Deluxe 5CD Box Set Arrives Friday, August 30
2CD, 2LP and Digital Configurations Coming Friday, September 13
Ken Burns’s COUNTRY MUSIC–an 8-part Documentary Exploring 20th Century American Country Music–Premieres Sunday, September 15 on PBS
Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, in association with Universal Music Group (UMG), will release COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) in a collectible 5CD deluxe box set edition on Friday, August 30.
Legacy will release a suite of soundtrack products–including 2CD, 2LP and digital configurations of the multi-artist album–on Friday, September 13.
Walmart will carry an exclusive 1CD configuration of the soundtrack and Barnes & Noble will release an exclusive, limited edition red, white & blue vinyl product that includes a signed certification of authenticity from Ken Burns.
Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns chronicles the diverse roots, evolution and stylistic diversity of 20th century American country music in his new 8-part (16.5 hour) documentary premiering Sunday, September 15 on PBS.
All configurations may be pre-ordered starting today:
COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack): https://kbcm.lnk.to/sdtkstndPR
COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) [Deluxe]: https://kbcm.lnk.to/dlxPR
COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) 2LP vinyl: https://kbcm.lnk.to/2LPPR
COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) – Walmart exclusive: https://kbcm.lnk.to/WMCDPR
COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) – Barnes & Noble exclusive: https://KBCM.lnk.to/2LPPR/barnesnoble
Legacy Recordings invites music fans to enjoy, follow, and share a selection of official Ken Burns: Country Music playlists here: https://KBCM.lnk.to/PlaylistPR
COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) showcases essential recordings, drawn from the nearly 600 music cues used in the documentary, covering the wide historic terrain of 20th century American country music. A tree with deep roots and ever-expanding branches, American country music evolved from songs passed down from generations of settlers and slaves until 20th century recording technology made it possible for hundreds and thousands (if not millions) of listeners to share the same musical experience on a record.
COUNTRY MUSIC journeys from early Appalachian “hillbilly” recordings through “singing cowboys” and bluegrass, Texas swing and Tennessee rockabilly and more, all the while paying attention to the impact of radio, Hollywood and television on the evolution of American country sounds and attitudes.
The deluxe box set edition of COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) includes many rarely seen archival photos, posters, documents and memorabilia related to the artists and recordings in the film, originating from a variety of sources including Sony Music Archives, the Country Music Hall of Fame, artist estates, and country music photographers. The box includes a note from the film’s producers Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan, and Julie Dunfrey as well as in-depth essays by Bill Malone (the “dean” of country music historians and consultant/commentator for the film) and country music historians Colin Escott (covering the 1930s-1950s) and Tamara Saviano (covering the 1960s-1990s). The set features quotes from many of the artists who appear in the series including Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill and others.
Disc One of the deluxe edition of COUNTRY MUSIC – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) covers “Episode One: The Rub (Beginnings – 1933)” and “Episode Two: Hard Times (1933-1945)” of the film and includes pioneering performances from The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers, Gene Autry, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Roy Acuff and His Crazy Tennesseans, Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys and more.
Disc Two of the collection brings together music from “Episode Three: The Hillbilly Shakespeare (1945-1953)” and “Episode Four: I Can’t Stop Loving You (1953-1963)” and features essential recordings by Hank Williams with his Drifting Cowboys, Kitty Wells, Little Brenda Lee, Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two, Ray Price, The Everly Brothers, Lefty Frizzell, Marty Robbins, Faron Young, Patsy Cline, Ray Charles and others.
Disc Three showcases recordings from “Episode Five: The Sons and Daughters of America (1964-1968)” and “Episode Six: Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1968-1972)” from artists including Roger Miller, Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride, Jeannie C. Riley, Tammy Wynette, The Byrds, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and more.
Disc Four focuses on “Episode Seven: Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? (1973-1983)” and a new generation of country musicians including Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Townes Van Zandt, Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Jr., Rosanne Cash and others.
Disc Five rounds out the anthology with “Episode Eight: Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’ (1973-1996)” featuring tracks by Ricky Skaggs, Reba McEntire, Randy Travis, The Judds (Wynonna and Naomi), Dwight Yoakam, Kathy Mattea, Trisha Yearwood and more.
Burns’ documentary explores crucial questions––”What is country music?” and “Where did it come from?”––while telling the stories of the fascinating trailblazers who created and shaped it. Much like the music itself, the film tells unforgettable stories of hardships and joys shared by everyday people.
“At the heart of every great country music song is a story,” said Ken Burns. “As the songwriter Harlan Howard said, ‘It’s three chords and the truth.’ The common experiences and human emotions speak to each of us about love and loss, about hard times and the chance of redemption. As an art form, country music is also forever revisiting its history, sharing and updating old classics and celebrating its roots, which are, in many ways, foundational to our country itself.”
COUNTRY MUSIC is the culmination of eight years of research and production, including interviews with more than 100 people (40 of whom are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, and 20 of those interviewed have since passed on). Among those storytellers are historian Bill Malone and a wide range of country artists such as Marty Stuart, Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, and Naomi and Wynonna Judd, as well as studio musicians, record producers and others. The film uses more than 3,200 photographs and over two hours of archival footage, including rare and never-before-seen photos and footage of Jimmie Rodgers, Johnny Cash and others.
A concert celebrating the film was filmed and recorded at Nashville’s fabled Ryman Auditorium (once the home of the Grand Ole Opry) on March 27 and is slated to premiere on PBS ahead of the first COUNTRY MUSIC broadcast.
Sony and Martin Guitar present a chance to win the ultimate Country Music prize pack! Including a Martin D-28 and Authentic Acoustic Strings, the 5CD, 2CD, and 2LP soundtrack products, coffee table book “Country Music by Duncan Dayton and Ken Burns”, commemorative t-shirt, and a collection of classic country vinyl. Enter Now: https://kbcm.lnk.to/gvwyPR
For future information on the COUNTRY MUSIC soundtrack releases, subscribe here: https://LegacyRecordings.lnk.to/kb_cntry_nl
TRACK LISTING FOR THE 5CD DELUXE SET
Disc One
1. Can the Circle Be Unbroken (Bye and Bye) – The Carter Family
2. Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8) – Jimmie Rodgers
3. Barbara Allen – Bradley Kincaid
4. I’ll Fly Away – James and Martha Carson
5. If the River Was Whiskey – Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers
6. Fox Chase – DeFord Bailey
7. Blue Yodel Number 9 (Standin’ On The Corner) – Jimmie Rodgers
8. Wildwood Flower – The Carter Family
9. In the Jailhouse Now – Jimmie Rodgers
10. Comin’ Round the Mountain – Uncle Dave Macon and Sam McGee
11. Pretty Polly – The Coon Creek Girls
12. T.B. Blues – Jimmie Rodgers
13. Mountain Dew – Grandpa Jones and His Granchildren
14. Home on the Range – Gene Autry
15. I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart – Patsy Montana and the Prairie Ramblers
16. Tumbling Tumbleweeds – Sons of the Pioneers
17. Keep on the Sunny Side /I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes – The Carter Family
18. The Great Speckled Bird – Roy Acuff
19. Whoa Babe – Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
20. New San Antonio Rose – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
21. Wabash Cannon Ball – Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys
22. Mule Skinner Blues – Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
Disc Two
1. Honky Tonkin’ – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
2. It’s Mighty Dark to Travel – Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
3. New Mule Skinner Blues – Maddox Brothers and Rose
4. I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) – Eddy Arnold and his Tennessee Playboys
5. Foggy Mountain Breakdown – Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys
6. Molly and Tenbrook – The Stanley Brothers
7. Lovesick Blues – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
8. I Saw the Light – Hank Williams
9. Hey, Good Lookin’ – Hank Williams
10. It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels – Kitty Wells
11. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry – Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
12. Jambalaya – Little Brenda Lee
13. New Step It Up and Go – Maddox Brothers and Rose
14. I Walk the Line – Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two
15. Crazy Arms – Ray Price
16. Bye, Bye Love – The Everly Brothers
17. The Long Black Veil – Lefty Frizzell
18. El Paso – Marty Robbins
19. Night Life – Ray Price
20. Hello Walls – Faron Young
21. I Fall to Pieces – Patsy Cline
22. Ring of Fire – Johnny Cash
23. Crazy – Patsy Cline
24. I Can’t Stop Loving You – Ray Charles
Disc Three
1. Dang Me – Roger Miller
2. I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail – Buck Owens
3. Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind) – Loretta Lynn
4. Coal Miner’s Daughter – Loretta Lynn
5. Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’ – Charley Pride
6. Hungry Eyes – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
7. Mama Tried – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
8. Harper Valley P.T.A. – Jeannie C. Riley
9. Don’t Touch Me – Jeannie Seely
10. Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
11. Stand by Your Man – Tammy Wynette
12. She Thinks I Still Care – George Jones
13. You Ain’t Going Nowhere – The Byrds
14. Me and Bobby McGee – Kris Kristofferson
15. Help Me Make It Through the Night – Sammi Smith
16. Sunday Morning Coming Down – Kris Kristofferson
17. Okie From Muskogee – Merle Haggard and the Strangers
18. Man in Black – Johnny Cash
19. Girl from the North Country – Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash
20. Grand Ole Opry Song – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
21. Will the Circle Be Unbroken – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Disc Four
1. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way – Waylon Jennings
2. Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8) – Dolly Parton
3. Jolene – Dolly Parton
4. I Will Always Love You – Dolly Parton
5. We’re Gonna Hold On – George Jones and Tammy Wynette
6. Texas Cookin’ – Guy Clark
7. If I Needed You – Townes Van Zandt
8. I Can’t Stop Loving You – Johnny Rodriguez
9. I’ve Been a Long Time Leaving (But I’ll Be A Long Time Gone) – Waylon Jennings
10. Love Hurts (Live) – Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels
11. Boulder to Birmingham – Emmylou Harris
12. Bluebird Wine – Emmylou Harris
13. Whiskey River – Willie Nelson
14. Miles and Miles of Texas – Asleep at the Wheel
15. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain – Willie Nelson
16. Good Hearted Woman – Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
17. Family Tradition – Hank Williams, Jr.
18. Seven Year Ache – Rosanne Cash
19. Pancho and Lefty – Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
20. He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones
Disc Five
1. Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’ – Ricky Skaggs
2. On the Road Again – Willie Nelson
3. Amarillo by Morning – George Strait
4. Somebody Should Leave – Reba McEntire
5. Diggin’ Up Bones – Randy Travis
6. Why Not Me – The Judds (Wynonna and Naomi)
7. Honky Tonk Man – Dwight Yoakam
8. Streets of Bakersfield – Dwight Yoakam with Buck Owens
9. Where’ve You Been – Kathy Mattea
10. I’m No Stranger to the Rain – Keith Whitley
11. Go Rest High on That Mountain – Vince Gill
12. Guitar Town – Steve Earle
13.She’s In Love With the Boy – Trisha Yearwood
14. Tennessee Flat Top Box – Rosanne Cash
15. Get Up John – Emmylou Harris & the Nash Ramblers
16. Uncle Pen – Ricky Skaggs
17. I Still Miss Someone – Rosanne Cash
18. Will the Circle Be Unbroken – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band