had country songs playing an endless loop in my head — "San Antonio Rose," "Crazy," "Good Hearted Woman," "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," "Fulsome Prison Blues" and "Wabash Cannonball."
Burns does a wonderful job of blending the history of the times with the music and performers — how one influenced the other.
I was particularly surprised to learn:
- Hank Williams started drinking at age 11. No wonder he died at 29.
- George Straight had 60 No. 1 singles.
- Kris Kristofferson is considered one of Nashville's finest songwriters. He wrote "For the Good Times," "Me and Bobby McGee," "Sunday Morning Coming Down," "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and "Why Me."
- There's a difference between a singer and an entertainer. Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks are entertainers. George Straight is a singer.
- The Carter Family actually started as two families.
- Johnny Cash was dumped by RCA Records in 1986 with no warning.
- In the early days of his career, Johnny Cash toured with Elvis Presley.
- Kathy Mattea is the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn.
- Hank Williams Jr. and Roseanne Cash both were successful in their own right.
- Dolly Parton wrote her hit "I Will Always Love You" as a way to thank Porter Wagner for all he had done for her and to explain why she needed to branch off on her own.
- Marty Stuart and Ricky Skaggs were musical prodigies. Stuart received his first guitar at age 3 and Skaggs received his first mandolin at age 5.
- Garth Brooks signed autographs for more than 20 hours at Fan Fair.
If you prefer your history in ink on paper, Burns and Dayton Duncan have published a book to accompany the series, "Country Music: An Illustrated History."
It packs the history of country music onto more than 500 wonderful pages. The book follows the documentary with each chapter focused on a specific episode: The Rub, Hard Times, The Hillbilly Shakespeare, I Can't Stop Loving You, The Songs and Daughters of America, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? and Don't Get Above Your Raisin'.
The Rub starts at the beginning of country music. As Duncan wrote, "Country music was not invented; it emerged." It was bottom up music sang and played by the downtrodden, those who felt left out and looked down upon.
The book follows a chronological order moving the reader forward through time, introducing the different types of country music and their creators ranging from Bill Monroe and bluegrass and Merle Haggard and the Bakersfield sound to Bob Wills and western swing.
The last chapter — Don't Get Above Your Raisin' — focuses on modern-day performers from Reba McEntire and Emmy Lou Harris to Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard.
This book is a keeper. The photos are fabulous. I think what makes "Country Music" so interesting is that it's our story, an American story.
