Country Music (2019–2019)

TV ShowEndedDocumentary1 season, 8 episodes
Country Music poster

Country Music highlights

Plot

Explore the history of a uniquely American art form: country music. From its deep and tangled roots in ballads, blues and hymns performed in small settings, to its worldwide popularity, learn how country music evolved over the course of the 20th century, as it eventually emerged to become America’s music.

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Highest-rated episodes all ranked

  1. 01Country Music S01E06Will The Circle Be Unbroken? (1968 -1972)S01E06 · 6.0Learn how country music responds to a nation divided by the Vietnam War, as Army captain turned songwriter Kris Kristofferson sets a new lyrical standard, and artists like Bob Dylan and the Byrds find a recording home in Nashville.
  2. 02Country Music S01E03The Hillbilly Shakespeare (1945 -1953)S01E03 · 5.4See how the bluegrass sound spreads in post-war America, and meet honky-tonk star Hank Williams, whose songs of surprisingly emotional depth are derived from his troubled and tragically short life.
  3. 03Country Music S01E04I Can't Stop Loving You (1953 -1963)S01E04 · 5.4Travel to Memphis, where Sun Studios artists Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley usher in the era of rockabilly. Ray Charles crosses America's racial divide by recording a country album. Patsy Cline shows off Music City's smooth new Nashville Sound.

Episodes by season

Season01Episode ratings across the season — the gold bar is its best episode8Episodes2019Aired 5.3Season avg
  1. S01E01Country Music S01E01The Rub (Beginnings -1933)September 15, 2019 5.0See how what was first called “hillbilly music” reaches new audiences through phonographs and radio, and launches the careers of country mus
  2. S01E02Country Music S01E02Hard Times (1933 -1945)September 16, 2019 4.8Watch as Nashville becomes the heart of the country music industry. The genre grows in popularity during the Great Depression and World War
  3. S01E03Country Music S01E03The Hillbilly Shakespeare (1945 -1953)September 17, 2019 5.4See how the bluegrass sound spreads in post-war America, and meet honky-tonk star Hank Williams, whose songs of surprisingly emotional depth
  4. S01E04Country Music S01E04I Can't Stop Loving You (1953 -1963)September 18, 2019 5.4Travel to Memphis, where Sun Studios artists Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley usher in the era of rockabilly. Ray Charles crosses America's rac
  5. S01E05Country Music S01E05The Sons and Daughters of America (1964 -1968)September 22, 2019 5.0See how country music reflects a changing America, with Loretta Lynn speaking to women everywhere, Merle Haggard becoming "The Poet of the C
  6. S01E06Country Music S01E06Season's bestWill The Circle Be Unbroken? (1968 -1972)September 23, 2019 6.0Learn how country music responds to a nation divided by the Vietnam War, as Army captain turned songwriter Kris Kristofferson sets a new lyr
  7. S01E07Country Music S01E07Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? (1973 -1983)September 24, 2019 5.0Witness a vibrant era in country music, with Dolly Parton finding mainstream success; Hank Williams, Jr. and Rosanne Cash emerging from thei
  8. S01E08Country Music S01E08Don't Get Above Your Raisin (1984 -1996)September 25, 2019 5.4Learn how “New Traditionalists” like George Strait, Randy Travis and the Judds help country music stay true to its roots. Witness both the r

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

Cast

Peter CoyotePeter CoyoteNarrator

Photos

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Country Music

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Trailers & Videos

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TrailerCountry Music by Ken Burns: Trailer | BBC TrailersTrailerOfficial Extended TrailerTrailerOfficial TrailerClipCharlie Daniels Meets Itzhak PerlmanClipMarty Stuart on the Mystery of SongwritingClipRosanne Cash Reflects on ‘Walk the Line’ClipMarty Stuart on The Mother Church of Country Music

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