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[country music plays]
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Provided by explosiveskull
https://twitter.com/kaboomskull
M_I_SForEver
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[country music plays]
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Country music
is all about real life.
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They're songs that tell a story.
It's a story about people.
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Mamas, trains, and going away. That's all
you gotta know to write a country song.
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[Kenny Rogers]
Country is where the heart is.
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But country is more than music,
and photography has captured it.
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[David McClister] As the music
evolved and the image evolved,
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00:00:44,418 --> 00:00:47,255
photographers captured the
entire story of country music.
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[Larry Gatlin] For a long
time it was boots, hat,
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00:00:49,422 --> 00:00:51,258
fancy shirts,
big belt buckles.
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00:00:51,291 --> 00:00:53,895
You had the rhinestone cowboy look.
They were outlandish.
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00:00:53,928 --> 00:00:55,495
[Les Leverett]
They audience would go crazy
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00:00:55,529 --> 00:00:57,831
about every one of them,
and I was there with a camera.
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We wore long gowns, and this big
'do, up here like this.
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[Roy Clark] A lot of people have
said we are setting the image
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of country music
back 20 years.
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[Tanya Tucker] I didn't see
what the big deal was.
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I say get the camera and let's
go, 'cause I know a good picture.
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[country music plays]
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Country is about being connected
to something genuine,
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so I want to make pictures
that tell you the truth.
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My interest was making them
reveal themselves to me.
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[Henry Diltz] Are these real people?
What is their life really like?
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- I want to grab that moment.
- Country music has represented
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the heart of America
for a really long time.
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[Keith Urban] There's so many
images that have captured
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where those artists are at
and where country's at.
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When you look at that picture
and feel that same feeling,
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that's the shot.
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[country music playing]
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[Loretta Lynn] ♪ Well,
I like my lovin' done country style ♪
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♪ And this little girl
would walk a country mile ♪
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♪ To find her a good ole
slow-talkin' country boy ♪
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00:02:00,261 --> 00:02:02,230
♪ I said a country boy ♪
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00:02:02,263 --> 00:02:05,433
♪ I'm about as old-fashioned
as I can be ♪
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00:02:05,466 --> 00:02:07,901
♪ So I hope you're
likin' what you see ♪
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♪ If you're lookin' at me ♪
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♪ You're lookin' at country ♪
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♪ You don't see no city
when you look at me ♪
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♪ 'Cause country's all I am ♪
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♪ I love runnin' barefooted
through the old cornfields ♪
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♪ And I love that country ham ♪
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00:02:35,362 --> 00:02:38,466
♪ Well, you say I'm made
just to fit your plans ♪
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00:02:38,499 --> 00:02:41,835
♪ But does a barnyard shovel
fit your hands? ♪
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00:02:41,869 --> 00:02:44,905
♪ If your eyes are on me ♪
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♪ You're lookin' at country ♪
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♪ If your eyes are on me ♪
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♪ You're lookin' at country ♪
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[song ends]
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[cheers and applause]
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[country music playing]
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[Lovett]
Country music in its origin
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came from a place that's pure
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00:03:10,064 --> 00:03:12,433
and uncorrupted
by the rest of the world.
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00:03:12,465 --> 00:03:15,368
[Peter Cooper] Early country
music was a confluence
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00:03:15,401 --> 00:03:19,440
of European fiddling and the
banjo that came from Africa.
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00:03:19,472 --> 00:03:22,410
When these sounds converged
in the American South,
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00:03:22,442 --> 00:03:24,779
you get the building blocks
of country music.
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It was what you would hear just
driving by a house out in the country.
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Somebody sitting on their
front porch making music
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to satisfy
and entertain themselves.
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In the '20s, they were
hardcore country people.
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00:03:36,123 --> 00:03:38,959
I mean, they were country people
singing about country things.
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[Michael McCall] It wasn't called
country music for a long time.
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It was just folk music,
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'cause they called it
Southern folk music.
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00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,403
And folk music wasn't
considered commercial.
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00:03:50,436 --> 00:03:53,440
But record labels found that
once they started recording
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00:03:53,474 --> 00:03:56,443
folk songs with fiddle players
and country vocalists,
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00:03:56,476 --> 00:03:58,111
that stuff sold really well.
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Some of the first recorded
country music
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00:04:00,447 --> 00:04:01,816
came out of Atlanta,
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00:04:01,849 --> 00:04:03,951
with a guy named
Fiddlin' John Carson,
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who sells 100,000 copies
of that first record.
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00:04:07,787 --> 00:04:11,858
And then in 1924, Vernon Dalhart
sells a million copies
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of "The Prisoner's Song."
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00:04:13,893 --> 00:04:17,832
Then the Carter Family and
Jimmy Rodgers record in 1927.
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And that's really the beginning,
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that's the big bang
of country music.
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That's when it really
becomes commercial.
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[Cooper] Jimmy Rodgers and the
Carter Family were discovered
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at the Bristol Sessions.
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It was an all-call,
a discovery process,
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where lots of musicians
came in,
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kind of like an early "American
Idol," only a lot better.
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[Marty Stuart] Ralph Peer
discovered the Carter Family
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and Jimmy Rodgers in one week
in 1927.
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And all of a sudden,
we have country music.
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[Cusic] The Carter Family
gave us a body of work
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that's still with us today.
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And Jimmy Rodgers becomes
a superstar.
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He was a dandy and set the
standard for the country star
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and influenced so many of those
early country performers.
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[Stuart] Pop Stoneman,
the Gully Jumpers,
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Dr. Humphrey Bate, those characters
lit the fire on country music.
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Especially the Carter Family.
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When you look
at those photographs,
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it looked as if the
Old Testament had come to life.
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[country music plays]
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[Cusic] Radio comes
into American life in the 1930s
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during the Great Depression,
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and that's when country music
comes of age.
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[McCall] A lot of it was built
around barn dances.
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Musicians would come from
all over the region to play,
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and radio stations like WLS
in Chicago
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and WSM in Nashville
would broadcast it out
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all across the country.
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Radio was huge
for country music.
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[Shannon Thomas Perich] Country music
was an amalgamation of regional sounds.
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So until there was some sort
of mechanism for them
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to all be delivered nationally,
they remained regional.
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But once country music
becomes more widespread,
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and you're hearing it
on the radio,
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00:05:50,824 --> 00:05:52,960
it's becoming more professional.
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And performers would go to studios
and have their pictures made.
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They would be distributed
to the radio stations.
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Those photographs would appear
in newspapers.
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[McCall] They purposely would
look as country as they could,
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00:06:04,904 --> 00:06:06,906
but they were selling what they
thought of as rural music.
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00:06:06,940 --> 00:06:08,942
In the early days,
guys would come in wearing
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00:06:08,976 --> 00:06:12,178
a suit and a hat and change
into overalls and plaid shirts
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00:06:12,212 --> 00:06:14,682
in order to perform
'cause it was part of the image.
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00:06:14,714 --> 00:06:18,251
[Diane Pecknold] Women were
consigned to family stereotypes,
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00:06:18,284 --> 00:06:22,188
so the sentimental mother and
the pure mountain girl sweetheart
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00:06:22,221 --> 00:06:26,861
were very prominent characters and
had prominent roles in country music.
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00:06:26,894 --> 00:06:30,064
It was family entertainment,
and there were cultural expectations
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about who they were
supposed to be.
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00:06:31,899 --> 00:06:34,969
You're selling music
to a certain kind of people,
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00:06:35,002 --> 00:06:38,272
a certain kind of American,
and the image plays into that.
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00:06:38,305 --> 00:06:41,809
Jimmy Rodgers is gonna
wear a brakeman hat.
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00:06:41,841 --> 00:06:45,245
Kitty Wells reflects that
sweet country girl image.
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00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:47,648
You're gonna have
the hillbilly look.
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00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,717
The image is completely
tied to the music.
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[Stuart] I've always thought of
hillbilly as an endearing term.
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But Ernest Tubb used to say,
"If you're gonna call me hillbilly,
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00:06:56,557 --> 00:06:58,159
you damn well better smile
when you do it."
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00:07:01,228 --> 00:07:03,831
[Cusic] In the late 1930s
and early '40s,
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00:07:03,863 --> 00:07:06,166
you get the singing cowboys
out in Hollywood,
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00:07:06,199 --> 00:07:08,769
with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers,
Tex Ritter.
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00:07:08,801 --> 00:07:10,937
And that changes the image
of country music
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because no kid wants to grow up
being a hillbilly,
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00:07:13,940 --> 00:07:16,243
and everybody wants to grow up
being a cowboy.
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[McCall] The cowboy hat became this
iconic image that spoke of romance,
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it spoke of truth, honesty,
and the good, old American way.
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00:07:23,082 --> 00:07:27,787
[Cusic] Gene Autry was a huge star and
a great influence on country music.
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Not for what he sounded like,
but for what he looked like,
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because he really popularized
that Western look,
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00:07:34,161 --> 00:07:36,564
and others followed
Autry's path.
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00:07:36,596 --> 00:07:39,899
[Bill Anderson] The cowboy
look came into country music
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00:07:39,933 --> 00:07:42,036
influenced by Western culture,
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with the boots, and some
of the acts wore hats.
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That was around
for a long period of time,
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00:07:47,173 --> 00:07:50,945
and then it began to phase out
and people came in to other styles
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00:07:50,978 --> 00:07:53,781
and other ways of trying
to present themselves.
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[Leverett] Lester Flatt
and Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe,
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00:07:57,618 --> 00:08:00,820
never went onstage
without a coat and a tie.
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00:08:00,853 --> 00:08:03,324
They looked like gentlemen,
and they acted like gentlemen.
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00:08:03,356 --> 00:08:05,692
[Holly Williams] In the '50s,
the women wore dresses
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00:08:05,726 --> 00:08:07,361
with the belt that came in
at the waist,
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00:08:07,394 --> 00:08:09,897
and the hair that was flipping
up all over the place.
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00:08:09,930 --> 00:08:11,999
You know, that really classic
kind of country feel.
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[Connie Smith] June Carter
looked so much like a lady
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with the chiffon dress on,
and she'd do that bit
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00:08:16,969 --> 00:08:19,839
where she crossed her legs
and showed her pantaloons
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00:08:19,873 --> 00:08:23,142
for her comedy act.
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00:08:23,175 --> 00:08:26,613
[Davis] If you were a new artist,
the studio was gonna send you
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00:08:26,647 --> 00:08:28,882
to get your photo taken
by Walden Fabry.
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00:08:28,914 --> 00:08:30,784
It was a rite of passage.
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00:08:30,817 --> 00:08:33,753
Walden Fabry was
a Chicago photographer.
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00:08:33,786 --> 00:08:37,825
Minnie Pearl met him in Chicago and
talked him into coming to Nashville,
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'cause country artists didn't
have anyone like that
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making these
amazing glamor shots,
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and that's what got sent out
to radio, fan magazines,
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00:08:45,799 --> 00:08:50,404
and those photos were what
you needed to sell the music.
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If you're an artist, you might go to a
different photographer for different things.
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00:08:54,206 --> 00:08:57,910
Elmer Williams was a
photographer just having fun.
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00:08:57,944 --> 00:09:00,046
He started out as an amateur.
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00:09:00,079 --> 00:09:04,685
In the '50s, he started hanging
out backstage in Nashville
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00:09:04,718 --> 00:09:07,253
and made friends with all these
country music artists.
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00:09:07,286 --> 00:09:09,757
And then he started
getting some work in town.
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00:09:09,790 --> 00:09:12,192
He took photos
for tobacco companies
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00:09:12,224 --> 00:09:14,394
who were big sponsors
for country artists.
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00:09:14,427 --> 00:09:18,931
The Philip Morris sponsored this
tour with Carl Smith and Ronnie Self.
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And that's what they toured on,
it wasn't fancy at all.
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00:09:22,102 --> 00:09:24,238
Elmer Williams shot
for about ten years,
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00:09:24,271 --> 00:09:26,305
and then he applied
to be a policeman.
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And apparently, it was
his biggest dream
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00:09:28,742 --> 00:09:32,179
because he stopped photography
and never picked it back up again.
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He was completely out
of the country music world.
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00:09:34,948 --> 00:09:38,919
[Henry Horenstein] Country music in the
'40s and the '50s was fighting music,
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00:09:38,951 --> 00:09:42,822
dance music, drinking music,
good time music.
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00:09:42,855 --> 00:09:47,360
They sang soulful songs about
life, life and love really.
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00:09:47,393 --> 00:09:50,229
It was Ernest Tubb,
and it was Hank Williams.
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00:09:50,262 --> 00:09:53,200
♪ Hey, hey, good looking ♪
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00:09:53,233 --> 00:09:57,003
♪ What you got cooking? ♪
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00:09:57,036 --> 00:10:02,810
[Cooper] Hank Williams was an exciting,
energetic performer, a superstar.
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00:10:02,843 --> 00:10:05,713
He was only in the spotlight
for very few years.
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00:10:05,746 --> 00:10:10,384
He died at 29, yet was among
the most prolific writers.
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00:10:10,416 --> 00:10:13,420
He just wrote, song after song,
and they're classics.
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00:10:13,453 --> 00:10:17,725
[Anderson] I would buy his records,
and I thought this guy must be so real
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00:10:17,757 --> 00:10:20,828
because he's singing what he's
writing, so he must feel it,
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00:10:20,860 --> 00:10:22,161
this must be who he is.
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00:10:22,195 --> 00:10:24,064
[Holly Williams]
My grandfather would say,
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00:10:24,097 --> 00:10:25,365
"I don't know what you mean
by country.
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00:10:25,398 --> 00:10:29,001
I just write songs the way I
know how." He was a country boy.
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00:10:29,035 --> 00:10:32,039
He was from Alabama,
and these simple, basic lyrics
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00:10:32,071 --> 00:10:34,373
were resonating with millions
of people.
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00:10:34,406 --> 00:10:36,977
This is where the roots
of country was from.
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00:10:37,009 --> 00:10:41,414
Simple and absolutely timeless,
even down to the perfect curve of the hat.
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00:10:41,448 --> 00:10:45,986
[Cooper] Country music had
become the American sound,
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00:10:46,018 --> 00:10:47,954
and it could be heard
all across the country.
214
00:10:47,988 --> 00:10:51,257
But by the late '50s,
things were changing.
215
00:10:51,291 --> 00:10:53,292
[Anderson] Country music
was in the doldrums.
216
00:10:53,325 --> 00:10:56,529
The big artists like Hank Snow
and Ernest Tubb,
217
00:10:56,563 --> 00:10:59,032
their careers were
on the downhill slide
218
00:10:59,065 --> 00:11:02,069
because there was this thing called
rock and roll and rockabilly.
219
00:11:02,102 --> 00:11:04,538
[Brenda Lee]
♪ My baby whispers in my ear ♪
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00:11:04,570 --> 00:11:09,276
In my day in rock and roll,
we were all in the music together,
221
00:11:09,309 --> 00:11:12,980
inventing it as we went along.
222
00:11:13,012 --> 00:11:16,416
They nicknamed me
Little Miss Dynamite.
223
00:11:16,449 --> 00:11:20,286
And the music was very rhythmic,
a little bit of gospel,
224
00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:23,390
a little bit of blues,
a little bit of country.
225
00:11:23,422 --> 00:11:26,259
Country music was such a big influence
of what became rock and roll.
226
00:11:26,292 --> 00:11:28,995
But, in a way, rock and roll
left country behind
227
00:11:29,028 --> 00:11:32,099
through its energy and through
its youth and through its images.
228
00:11:33,099 --> 00:11:35,134
[country music plays]
229
00:11:35,167 --> 00:11:37,804
Elvis Presley thought of himself
as a country singer.
230
00:11:37,838 --> 00:11:40,574
He just happened to be
a really fast, energetic one.
231
00:11:40,607 --> 00:11:45,946
[Lee] I appeared with Elvis
December the 13th, 1957.
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00:11:45,978 --> 00:11:48,581
He was just getting started.
233
00:11:48,614 --> 00:11:50,349
The great success
was yet to come,
234
00:11:50,382 --> 00:11:53,052
even though he was
really, really popular.
235
00:11:53,085 --> 00:11:56,489
[Cooper] Elvis and Buddy Holly
took all these kids away
236
00:11:56,522 --> 00:11:59,392
who'd been loving Webb Pierce
and Ray Price
237
00:11:59,425 --> 00:12:02,028
and all this shuffling
honky-tonk music,
238
00:12:02,061 --> 00:12:05,132
and the fate of country music
was in question.
239
00:12:05,165 --> 00:12:09,036
[Anderson] There were a lot of country
fans that embraced rock and roll,
240
00:12:09,069 --> 00:12:13,040
but there were still the people that
liked the traditional sounds of country.
241
00:12:13,073 --> 00:12:15,275
They began to come back.
242
00:12:15,307 --> 00:12:18,177
And the Grand Ole Opry
was very important.
243
00:12:18,210 --> 00:12:22,215
It laid the foundation
for what we call Music City.
244
00:12:22,248 --> 00:12:25,252
I'm not sure that Nashville
would be Nashville
245
00:12:25,285 --> 00:12:27,254
had it not been
for the Grand Ole Opry.
246
00:12:27,286 --> 00:12:29,089
[country music plays]
247
00:12:29,122 --> 00:12:31,224
[Stuart] There was a Grand
Ole Opry history picture book
248
00:12:31,257 --> 00:12:33,860
that would come around every
now and then when I was a kid.
249
00:12:33,893 --> 00:12:37,330
And the photography made me want
to be a part of country music
250
00:12:37,363 --> 00:12:39,899
as much as the music did.
251
00:12:39,932 --> 00:12:42,034
And the photographer,
I kept noticing,
252
00:12:42,068 --> 00:12:45,239
shot after shot,
was Les Leverett.
253
00:12:45,272 --> 00:12:48,407
He shot from the heart
in a different way.
254
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,511
[Leverett] I went to work at the
Grand Ole Opry as a photographer,
255
00:12:51,544 --> 00:12:54,348
April 1st of 1960.
256
00:12:54,381 --> 00:12:58,218
And gosh, I loved it.
257
00:12:58,251 --> 00:13:01,121
When I started,
it was really a big, big thing.
258
00:13:01,153 --> 00:13:02,922
You could hardly buy a ticket.
259
00:13:02,955 --> 00:13:06,627
The crowds would line up outside
and go around the block.
260
00:13:06,660 --> 00:13:09,663
It was the biggest country music
show in the world.
261
00:13:09,695 --> 00:13:12,266
And that's the big dream
in those days...
262
00:13:12,299 --> 00:13:15,935
if you were a country music star,
to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
263
00:13:15,969 --> 00:13:20,907
And if not, at least to sing on
the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
264
00:13:20,940 --> 00:13:23,576
[Anderson] My song "City Lights"
was a big hit
265
00:13:23,609 --> 00:13:25,579
and opened all the doors
for me in Nashville.
266
00:13:25,612 --> 00:13:27,915
But when I got the phone call
asking me if I wanted
267
00:13:27,948 --> 00:13:29,983
to be a part of the
Grand Ole Opry, it was like
268
00:13:30,016 --> 00:13:32,084
asking me if I wanted
to go to heaven when I die.
269
00:13:32,118 --> 00:13:34,220
[Leverett] Everybody had suits
in those days
270
00:13:34,253 --> 00:13:36,455
with sequins shining
in the spotlights.
271
00:13:36,488 --> 00:13:40,326
And to see those fancy boots,
it was glamorous.
272
00:13:41,328 --> 00:13:42,996
They would have
a 30-minute show
273
00:13:43,028 --> 00:13:45,599
and a star would
come out and sing.
274
00:13:45,632 --> 00:13:48,101
Seldom did they do
more than one song.
275
00:13:48,133 --> 00:13:50,036
Or as one guy said one night,
276
00:13:50,070 --> 00:13:53,107
"One song per hillbilly, buddy."
277
00:13:54,206 --> 00:13:57,310
I shot so many acts:
Grandpa Jones,
278
00:13:57,344 --> 00:14:01,448
Minnie Pearl, the Jordanaires,
Jim Reeves.
279
00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,216
But I'm so busy making pictures,
trying to get a good shot,
280
00:14:04,249 --> 00:14:05,985
I don't know what they sang.
281
00:14:06,018 --> 00:14:08,354
[Stuart] Les Leverett gave
country music so much
282
00:14:08,387 --> 00:14:10,456
of its importance
and its image
283
00:14:10,489 --> 00:14:12,124
because he was there
to document it
284
00:14:12,157 --> 00:14:14,293
when nobody else
was paying attention.
285
00:14:14,326 --> 00:14:17,663
- Here's one made in the Opry.
- Oh, look at that.
286
00:14:17,696 --> 00:14:20,066
- I'd sneak in that one.
- That's a nice photo.
287
00:14:20,099 --> 00:14:22,268
You never knew who was
gonna show up at the Opry.
288
00:14:22,301 --> 00:14:25,037
[Libby] I love to just look
through my dad's photographs.
289
00:14:25,070 --> 00:14:30,243
It always amazes me how much he's
contributed to country music history.
290
00:14:30,276 --> 00:14:34,046
I remember when I was small and I
would go backstage at the Opry with you
291
00:14:34,079 --> 00:14:36,083
at the Ryman Auditorium,
we'd go in the big back door,
292
00:14:36,116 --> 00:14:39,686
and it was like
going into a fair.
293
00:14:39,719 --> 00:14:41,354
It was so cool.
294
00:14:41,387 --> 00:14:42,989
[country music plays]
295
00:14:43,022 --> 00:14:45,993
The atmosphere backstage
was like a family.
296
00:14:46,026 --> 00:14:51,098
I watched my dad work, and he knew
the artists that he was photographing,
297
00:14:51,131 --> 00:14:54,267
so when Dad took those
photographs, there was emotion.
298
00:14:54,300 --> 00:14:58,005
He waited until just the right time
to capture the moment with the camera.
299
00:14:58,037 --> 00:15:01,140
[Leverett] There was always
something exciting going on.
300
00:15:01,174 --> 00:15:03,577
And I'd go anywhere,
knock on a dressing room door.
301
00:15:03,609 --> 00:15:07,748
You couldn't tell if they said come
in or not, so I would just go in.
302
00:15:07,781 --> 00:15:09,782
I was shameless.
303
00:15:09,815 --> 00:15:12,351
[Anderson] When I first came
here, the Grand Ole Opry
304
00:15:12,384 --> 00:15:16,489
was basically a radio show,
and it had been since 1925.
305
00:15:16,522 --> 00:15:21,327
[Leverett] In 1925, the National
Life Insurance Company in Nashville
306
00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:25,264
decided to open a radio station,
WSM radio.
307
00:15:25,297 --> 00:15:28,134
[Cooper] WSM was carrying opera
from New York.
308
00:15:28,167 --> 00:15:31,671
One day, the announcer said
to the radio listeners,
309
00:15:31,704 --> 00:15:34,340
"For the past hour you've been
listening to grand opera.
310
00:15:34,373 --> 00:15:36,743
Now we're gonna bring you
the grand ole opry."
311
00:15:36,776 --> 00:15:39,311
He just said it off the cuff.
312
00:15:39,344 --> 00:15:44,050
So WSM developed their program
into the Grand Ole Opry.
313
00:15:44,084 --> 00:15:48,387
WSM stands for
"We Shield Millions"
314
00:15:48,421 --> 00:15:51,525
which was the insurance
company's motto.
315
00:15:51,557 --> 00:15:55,294
And they used the radio show
to sell insurance.
316
00:15:55,328 --> 00:15:58,799
Their agents would go to homes
and knock on the door
317
00:15:58,831 --> 00:16:00,833
and say, "I'm from
the Grand Ole Opry."
318
00:16:00,867 --> 00:16:04,337
And give 'em a little brochure
with opera stars' pictures.
319
00:16:04,369 --> 00:16:07,073
"Well, come in." So they got in,
and next thing you know,
320
00:16:07,107 --> 00:16:10,276
they sold a burial policy
or something.
321
00:16:10,310 --> 00:16:13,680
But the Opry came on really
strong and just kept growing.
322
00:16:13,713 --> 00:16:17,349
So many people wanted to be on
that radio once it got started.
323
00:16:17,382 --> 00:16:20,252
[Cusic] Uncle Dave Macon,
at 50 years old,
324
00:16:20,286 --> 00:16:22,555
was the first star
of the Grand Ole Opry.
325
00:16:22,589 --> 00:16:25,224
Plays that banjo
and rolls it around.
326
00:16:25,257 --> 00:16:28,695
It was just entertainment then,
and that's what Uncle Dave Macon was.
327
00:16:28,728 --> 00:16:30,597
He was an entertainer.
328
00:16:30,629 --> 00:16:33,365
But the story of country music
is a fight for respect.
329
00:16:33,398 --> 00:16:36,335
They want to be respected
as musicians.
330
00:16:36,368 --> 00:16:40,639
And so what we see is that move
to the rhinestones,
331
00:16:40,672 --> 00:16:45,277
and basically that was poor
folks saying, "I'm somebody."
332
00:16:45,310 --> 00:16:46,812
That was hillbilly bling.
333
00:16:46,845 --> 00:16:50,783
A lot of country artists
wore custom clothes
334
00:16:50,816 --> 00:16:53,486
and custom boots
and flashy things.
335
00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,156
And a guy by the name of Nudie
made their clothing.
336
00:16:56,189 --> 00:16:59,192
[Leverett] When Nudie came
along, they started putting on
337
00:16:59,224 --> 00:17:01,360
those heavy suits
with all those sequins.
338
00:17:01,393 --> 00:17:04,730
When those spotlights hit those
things, they started twinkling.
339
00:17:04,764 --> 00:17:07,901
[McClister] The Nudie suit
was such a unique style.
340
00:17:07,933 --> 00:17:11,403
It set Nashville and country
music apart from the other genres.
341
00:17:11,437 --> 00:17:13,873
When you look
at classic country photography,
342
00:17:13,907 --> 00:17:16,643
the Webb Pierces of the world,
Lefty Frizzells of the world,
343
00:17:16,676 --> 00:17:18,545
always more a Nudie suit.
344
00:17:18,577 --> 00:17:22,449
It made country music distinct.
It was so cool.
345
00:17:22,481 --> 00:17:25,818
[Anderson] I was very
comfortable wearing rhinestones.
346
00:17:25,852 --> 00:17:28,421
But these were suits
that people used to tease me
347
00:17:28,453 --> 00:17:30,823
and ask me if you plug them in,
will they light up?
348
00:17:30,856 --> 00:17:35,362
The clothes you wore,
that was part of your story.
349
00:17:35,394 --> 00:17:38,632
Porter Wagoner,
the thin man from West Plains,
350
00:17:38,664 --> 00:17:41,800
up there on the Opry stage
wore these remarkable suits
351
00:17:41,834 --> 00:17:46,506
with wagon wheels, 'cause it was
Porter Wagoner and the Wagonmasters.
352
00:17:46,538 --> 00:17:51,243
[Leverett] The fans in those
days really loved those sparkles.
353
00:17:51,276 --> 00:17:53,712
And I was there
with a camera.
354
00:17:53,746 --> 00:17:57,517
But in addition to my job,
I started doing LP covers.
355
00:17:57,549 --> 00:18:00,586
I've done 197 covers
that I know about.
356
00:18:00,620 --> 00:18:04,457
And I would always try to make the
picture look like the title of the album.
357
00:18:04,489 --> 00:18:07,693
[Porter Wagoner] ♪ I'm
just asking you to listen ♪
358
00:18:07,727 --> 00:18:11,965
[Leverett] In 1967, I did a picture
of Porter Wagoner dressed up as a bum
359
00:18:11,998 --> 00:18:13,767
for Confessions of a Broken Man,
360
00:18:13,799 --> 00:18:16,769
and we did it on the back steps
of the Ryman Auditorium.
361
00:18:16,803 --> 00:18:20,507
They say Porter went down to some
of the offices on Music Row later
362
00:18:20,539 --> 00:18:25,545
and asked for a handout, and nobody knew
who he was and they asked him to leave.
363
00:18:25,577 --> 00:18:29,583
I always felt I was just trying to get
a good shot of whoever I was working on.
364
00:18:29,615 --> 00:18:34,320
Like when Loretta Lynn found out she was
the latest member of the Grand Ole Opry,
365
00:18:34,353 --> 00:18:36,957
and she's just excited
beyond belief.
366
00:18:36,989 --> 00:18:39,793
But I just went wherever people
wanted me to go.
367
00:18:39,825 --> 00:18:42,495
There was a recording session
at Columbia Studios.
368
00:18:42,527 --> 00:18:45,832
June Carter was sitting there
and Johnny is whispering to her
369
00:18:45,864 --> 00:18:48,634
because at the first session
Johnny never showed up.
370
00:18:48,668 --> 00:18:52,339
But he's trying to soothe her
so she wouldn't feel bad at him.
371
00:18:52,372 --> 00:18:56,409
With Johnny Cash, you knew you
were gonna get good expressions.
372
00:18:56,441 --> 00:18:59,613
You couldn't get a bad picture
of him, I didn't think.
373
00:18:59,645 --> 00:19:04,550
A photograph freezes the moment, and you've
got it as long as you want to have it.
374
00:19:04,584 --> 00:19:08,421
[Johnny Cash] ♪ Well,
you wonder why I always dress in black ♪
375
00:19:08,453 --> 00:19:11,423
[Devik Wiener] I feel like
I'm preserving history.
376
00:19:11,457 --> 00:19:15,829
There was a photographer based in Southern
California by the name of Leigh Wiener.
377
00:19:15,862 --> 00:19:18,632
And I'm his son.
I'm doing the best I can
378
00:19:18,664 --> 00:19:20,866
to administrate the archive
he left behind
379
00:19:20,900 --> 00:19:23,937
of almost half a million
black and white images,
380
00:19:23,969 --> 00:19:28,741
30,000 enlargements,
and 40,000 color transparencies.
381
00:19:28,775 --> 00:19:32,478
[Johnny Cash]
♪ I'm the man in black ♪
382
00:19:32,511 --> 00:19:36,015
It wasn't until after
my father's passing
383
00:19:36,048 --> 00:19:39,952
in 1993 that I discovered
most of the Johnny Cash work.
384
00:19:39,986 --> 00:19:45,825
Just under 500 photographs,
most of them black and white, some color.
385
00:19:45,857 --> 00:19:50,429
Leigh Wiener photographed Johnny
Cash between 1960 and '63.
386
00:19:50,462 --> 00:19:56,769
He was hired by Columbia Records and he shot
candids in the Columbia recording studio,
387
00:19:56,803 --> 00:19:59,738
posed portraits
in his own studio in Hollywood.
388
00:19:59,771 --> 00:20:03,309
He considered himself
a photographer of people.
389
00:20:03,343 --> 00:20:06,046
And he loved the psychology
of photographing people.
390
00:20:06,078 --> 00:20:09,448
Presidents,
captains of industry,
391
00:20:09,481 --> 00:20:13,987
Hollywood celebrities,
an incredible array of very famous people.
392
00:20:14,019 --> 00:20:16,088
[Leigh] Any guy with a camera
can take a picture.
393
00:20:16,122 --> 00:20:18,557
Photographing people is
unquestionably the most
394
00:20:18,591 --> 00:20:20,593
difficult form of still
photography there is.
395
00:20:20,625 --> 00:20:23,562
Your portrait is not
a duplication of a face.
396
00:20:23,595 --> 00:20:25,664
A portrait is the revelation
of a person.
397
00:20:25,698 --> 00:20:27,934
You wanna tell something
about the person.
398
00:20:27,967 --> 00:20:32,505
[Devik] He didn't like filters in
his camera. He preferred no makeup.
399
00:20:32,537 --> 00:20:34,473
And he made every frame count.
400
00:20:34,507 --> 00:20:36,976
He developed a rapport
with most of his subjects,
401
00:20:37,008 --> 00:20:41,580
and you can see by the imagery they developed
a rapport during the course of their shoots.
402
00:20:41,613 --> 00:20:44,817
The images tell that
quite loudly.
403
00:20:44,851 --> 00:20:47,687
[Perich] Leigh Wiener develops
this relationship with Johnny Cash,
404
00:20:47,719 --> 00:20:49,823
and they go out
to Gene Autry's ranch.
405
00:20:49,855 --> 00:20:53,692
Those photographs point
to the singing cowboy,
406
00:20:53,726 --> 00:20:55,762
a particular code of ethics.
407
00:20:55,795 --> 00:20:59,865
Then you have Johnny Cash standing
in some ways against that.
408
00:20:59,899 --> 00:21:04,571
He becomes that very American
idea of tradition,
409
00:21:04,603 --> 00:21:06,672
but rebelliousness as well.
410
00:21:06,706 --> 00:21:10,577
[Rosanne Cash] I recognize the
qualities that make my dad iconic.
411
00:21:10,610 --> 00:21:13,413
And there's a lot of projections
that go on to him,
412
00:21:13,446 --> 00:21:15,782
a lot of which are not true.
413
00:21:15,815 --> 00:21:20,786
When my dad started out, he was not
totally a real country music artist.
414
00:21:20,819 --> 00:21:22,888
He was from Memphis,
he wasn't from Nashville.
415
00:21:22,921 --> 00:21:26,892
And he did not think
specifically about country.
416
00:21:26,926 --> 00:21:30,530
He just didn't. He listened
to what they called race music,
417
00:21:30,563 --> 00:21:33,700
and that was hugely influential.
418
00:21:33,732 --> 00:21:38,771
Johnny Cash broke in as a rockabilly guy
in the 1950s on Sun Records in Memphis,
419
00:21:38,805 --> 00:21:42,108
along with this incredible
stable of artists,
420
00:21:42,141 --> 00:21:45,411
like Elvis Presley and
Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison.
421
00:21:45,444 --> 00:21:49,415
But in the 1960s, he moved
over to Columbia Records,
422
00:21:49,449 --> 00:21:52,786
Nashville-based,
and did really well.
423
00:21:52,818 --> 00:21:55,454
[Gatlin] Johnny Cash wrote some
incredible songs.
424
00:21:55,488 --> 00:21:58,892
He became a tremendous influence
on country music.
425
00:21:58,924 --> 00:22:01,693
But it's more than that.
He could walk in a room,
426
00:22:01,727 --> 00:22:04,930
behind you,
and you felt his presence there.
427
00:22:04,963 --> 00:22:09,969
[Cusic] He had a charisma that
very, very few people have.
428
00:22:10,001 --> 00:22:15,707
Cash was larger than life.
He wasn't just an entertainer.
429
00:22:15,740 --> 00:22:17,544
I got a call from his
guitar player, Bob Wootton.
430
00:22:17,576 --> 00:22:19,845
He says, "John wants to know
if you'd be interested
431
00:22:19,879 --> 00:22:22,649
in playing in the band."
And so when we were introduced,
432
00:22:22,681 --> 00:22:24,983
he just kept looking at me
and kept shaking my hand.
433
00:22:25,017 --> 00:22:28,121
Well, I prepared since I was a little
boy to shake hands with Johnny Cash.
434
00:22:28,153 --> 00:22:31,723
He said, "You know my songs?"
I said, "Probably all of them."
435
00:22:31,757 --> 00:22:35,128
And he said, "You got anything
black to wear?"
436
00:22:35,161 --> 00:22:38,730
[Cooper] You see these classic
Cash images and the pictures tended
437
00:22:38,764 --> 00:22:41,633
towards gravity
and depth and weight.
438
00:22:41,667 --> 00:22:46,539
And Manuel would make these
remarkable suits for him.
439
00:22:46,572 --> 00:22:49,776
[Manuel] One time Johnny Cash
says, "I wanna talk to you."
440
00:22:49,808 --> 00:22:52,612
He says, "I'm on the road.
I'm gonna go on the road,
441
00:22:52,644 --> 00:22:56,215
and I need nine suits, like...
right away, man."
442
00:22:56,248 --> 00:23:00,687
So I started sewing,
and later he was on the road
443
00:23:00,719 --> 00:23:05,158
and he says, "I got these suits.
How come they are all black?"
444
00:23:05,190 --> 00:23:08,627
One time he says, "Well,
I wore black before,
445
00:23:08,661 --> 00:23:11,530
but Manuel put me
in a better black."
446
00:23:11,564 --> 00:23:13,666
There was something about him.
447
00:23:13,699 --> 00:23:15,735
He had that aura,
448
00:23:15,767 --> 00:23:18,837
'cause he created his own image.
449
00:23:18,871 --> 00:23:22,041
[Rosanne] My father cast
a very large shadow.
450
00:23:22,074 --> 00:23:25,277
And image is crucial
to the artist,
451
00:23:25,311 --> 00:23:28,180
but the image has
to be authentic.
452
00:23:32,817 --> 00:23:36,088
[Cooper] The late '50s and
into the '60s is what we call
453
00:23:36,122 --> 00:23:39,191
the Nashville sound era
of country music.
454
00:23:39,225 --> 00:23:44,764
When the sound went uptown, and there
was a lot of piano, as opposed to fiddle.
455
00:23:44,796 --> 00:23:46,199
It was an updating.
456
00:23:46,231 --> 00:23:49,768
Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley,
these two genius producers
457
00:23:49,802 --> 00:23:51,538
were the architects
of that sound,
458
00:23:51,571 --> 00:23:54,307
shifting the sound
more towards pop.
459
00:23:54,340 --> 00:23:57,877
[Urban] Nashville was
this magic land.
460
00:23:57,910 --> 00:23:59,778
It was on the back
of every record.
461
00:23:59,812 --> 00:24:01,247
You flip it over
and it would say,
462
00:24:01,279 --> 00:24:03,715
"Recorded in
Nashville, Tennessee."
463
00:24:03,748 --> 00:24:05,218
So that's where you'd go
to make records.
464
00:24:05,250 --> 00:24:09,221
There was Music Row,
16th and 17th Ave,
465
00:24:09,255 --> 00:24:10,890
and building after building
after building
466
00:24:10,922 --> 00:24:13,892
was either a studio
or a record company.
467
00:24:13,926 --> 00:24:16,162
But Nashville is a very
traditional town.
468
00:24:16,194 --> 00:24:19,798
So when Chet Atkins put an
orchestra and a string section
469
00:24:19,832 --> 00:24:22,569
on a country record,
it's pretty blasphemous.
470
00:24:22,602 --> 00:24:24,836
It's got nothing to do
with Ernest Tubb.
471
00:24:24,870 --> 00:24:26,673
It's got nothing to do
with Hank Sr.
472
00:24:26,706 --> 00:24:29,175
And they make no bones about
the fact that they were
473
00:24:29,208 --> 00:24:31,878
trying to reach
a bigger audience.
474
00:24:31,911 --> 00:24:35,715
[Smith] Chet Atkins,
he signed me in June '64.
475
00:24:35,748 --> 00:24:39,651
I wasn't really career-minded.
I just wanted to sing.
476
00:24:39,684 --> 00:24:41,253
But the controls
were tighter back then,
477
00:24:41,286 --> 00:24:44,090
and they wanted me to go
middle of the road.
478
00:24:44,123 --> 00:24:46,124
They said you can sing
more than country.
479
00:24:46,158 --> 00:24:49,796
[Urban] They were trying to give
it a more contemporary sound.
480
00:24:49,828 --> 00:24:52,965
Some people said,
"It's destroying our genre."
481
00:24:52,998 --> 00:24:55,267
But country's
constantly changing,
482
00:24:55,301 --> 00:24:58,605
and what's deemed traditional
keeps moving.
483
00:24:58,638 --> 00:25:00,239
[country music plays]
484
00:25:00,271 --> 00:25:02,774
Country music has a definite
tradition of rebellion,
485
00:25:02,807 --> 00:25:07,113
and that was very much the case in Bakersfield,
California, in the '50s and '60s.
486
00:25:07,145 --> 00:25:10,749
People had come to Bakersfield
from Oklahoma and Texas
487
00:25:10,783 --> 00:25:13,319
during the Dust Bowl migration,
way back in the '30s,
488
00:25:13,352 --> 00:25:15,921
and they brought their
music West as well.
489
00:25:15,955 --> 00:25:18,891
And then when World War II broke
out, even more people came West
490
00:25:18,923 --> 00:25:21,994
to work in the shipyards
and the aircraft factories.
491
00:25:22,027 --> 00:25:24,363
And after the war, a lot of them
stayed in Bakersfield
492
00:25:24,396 --> 00:25:26,865
because there was work
in the oil fields.
493
00:25:26,899 --> 00:25:29,835
So the Bakersfield sound is
really the music of Oklahoma,
494
00:25:29,869 --> 00:25:34,641
Texas, Louisiana, and these guys
didn't care what Nashville was doing.
495
00:25:34,673 --> 00:25:39,244
The explosion of Bakersfield was an
answer to the pop-ish type of sound
496
00:25:39,277 --> 00:25:41,146
that was coming
out of Nashville.
497
00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:42,849
One of the key events
was Buck Owens
498
00:25:42,882 --> 00:25:44,917
strapping on
a Telecaster guitar.
499
00:25:44,950 --> 00:25:47,219
That was a very different sound
for country music.
500
00:25:47,253 --> 00:25:50,890
It was rough and edgy
and kind of a honky-tonk thing.
501
00:25:50,922 --> 00:25:54,426
[Price] Buck Owens got his first
job at a honky-tonk in Bakersfield,
502
00:25:54,459 --> 00:25:58,730
and then got his first big break
when Capitol Records signed him.
503
00:25:58,764 --> 00:26:03,402
And then by about 1961, all of a sudden,
America couldn't get enough of Buck Owens,
504
00:26:03,436 --> 00:26:05,204
and that roll just kept going.
505
00:26:05,237 --> 00:26:07,340
You look at photos
from Bakersfield,
506
00:26:07,373 --> 00:26:11,276
it was just jeans and button-down
shirts, nothing fancy.
507
00:26:11,309 --> 00:26:15,447
But once Buck Owens hit it big and
started playing gigs like Carnegie Hall,
508
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:20,118
Nudie was making suits
for The Buckaroos too.
509
00:26:20,151 --> 00:26:23,256
Country music does have
a definite sensibility to it,
510
00:26:23,288 --> 00:26:26,291
but the people of Bakersfield
were really in their own world,
511
00:26:26,325 --> 00:26:29,394
and they were dealing with
so many different influences,
512
00:26:29,428 --> 00:26:32,431
and that's reflected
in the Bakersfield sound.
513
00:26:32,465 --> 00:26:34,901
[Merle Haggard] A lot of country
music came out of churches,
514
00:26:34,933 --> 00:26:38,336
but the Bakersfield sound
didn't come out of a church.
515
00:26:38,370 --> 00:26:40,940
It came out of a barroom.
516
00:26:40,972 --> 00:26:42,774
I grew up in Bakersfield.
517
00:26:42,807 --> 00:26:45,444
A country singer couldn't
have had a better life
518
00:26:45,478 --> 00:26:48,381
and a past to draw from.
519
00:26:48,413 --> 00:26:51,116
My father had worked
for Santa Fe Railroads.
520
00:26:51,150 --> 00:26:55,121
And he bought a city lot that
had an old Santa Fe reefer on it,
521
00:26:55,153 --> 00:26:59,392
and he said, "I'll just leave it there.
I'll make a house out of it."
522
00:26:59,424 --> 00:27:01,860
My father passed away
when I was nine.
523
00:27:01,893 --> 00:27:05,198
And pretty soon, I wouldn't mind my
mother and I wouldn't go to school.
524
00:27:05,230 --> 00:27:09,801
So they put me in reform school,
and I ran away and stole a car,
525
00:27:09,834 --> 00:27:11,437
so I was guilty of a felony.
526
00:27:11,469 --> 00:27:13,739
I was 19 years old
and I was in prison.
527
00:27:13,773 --> 00:27:18,511
[Haggard] ♪ I turned 21 in prison
doing life without parole ♪
528
00:27:18,544 --> 00:27:21,080
[Haggard] New Year's Day
in San Quentin, 1958,
529
00:27:21,113 --> 00:27:24,249
Johnny Cash played what was
called the Warden's Show.
530
00:27:24,283 --> 00:27:28,353
He played prisons all over
America, and I saw how he was able
531
00:27:28,386 --> 00:27:29,821
to capture the audience.
532
00:27:29,854 --> 00:27:31,757
And for the first time
in my life,
533
00:27:31,790 --> 00:27:36,094
I had a hint on what I might be
doing the rest of my life.
534
00:27:36,128 --> 00:27:38,798
I spent two years, nine months
in San Quentin.
535
00:27:38,831 --> 00:27:41,267
When I got out,
I wound up with my own band.
536
00:27:41,299 --> 00:27:45,971
And we played a type of country music
that was identified with a steel guitar,
537
00:27:46,005 --> 00:27:48,274
or better known
as a pedal guitar.
538
00:27:48,306 --> 00:27:52,411
And when we came onboard with that
sound, it was different.
539
00:27:52,443 --> 00:27:57,482
Nashville was happening, and somebody
started to make a little noise somewhere,
540
00:27:57,516 --> 00:28:00,286
they get you on the phone, say,
"Come join the Grand Ole Opry."
541
00:28:00,318 --> 00:28:02,154
So we didn't go down there.
542
00:28:02,188 --> 00:28:05,056
I always wanted to be
different from Nashville.
543
00:28:05,090 --> 00:28:07,226
I wore a different
kind of boot
544
00:28:07,258 --> 00:28:10,429
just to let people know
that I wasn't a hillbilly.
545
00:28:10,461 --> 00:28:12,297
I was a flatlander.
546
00:28:12,331 --> 00:28:16,302
So very early in my career,
I was typecast as a rebel.
547
00:28:18,269 --> 00:28:22,240
Johnny Cash had been
to jail one time for four hours.
548
00:28:22,274 --> 00:28:25,411
But everybody thought he was an ex-con.
He looked the part.
549
00:28:25,443 --> 00:28:28,113
And he said to me one time,
"Haggard," he said,
550
00:28:28,146 --> 00:28:30,282
"you're everything
people think I am."
551
00:28:30,315 --> 00:28:33,018
I was doing a Johnny Cash
Network show,
552
00:28:33,052 --> 00:28:37,256
and he talked me into letting it go
public that I had been in prison.
553
00:28:37,288 --> 00:28:40,559
- So he told the audience...
- He sings those prison songs
554
00:28:40,593 --> 00:28:43,028
like, well, you'd think
he's been there.
555
00:28:43,062 --> 00:28:44,430
Merle Haggard!
556
00:28:44,462 --> 00:28:47,200
[Haggard] And I'm glad
that I did it.
557
00:28:47,232 --> 00:28:49,067
'Cause I don't like
to be lied to.
558
00:28:49,101 --> 00:28:51,838
If you lie to people,
they'll reject you.
559
00:28:51,871 --> 00:28:53,973
You've gotta be
an honest person.
560
00:28:54,006 --> 00:28:56,843
Your music's gotta be honest
or else your tour will be over
561
00:28:56,875 --> 00:28:59,612
and you'll be back
in the oil fields.
562
00:28:59,644 --> 00:29:02,981
So I kept on making music
the way I heard it.
563
00:29:03,015 --> 00:29:06,486
And right or wrong,
it'll be honest.
564
00:29:09,988 --> 00:29:12,257
[Cusic] The essence of country
is that it's the music
565
00:29:12,290 --> 00:29:16,061
of the white working class or
the white Southern working class,
566
00:29:16,094 --> 00:29:20,165
and it articulates their
thoughts, feelings, issues.
567
00:29:20,199 --> 00:29:25,537
It was imagined as the music
of pure mountain culture,
568
00:29:25,571 --> 00:29:27,173
which was understood as white,
569
00:29:27,206 --> 00:29:30,309
and that was part
of its marketing appeal.
570
00:29:30,342 --> 00:29:32,178
But that was really a fiction.
571
00:29:32,210 --> 00:29:35,180
[Cooper] There are people
who say country is white music,
572
00:29:35,213 --> 00:29:37,415
or they'll refer
to blue-eyed soul,
573
00:29:37,449 --> 00:29:40,385
but there was a tremendous
African-American influence
574
00:29:40,419 --> 00:29:41,921
in early country music.
575
00:29:41,953 --> 00:29:44,389
And a major star
of the Grand Ole Opry
576
00:29:44,422 --> 00:29:47,026
was a black harmonica player
named DeFord Bailey.
577
00:29:47,058 --> 00:29:52,163
In fact, in the first music that anyone
heard on the Grand Ole Opry radio show
578
00:29:52,197 --> 00:29:54,300
was DeFord Bailey's harmonica.
579
00:29:54,333 --> 00:29:57,570
- [harmonica playing]
- But Nashville emerged at a time
580
00:29:57,603 --> 00:30:00,940
when the South was
deeply segregated.
581
00:30:00,972 --> 00:30:03,675
And he was fired in 1941
582
00:30:03,709 --> 00:30:07,279
in a racially-informed dispute.
583
00:30:07,313 --> 00:30:12,485
[Pecknold] The general consensus is
that he was expected to follow orders
584
00:30:12,517 --> 00:30:14,620
in a way that white artists
were not,
585
00:30:14,652 --> 00:30:16,988
which he chafed against
and they fired him.
586
00:30:17,021 --> 00:30:21,259
It was reflecting
the culture of segregation
587
00:30:21,293 --> 00:30:26,332
and people who wanted a return
to a pure white culture.
588
00:30:26,364 --> 00:30:30,469
And in the early 1960s,
country music became associated with racism
589
00:30:30,501 --> 00:30:34,507
when George Wallace started to use
country music in his campaigns.
590
00:30:34,539 --> 00:30:38,677
[announcer] Governor George Wallace made a
campaign promise to prevent the integration
591
00:30:38,710 --> 00:30:41,413
of the last all-white
state university.
592
00:30:41,447 --> 00:30:43,449
[Pecknold] And there were
country music artists
593
00:30:43,481 --> 00:30:45,651
who did go and support
George Wallace.
594
00:30:45,683 --> 00:30:49,587
At the same time,
the country music industry was consciously
595
00:30:49,621 --> 00:30:52,691
seeking a way to change
its image.
596
00:30:52,725 --> 00:30:57,430
So when Ray Charles recorded Modern
Sounds in Country and Western Music,
597
00:30:57,462 --> 00:31:01,267
you used to see all of these picture of
Ray Charles in country music magazines.
598
00:31:01,299 --> 00:31:06,438
It was not a country record, but they were
trying to use the success of his album,
599
00:31:06,471 --> 00:31:13,345
and especially his image, to reimagine
what the country audience looked like.
600
00:31:13,379 --> 00:31:17,049
[Cooper] Ray Charles was
doing country songs,
601
00:31:17,082 --> 00:31:19,318
but he wasn't a country singer.
602
00:31:19,351 --> 00:31:24,290
And no significant African-American
star emerged in this music
603
00:31:24,323 --> 00:31:27,325
until renegade producer
Cowboy Jack Clement
604
00:31:27,359 --> 00:31:30,062
took Charley Pride
into the recording studio.
605
00:31:30,094 --> 00:31:33,031
♪ So I feel so blue ♪
606
00:31:33,065 --> 00:31:36,134
♪ Sometimes I wanna die ♪
607
00:31:36,168 --> 00:31:39,738
[Pride] My career was smack-dab
in the middle of civil rights,
608
00:31:39,771 --> 00:31:43,208
and a lot of people thought
I was a little bit off.
609
00:31:43,241 --> 00:31:47,546
Meaning, how do you think you gonna
make it in a... white man's music?
610
00:31:47,578 --> 00:31:50,248
Like I wasn't thinking straight
or something.
611
00:31:50,282 --> 00:31:52,251
But I wasn't discouraged
612
00:31:52,284 --> 00:31:55,054
because it's my music too
if I like it.
613
00:31:55,086 --> 00:31:57,455
I grew up in Sledge,
Mississippi,
614
00:31:57,488 --> 00:32:00,191
55 miles below Memphis,
Tennessee.
615
00:32:00,225 --> 00:32:03,062
My dad's favorite artist was Bill
Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys,
616
00:32:03,094 --> 00:32:04,462
and I just got hooked on it.
617
00:32:04,497 --> 00:32:08,167
I bought me a Sears Roebuck guitar
when I was about 14 years old,
618
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:12,037
and if I heard a song I liked,
I would sing it.
619
00:32:12,071 --> 00:32:13,606
I was picking cotton alongside
my dad and I said,
620
00:32:13,639 --> 00:32:15,373
I ain't gonna be
no cotton picker.
621
00:32:15,407 --> 00:32:18,144
My dream was to go
to the Major Leagues,
622
00:32:18,177 --> 00:32:20,379
and when I saw
Jackie Robinson do it,
623
00:32:20,411 --> 00:32:24,517
I said here's my chance, I'll go and
break all the records in baseball,
624
00:32:24,549 --> 00:32:26,418
then I can sing.
625
00:32:26,451 --> 00:32:28,086
I played in the
old Negro League
626
00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:29,688
right behind Ernie Banks,
627
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,791
Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays,
and I was really good.
628
00:32:32,825 --> 00:32:35,760
But I cracked my elbow
in 1956.
629
00:32:35,794 --> 00:32:37,729
And I still thought
I could make it.
630
00:32:37,763 --> 00:32:41,200
I went up to Montana
to play in the Pioneer League.
631
00:32:41,232 --> 00:32:46,171
Then I went to spring training with
Gene Autry's team, the Angels in '61.
632
00:32:46,205 --> 00:32:49,275
And the next year,
spring training with the Mets,
633
00:32:49,307 --> 00:32:51,109
but they wouldn't look at me.
634
00:32:51,142 --> 00:32:53,746
So I got there,
I just didn't stay.
635
00:32:53,778 --> 00:32:57,516
People always encouraged me
to go to Nashville,
636
00:32:57,548 --> 00:32:59,718
and that's what I did.
637
00:32:59,750 --> 00:33:03,689
I met Jack Johnson, who ended up
being my manager.
638
00:33:03,721 --> 00:33:08,493
Jack had always told people, if you find
me a colored guy that sing country music,
639
00:33:08,526 --> 00:33:12,398
you send him to me. Took his
glasses and he looked and he says,
640
00:33:12,430 --> 00:33:14,732
"All right, sing something."
641
00:33:14,766 --> 00:33:18,204
So he heard me and he said,
"Where you from?"
642
00:33:18,237 --> 00:33:20,439
I said I was born and raised
in Sledge, Mississippi.
643
00:33:20,471 --> 00:33:23,275
I said I live in Montana now.
"How do they take you up there?"
644
00:33:23,307 --> 00:33:26,578
I said, well, about the way you're
doing right now when they first see me.
645
00:33:26,612 --> 00:33:30,181
And he give me seven songs
to work up.
646
00:33:30,215 --> 00:33:34,753
We do the demo, and Chet Atkins
took the dub and played it for RCA.
647
00:33:34,786 --> 00:33:37,355
And they said, "We like it,
good voice, good voice."
648
00:33:37,389 --> 00:33:40,825
Then they passed
my picture around.
649
00:33:40,859 --> 00:33:43,329
And everybody kind of looked
at one another
650
00:33:43,362 --> 00:33:46,297
and they all said,
"We still gonna sign him.
651
00:33:46,331 --> 00:33:50,202
We just not gonna say anything about the
uniqueness of his pigmentation, you know?"
652
00:33:50,235 --> 00:33:53,706
They signed me September of '65.
653
00:33:53,738 --> 00:33:55,607
They never said anything
about color.
654
00:33:55,641 --> 00:33:58,344
They just released the record
out there to all the DJs
655
00:33:58,376 --> 00:34:00,378
and they let the rumors start.
656
00:34:00,411 --> 00:34:02,648
"What color you think he is?"
"What do you mean what color is he?
657
00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:04,783
He's white."
"No, no."
658
00:34:04,815 --> 00:34:07,585
"What?"
"How much you wanna bet?"
659
00:34:07,619 --> 00:34:09,889
[country music plays]
660
00:34:09,922 --> 00:34:12,925
[Cooper] At a time when there
was fighting on the streets
661
00:34:12,957 --> 00:34:15,927
about segregation,
people learned to love the music
662
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,763
before they figured out
what the guy looked like.
663
00:34:18,797 --> 00:34:22,535
And once you love something,
it's hard to take that back.
664
00:34:22,567 --> 00:34:24,303
[Pride] I always thought
that I was just as good
665
00:34:24,335 --> 00:34:26,337
as anybody else
and wasn't no worse.
666
00:34:26,370 --> 00:34:29,440
I had more obstacles to walk
around than the average fight.
667
00:34:29,473 --> 00:34:33,578
But people liked my voice.
There's something about it.
668
00:34:33,611 --> 00:34:38,349
And I'm just glad that I was
given a chance to sing.
669
00:34:38,382 --> 00:34:40,185
And everything
turned out beautiful.
670
00:34:40,218 --> 00:34:42,887
[Cooper] You can't
segregate the airwaves.
671
00:34:42,921 --> 00:34:47,393
Country demanded a stylistic
and cultural cross-pollination.
672
00:34:47,426 --> 00:34:52,898
By the 1960s,
Nashville was a top-down town
673
00:34:52,931 --> 00:34:55,568
with producers really
running the show.
674
00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:57,468
[McCall] The producers chose
the musicians,
675
00:34:57,502 --> 00:34:59,572
they worked in
the same studios all the time,
676
00:34:59,605 --> 00:35:01,407
they often helped choose
the songs.
677
00:35:01,439 --> 00:35:04,609
[Cooper] And some
people demanded to be in control
678
00:35:04,643 --> 00:35:07,680
of their music in a way
they had not been before.
679
00:35:07,712 --> 00:35:10,415
- They were the outlaws.
- [Willie Nelson] ♪ Yesterday wine ♪
680
00:35:10,448 --> 00:35:14,786
[Cooper] You have Willie Nelson who
had a very atypical way of singing.
681
00:35:14,819 --> 00:35:18,923
And he was made to fit in, being
instructed how to sound, what to wear.
682
00:35:18,957 --> 00:35:22,527
He looked like he could be
an insurance salesman.
683
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,529
He went back down to Texas
and said,
684
00:35:24,562 --> 00:35:26,564
"The heck with all this,
I'm gonna do something else."
685
00:35:26,598 --> 00:35:29,835
And by 1973,
he looked like Willie Nelson.
686
00:35:29,868 --> 00:35:32,004
[McCall] Willie Nelson
identified with hippies
687
00:35:32,036 --> 00:35:35,274
and hippie culture was such
a powerful aspect of America.
688
00:35:35,306 --> 00:35:37,642
A lot of musicians
were smoking pot
689
00:35:37,676 --> 00:35:39,812
and experimenting with drugs
and growing their hair,
690
00:35:39,844 --> 00:35:42,448
and it certainly influenced
country music.
691
00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:45,250
[Cooper] You had people like
Kris Kristofferson come along,
692
00:35:45,283 --> 00:35:47,885
changing the language
of this music.
693
00:35:47,919 --> 00:35:52,924
Kristofferson was as influenced by
Bob Dylan as he was by Hank Williams.
694
00:35:52,957 --> 00:35:57,528
[Lovett] Great singer-songwriters
showed me what songs could be.
695
00:35:57,562 --> 00:36:02,301
Songs didn't necessarily have to have a
catchy line that repeated over and over.
696
00:36:02,334 --> 00:36:06,305
A song could be about something,
a song could tell a story
697
00:36:06,337 --> 00:36:08,473
and be way more than a song.
698
00:36:08,506 --> 00:36:10,608
[McCall] The outlaws wanted
to use their own bands,
699
00:36:10,642 --> 00:36:13,478
they wanted to decide how they
sounded and how they looked.
700
00:36:13,511 --> 00:36:15,513
[Cooper] Waylon Jennings
was about leather
701
00:36:15,547 --> 00:36:17,983
and looking like he just
jumped off his motorcycle.
702
00:36:18,015 --> 00:36:22,587
But that was what the outlaw movement
was about. It was about distinction.
703
00:36:22,620 --> 00:36:25,423
[Raeanne Rubenstein] Waylon Jennings
was the first country artist
704
00:36:25,457 --> 00:36:28,060
to appear at Max's Kansas City
in New York.
705
00:36:28,093 --> 00:36:30,296
And believe me,
in the early '70s,
706
00:36:30,328 --> 00:36:32,830
no one was interested
in country music
707
00:36:32,864 --> 00:36:34,967
on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan.
708
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:36,869
But everyone wanted
to see Waylon
709
00:36:36,902 --> 00:36:38,671
because he was a renegade,
710
00:36:38,703 --> 00:36:41,707
an independent, wild cowboy.
711
00:36:41,739 --> 00:36:44,676
I photographed him.
He was posing, flirting,
712
00:36:44,710 --> 00:36:47,446
and New York just went crazy
for Waylon.
713
00:36:47,478 --> 00:36:50,315
I've been photographing country
music my whole career.
714
00:36:50,348 --> 00:36:53,685
Practically shortly
after rock and roll.
715
00:36:53,718 --> 00:36:56,387
The fourth roll of film
that I ever took
716
00:36:56,421 --> 00:36:59,825
was a concert with Janis Joplin
and I thought those pictures
717
00:36:59,857 --> 00:37:01,826
were beautiful
and she looked amazing.
718
00:37:01,859 --> 00:37:03,928
And my interest was piqued.
719
00:37:03,962 --> 00:37:07,099
I wanted to go to more shows
and shoot more performances.
720
00:37:07,131 --> 00:37:11,836
I photographed artists
like The Who, BB King,
721
00:37:11,870 --> 00:37:14,006
I shot John Lennon's birthday.
722
00:37:14,038 --> 00:37:18,377
I photographed so many legends,
it was just amazing.
723
00:37:18,410 --> 00:37:21,547
But my first assignment
in Nashville was Johnny Cash.
724
00:37:21,580 --> 00:37:23,382
[Cash] Hello, I'm Johnny Cash.
725
00:37:23,415 --> 00:37:26,018
[Rubenstein] They were taping
The Johnny Cash Show
726
00:37:26,051 --> 00:37:28,020
at the Ryman
at the Grand Ole Opry.
727
00:37:28,053 --> 00:37:29,922
[Cash]
♪ I hear the train a-coming ♪
728
00:37:29,955 --> 00:37:31,590
But I didn't know anybody there.
729
00:37:31,622 --> 00:37:33,458
So I was sitting there
waiting,
730
00:37:33,491 --> 00:37:35,893
and all of a sudden there was
this tap on my shoulder.
731
00:37:35,926 --> 00:37:39,064
And I looked up and, oh,
my gosh, it was Johnny Cash.
732
00:37:39,096 --> 00:37:43,067
And he said, "Hello, little lady.
Can I help you?"
733
00:37:43,100 --> 00:37:44,936
It was awesome!
734
00:37:44,969 --> 00:37:48,607
My fate was sealed.
I started coming to Nashville
735
00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:52,643
and I would photograph country
artists for magazines in New York.
736
00:37:52,676 --> 00:37:56,448
It wasn't necessarily the kind of
place that I was accustomed to,
737
00:37:56,480 --> 00:37:58,716
but I liked the people
and I liked the artists.
738
00:37:58,750 --> 00:38:01,887
[Stuart] Raeanne coming
in the early '70s
739
00:38:01,919 --> 00:38:05,089
when country music was struggling
to find its way into the mainstream
740
00:38:05,122 --> 00:38:09,560
and then taking it back to her world
was almost like having a correspondent.
741
00:38:09,593 --> 00:38:11,095
It gave country music a voice.
742
00:38:11,129 --> 00:38:13,565
[Perich] When you start seeing
country music performers
743
00:38:13,598 --> 00:38:16,768
in Time magazine
and in Rolling Stone,
744
00:38:16,801 --> 00:38:18,736
it becomes a stamp of approval.
745
00:38:18,770 --> 00:38:21,105
a sign that there's
a wider audience.
746
00:38:21,138 --> 00:38:26,778
And photographers are recording not
just the performer, but the culture.
747
00:38:26,812 --> 00:38:29,515
[Rubenstein] When I got
affiliated with Nashville,
748
00:38:29,547 --> 00:38:32,750
there was a specific look
for country artist photos.
749
00:38:32,783 --> 00:38:36,154
Photographers were not hired
by the labels to tell the truth
750
00:38:36,187 --> 00:38:38,489
about the personalities
of their stars.
751
00:38:38,522 --> 00:38:40,091
And that is my exact interest.
752
00:38:40,125 --> 00:38:43,429
I like making them
reveal themselves to me.
753
00:38:43,462 --> 00:38:46,031
And I felt that if you
put that into a photo,
754
00:38:46,064 --> 00:38:48,834
it would make your artist
even more successful.
755
00:38:48,866 --> 00:38:51,102
[Smith] I like a song
that clicks with me,
756
00:38:51,136 --> 00:38:52,871
and it's the same thing
with a picture.
757
00:38:52,904 --> 00:38:55,107
You go through a whole
contact sheet of pictures,
758
00:38:55,140 --> 00:38:58,076
and then there's just this one
that just has something.
759
00:38:58,109 --> 00:39:01,078
You can read somebody's soul
in a picture sometimes.
760
00:39:01,111 --> 00:39:04,115
[Rubenstein] With Tammy Wynette,
the shoes, the glasses,
761
00:39:04,149 --> 00:39:08,654
the wig reflected her taste
and her lifestyle.
762
00:39:08,687 --> 00:39:10,756
Whether the person
is playing an instrument
763
00:39:10,788 --> 00:39:12,790
or standing on their porch
with his wife,
764
00:39:12,823 --> 00:39:15,927
my job is to put together
a little story
765
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:18,062
that's revealing about them,
766
00:39:18,096 --> 00:39:20,632
so people see them
the way I do.
767
00:39:20,665 --> 00:39:23,000
I had an assignment
from Life magazine
768
00:39:23,033 --> 00:39:24,969
to shoot country artists
on their tour buses
769
00:39:25,002 --> 00:39:27,205
because that was very unusual
at the time.
770
00:39:27,239 --> 00:39:31,677
Most rock and roll artists flew,
and almost no one had buses.
771
00:39:31,710 --> 00:39:34,746
Only country artists.
Dolly Parton was on the cover,
772
00:39:34,779 --> 00:39:37,483
and I shot her in her bus.
773
00:39:37,515 --> 00:39:39,750
She was already
a queen of country music.
774
00:39:39,783 --> 00:39:42,019
[Parton] ♪ The man I loved
had a selling route ♪
775
00:39:42,053 --> 00:39:44,489
♪ Selling goods
from house to house ♪
776
00:39:44,522 --> 00:39:47,124
[Leverett] Dolly knew where she was
going when she came to Nashville.
777
00:39:47,158 --> 00:39:51,163
Right after high school, I think she came
over here the day after she graduated.
778
00:39:51,196 --> 00:39:55,801
She knew what she wanted to do.
And the girl had the talent to do it.
779
00:39:55,834 --> 00:39:58,136
[Horenstein] She was a member
of the Porter Wagoner band,
780
00:39:58,169 --> 00:40:00,239
but every once in a while
she'd put out a record
781
00:40:00,272 --> 00:40:02,841
and they were starting
to do better than his records.
782
00:40:02,873 --> 00:40:05,576
I photographed Dolly Parton
in 1972
783
00:40:05,609 --> 00:40:07,945
backstage at Symphony Hall
in Boston.
784
00:40:07,978 --> 00:40:09,814
She definitely stood out
in a crowd.
785
00:40:09,848 --> 00:40:12,217
Dolly is the ultimate
entertainer,
786
00:40:12,250 --> 00:40:14,686
and the way she presents herself
is part of that.
787
00:40:14,718 --> 00:40:18,256
[Leverett] Dolly asked me to do the
cover on the album, Bubbling Over.
788
00:40:18,290 --> 00:40:21,125
So we went out to the fountain
over there at the Hall of Fame.
789
00:40:21,158 --> 00:40:24,562
And sure enough, we drew a crowd.
You can't help it with Dolly Parton.
790
00:40:24,596 --> 00:40:28,267
And then I thought, why don't we
get a close-up or two of Dolly here?
791
00:40:28,299 --> 00:40:32,171
Then I put the transparencies
together and that became the cover.
792
00:40:34,105 --> 00:40:36,174
[Rubenstein] What's unique about
photography is that you have
793
00:40:36,207 --> 00:40:39,176
to tell the story
without any words
794
00:40:39,210 --> 00:40:45,183
and capture the essence of the
moment in a 250th of a second.
795
00:40:45,216 --> 00:40:49,621
Photography put us out there
in front of people,
796
00:40:49,654 --> 00:40:54,293
and portrayed us
as we truly are.
797
00:40:54,326 --> 00:40:58,230
I signed my recording contract
when I was 12.
798
00:40:58,263 --> 00:41:02,267
And my image from the start
was the girl next door.
799
00:41:02,299 --> 00:41:06,004
You couldn't dress it up
or dress it down.
800
00:41:06,036 --> 00:41:08,940
I had to be who I was.
801
00:41:08,973 --> 00:41:13,277
Back then, the record buying
public were girls.
802
00:41:13,310 --> 00:41:18,616
So my image was cemented
by what they thought of me.
803
00:41:18,649 --> 00:41:20,985
I was a little girl
with a big voice.
804
00:41:21,018 --> 00:41:26,357
But you could see the growth
every time an album came out.
805
00:41:26,390 --> 00:41:28,759
You would see a little
different Brenda.
806
00:41:28,792 --> 00:41:33,698
Then later on, photographers took
what I was and expanded on it.
807
00:41:33,732 --> 00:41:38,937
It was a little slice of life and letting
people into your home a little bit,
808
00:41:38,969 --> 00:41:40,372
to see your family,
809
00:41:40,404 --> 00:41:42,707
but I wasn't afraid
to show that.
810
00:41:42,741 --> 00:41:46,378
Country artists are accessible
to their fans,
811
00:41:46,410 --> 00:41:49,213
and that is really special.
812
00:41:49,247 --> 00:41:51,750
But, my goodness, I hope Ronnie
got rid of those pants.
813
00:41:54,319 --> 00:41:57,756
When you grow up with
the country way of life,
814
00:41:57,788 --> 00:41:59,725
it teaches you so much,
815
00:41:59,757 --> 00:42:03,160
and your beliefs
are solidified
816
00:42:03,194 --> 00:42:06,098
by the people around you.
817
00:42:06,131 --> 00:42:09,167
[Gatlin] A lot of us learned
to sing in church.
818
00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:14,205
We were raised by God-fearing, good,
honest, decent, hardworking people.
819
00:42:14,239 --> 00:42:16,842
So the gospel influence
was very big.
820
00:42:16,875 --> 00:42:20,145
[Smith] When you hear gospel
music and when it lifts you,
821
00:42:20,178 --> 00:42:22,413
it's the spirit behind it, I
think, that makes the difference,
822
00:42:22,446 --> 00:42:24,915
and country music is that way.
823
00:42:24,948 --> 00:42:27,251
[Gatlin] But it's not a bright,
well-defined line.
824
00:42:27,285 --> 00:42:30,221
If you're in despair,
if you're in trouble,
825
00:42:30,254 --> 00:42:32,923
if your heart is broken,
you turn to Jesus.
826
00:42:32,957 --> 00:42:36,361
In country music, if you're in
despair and your heart is broken,
827
00:42:36,393 --> 00:42:39,031
you go have a beer.
828
00:42:39,064 --> 00:42:40,832
[Smith] People,
when they're having a hard time,
829
00:42:40,864 --> 00:42:42,901
they need someone
to identify with.
830
00:42:42,933 --> 00:42:45,102
When I sing,
I'm telling a story.
831
00:42:45,136 --> 00:42:47,372
And when I get hold of a song,
I'm gonna get it across
832
00:42:47,404 --> 00:42:49,874
and make sure they can
hear what I'm saying
833
00:42:49,908 --> 00:42:53,377
because the most important thing is
that you do connect with the audience.
834
00:42:53,410 --> 00:42:56,213
[Horenstein] People feel very
connected to country music,
835
00:42:56,247 --> 00:43:02,386
and in some ways, feel that those singers
aren't that separate from who they are.
836
00:43:02,419 --> 00:43:04,021
[country music plays]
837
00:43:04,055 --> 00:43:06,058
When I was starting
my photography career,
838
00:43:06,091 --> 00:43:08,192
I had friends who had
a record company,
839
00:43:08,225 --> 00:43:10,828
and they needed pictures
of their musicians.
840
00:43:10,861 --> 00:43:13,931
So they would get me a pass
to the Grand Ole Opry.
841
00:43:13,964 --> 00:43:16,901
The old style singers
that I was photographing
842
00:43:16,935 --> 00:43:19,137
weren't people with a lot
of pretense.
843
00:43:19,169 --> 00:43:21,472
Like Roy Acuff,
king of country music,
844
00:43:21,506 --> 00:43:24,975
who kind of ruled
the Grand Ole Opry for decades.
845
00:43:25,009 --> 00:43:27,779
As a photographer,
I'm interested in country music
846
00:43:27,812 --> 00:43:29,881
and the people
who make the music.
847
00:43:29,913 --> 00:43:32,783
But I'm mostly interested
in the place
848
00:43:32,817 --> 00:43:36,088
and the people
who make up the place.
849
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:39,990
In the '70s, there were seven
honky-tonks in Boston.
850
00:43:40,024 --> 00:43:43,261
These are places I used to go
quite a lot to photograph.
851
00:43:43,294 --> 00:43:45,997
Nashville North,
then the Blue Star Lounge,
852
00:43:46,029 --> 00:43:48,499
and the Hillbilly Ranch,
the most famous of all.
853
00:43:48,533 --> 00:43:51,303
And this honky-tonk is...
I've not seen anything.
854
00:43:51,335 --> 00:43:54,439
And people like Grandpa Jones
who started in Boston
855
00:43:54,471 --> 00:43:57,209
would come by all the time
to perform.
856
00:43:57,241 --> 00:44:01,078
The old style honky-tonk
was a place outside of town
857
00:44:01,111 --> 00:44:04,982
near no schools or churches
with live music.
858
00:44:05,015 --> 00:44:08,385
A place where working people
went out and had themselves
859
00:44:08,419 --> 00:44:10,422
a beer on Friday,
Saturday night.
860
00:44:10,455 --> 00:44:13,924
Maybe got to meet somebody,
maybe got to dance,
861
00:44:13,957 --> 00:44:15,292
maybe got into a fight.
862
00:44:15,326 --> 00:44:18,130
And it was glamorous
on some level.
863
00:44:18,163 --> 00:44:22,467
I saw this honky-tonk culture
starting to disappear,
864
00:44:22,500 --> 00:44:26,071
and I wanted to document
these people,
865
00:44:26,103 --> 00:44:31,176
record their lives
and make them part of history.
866
00:44:31,209 --> 00:44:34,212
Tootsie was a legendary
character in Nashville.
867
00:44:34,245 --> 00:44:37,915
She ran this successful
honky-tonk on lower Broadway,
868
00:44:37,948 --> 00:44:39,517
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.
869
00:44:39,551 --> 00:44:41,819
It was a different kind
of person that went in there
870
00:44:41,852 --> 00:44:44,055
that would go into a country
music show today.
871
00:44:44,087 --> 00:44:46,056
And you could go in
and write your name,
872
00:44:46,089 --> 00:44:48,993
and the stars would go in
and write their names too.
873
00:44:49,027 --> 00:44:53,231
Supposedly, Willie Nelson wrote
"Crazy" there for Patsy Cline.
874
00:44:53,263 --> 00:44:56,133
And performers would come
from all over to Tootsie's
875
00:44:56,167 --> 00:44:59,136
in hopes that they can somehow
make a connection.
876
00:44:59,169 --> 00:45:03,507
Tootsie's was famous to me because I'd
read all about it in all the history books.
877
00:45:03,540 --> 00:45:06,111
So when I came to Nashville,
I went into Tootsie's
878
00:45:06,143 --> 00:45:08,479
and got up to sing,
kind of impromptu.
879
00:45:08,513 --> 00:45:12,183
And by the end of my little mini
set, they'd offered me a job.
880
00:45:12,216 --> 00:45:16,587
I played at Tootsie's on and off for
tips for two and a half, three years,
881
00:45:16,620 --> 00:45:19,490
doing covers and a lot
of traditional country,
882
00:45:19,524 --> 00:45:22,594
singing the people's music,
singing about what people
883
00:45:22,627 --> 00:45:25,430
were living and breathing
every day of their lives.
884
00:45:25,462 --> 00:45:28,399
But it was a different time
and a different culture.
885
00:45:28,433 --> 00:45:32,603
[Horenstein] It was a drinking
culture, it was a blue collar culture.
886
00:45:32,636 --> 00:45:36,607
It was a different world,
but this is where the music's from.
887
00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:41,278
[Rubenstein] People had beliefs and
customs that we didn't have in New York,
888
00:45:41,312 --> 00:45:43,248
and there were prejudices.
889
00:45:43,281 --> 00:45:45,616
[Pecknold] They were called
rubes and were perceived
890
00:45:45,649 --> 00:45:49,220
as promiscuous,
poverty stricken, stupid.
891
00:45:49,254 --> 00:45:51,256
And people made fun
of country music.
892
00:45:51,288 --> 00:45:54,926
They associated it with a
hayseed, hillbilly audience.
893
00:45:54,959 --> 00:45:58,495
[McCall] There's always been stereotypes
in country music and the media
894
00:45:58,529 --> 00:46:01,533
and television played off this
idea of what Southerners were like.
895
00:46:01,565 --> 00:46:03,201
[braying]
896
00:46:04,435 --> 00:46:07,471
♪ Hee haw ♪
897
00:46:07,504 --> 00:46:10,407
[Clark] Two Canadian producers
came to me and said,
898
00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:16,113
"We're getting ready to do a musical
variety show, not unlike Laugh-In.
899
00:46:16,147 --> 00:46:17,649
Would you be interested?"
900
00:46:17,681 --> 00:46:19,417
Well, I found out early in life
901
00:46:19,450 --> 00:46:20,886
that you say yes to everything.
902
00:46:20,919 --> 00:46:22,988
[Halsey] When "Hee Haw"
came out,
903
00:46:23,020 --> 00:46:26,290
country music had been trying to
get away from the bales of hay
904
00:46:26,323 --> 00:46:28,058
and the cornbread image.
905
00:46:28,091 --> 00:46:31,095
And everybody said this
will just be a disaster.
906
00:46:31,129 --> 00:46:33,431
[Clark] The critics screamed.
They thought it was
907
00:46:33,464 --> 00:46:35,433
the worst piece of trash
they'd ever seen.
908
00:46:35,466 --> 00:46:39,471
But country music fans said,
"At last here's something
909
00:46:39,504 --> 00:46:41,940
that I can identify with."
910
00:46:41,973 --> 00:46:44,042
[Halsey] It was visual,
911
00:46:44,075 --> 00:46:46,310
and you didn't have to be an
intellectual to understand it.
912
00:46:46,343 --> 00:46:49,313
It was just one thing, right after
another, one cut right after another.
913
00:46:49,346 --> 00:46:52,249
Bam, bam, bam.
Ha, ha. Music.
914
00:46:52,283 --> 00:46:55,453
A funny look. Then we'd pop
out of the cornfield.
915
00:46:55,486 --> 00:46:57,922
Hee-haw!
916
00:46:57,955 --> 00:47:01,191
[Clark] I was hosting with
Buck Owens and I don't think
917
00:47:01,225 --> 00:47:03,694
any other combination
would have been the same.
918
00:47:03,727 --> 00:47:06,563
Looky here, Roy, we got
something that says "Hee Haw."
919
00:47:06,596 --> 00:47:10,435
[Clark] Because Buck had the radio
play, and sold records.
920
00:47:10,468 --> 00:47:12,370
And I was known on television.
921
00:47:12,402 --> 00:47:15,172
So the two of us brought in
two different audiences.
922
00:47:15,205 --> 00:47:17,441
[Halsey] "Hee Haw" was the
hottest show in the country.
923
00:47:17,475 --> 00:47:20,978
And that brought a lot of people
to like country music
924
00:47:21,011 --> 00:47:23,547
that never before even thought
about country music.
925
00:47:23,580 --> 00:47:27,184
[Clark] We were on CBS
for two and a half seasons.
926
00:47:27,218 --> 00:47:29,687
And "Hee Haw" was still
high in the ratings.
927
00:47:29,721 --> 00:47:33,992
But CBS started complaining
about its hillbilly image.
928
00:47:34,024 --> 00:47:37,361
They said it's not the audience
that our sponsors want to see.
929
00:47:37,395 --> 00:47:40,265
We have to get rid of it.
So they took "Green Acres,"
930
00:47:40,297 --> 00:47:44,535
"Beverly Hillbillies,"
and "Hee Haw" and let us all go.
931
00:47:44,569 --> 00:47:46,738
Hee-haw!
932
00:47:46,770 --> 00:47:49,406
[Halsey] But that wasn't
the end of "Hee Haw."
933
00:47:49,439 --> 00:47:53,744
They syndicated the show and it actually had a
bigger audience than when it was on the network,
934
00:47:53,777 --> 00:47:55,546
because they were on
more stations.
935
00:47:55,580 --> 00:47:58,248
And all of a sudden,
country music was everywhere.
936
00:47:58,281 --> 00:48:01,719
It was really exceptional. They always
had three or four guests every week.
937
00:48:01,752 --> 00:48:06,457
And they got all the top people,
Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash.
938
00:48:06,491 --> 00:48:09,027
[Clark] Willie did it.
Merle Haggard.
939
00:48:09,060 --> 00:48:11,328
In fact, a lot of the big stars
today got their break
940
00:48:11,361 --> 00:48:14,565
and their first national
exposure on "Hee Haw."
941
00:48:14,598 --> 00:48:18,236
And we just grew. We were in
production for 28 years.
942
00:48:18,268 --> 00:48:21,705
- [caws]
- Some people felt it was insulting
943
00:48:21,739 --> 00:48:24,509
and set country music back, but
there was a part of "Hee Haw"
944
00:48:24,542 --> 00:48:27,379
that was really great for country
because it was in every home,
945
00:48:27,411 --> 00:48:30,748
because it exposed so many artists,
and because it was so popular.
946
00:48:30,781 --> 00:48:34,118
[Halsey] "Hee Haw" made people laugh.
It made people feel better.
947
00:48:34,152 --> 00:48:35,620
That was the power
of that show.
948
00:48:35,652 --> 00:48:37,455
[Clark] We never hurt anyone.
949
00:48:37,488 --> 00:48:39,524
We had nothing to gain
except saying
950
00:48:39,556 --> 00:48:43,194
we'll put on the corny stuff,
let's you and I have some fun.
951
00:48:43,227 --> 00:48:46,464
And everywhere you went,
people would say, "I'm a pickin',"
952
00:48:46,497 --> 00:48:49,201
and I would say,
"Well, I'm a grinnin'."
953
00:48:52,669 --> 00:48:58,375
In the 1970s, the look and sound
of country music started changing.
954
00:48:58,408 --> 00:49:01,645
And when I was a kid,
Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours
955
00:49:01,678 --> 00:49:06,050
came to my hometown county fair
wearing matching pink cowboy suits.
956
00:49:06,084 --> 00:49:09,286
It was hillbilly Hollywood,
and it was beautiful.
957
00:49:09,319 --> 00:49:13,357
But Nudie suits were out of style
and kind of an embarrassment
958
00:49:13,390 --> 00:49:16,360
to the new image
of modern country music.
959
00:49:16,393 --> 00:49:18,196
I'm thinking,
"This is not right.
960
00:49:18,228 --> 00:49:20,832
Somebody needs to
be taking pictures."
961
00:49:20,864 --> 00:49:24,636
Photography was almost
parallel to music to me.
962
00:49:24,669 --> 00:49:27,404
As a kid, I started
when I was 12 years old
963
00:49:27,437 --> 00:49:32,109
playing bluegrass festivals,
and then I played in Lester Flatt's band.
964
00:49:32,143 --> 00:49:35,413
His peers were Roy Acuff,
Bill Monroe, String Bean.
965
00:49:35,446 --> 00:49:37,649
And when we would
go on the road,
966
00:49:37,681 --> 00:49:39,350
these characters
would all be together.
967
00:49:39,382 --> 00:49:41,085
It looked like history
in motion.
968
00:49:41,118 --> 00:49:43,254
And nobody seemed to ever
have a camera.
969
00:49:43,286 --> 00:49:46,256
So I just simply started
to photograph the proceedings,
970
00:49:46,290 --> 00:49:47,659
because I was there.
971
00:49:47,692 --> 00:49:49,694
And I fell
in love with photography.
972
00:49:49,727 --> 00:49:52,797
The images from that time
are very precious,
973
00:49:52,830 --> 00:49:55,533
because in the late '70s
and early '80s,
974
00:49:55,565 --> 00:49:58,203
the old sound, the old look
of country music
975
00:49:58,236 --> 00:49:59,871
was kind of having
to fight for its life.
976
00:49:59,904 --> 00:50:02,407
Because the Urban Cowboy thing
had come in so strong.
977
00:50:02,439 --> 00:50:07,878
[Pecknold] Urban Cowboy represented
a new version of country
978
00:50:07,911 --> 00:50:12,116
that was younger,
that was club-based and dance-based.
979
00:50:12,149 --> 00:50:14,285
It set off the line dance craze
980
00:50:14,317 --> 00:50:17,589
and showed that that Southern
image, that identity,
981
00:50:17,622 --> 00:50:19,524
could be exported anywhere.
982
00:50:19,556 --> 00:50:22,493
[McCall] And all of a sudden,
guys in New York
983
00:50:22,527 --> 00:50:25,296
were buying cowboy boots and
wanted to learn how to two-step.
984
00:50:25,328 --> 00:50:27,798
Country music was appealing
to a lot of people
985
00:50:27,832 --> 00:50:30,335
who hadn't thought of themselves
as country fans,
986
00:50:30,368 --> 00:50:32,270
and records were selling
bigger than ever.
987
00:50:32,303 --> 00:50:34,471
[Gatlin] You had
the term crossover.
988
00:50:34,504 --> 00:50:37,575
When a record got so hot,
that not just country folks
989
00:50:37,607 --> 00:50:39,376
wanted to hear it,
other people wanted to hear it.
990
00:50:39,410 --> 00:50:41,245
And so country singers
crossed over
991
00:50:41,279 --> 00:50:44,516
from the country charts and the
pop radio stations would play them.
992
00:50:44,549 --> 00:50:48,486
There were people like Glenn
Campbell and Dottie West.
993
00:50:48,518 --> 00:50:52,156
Later, Ronnie Milsap.
And it blossomed.
994
00:50:52,189 --> 00:50:57,461
♪ Smoky Mountain rain
keeps on falling ♪
995
00:50:57,495 --> 00:51:01,866
♪ I keep on calling ♪
996
00:51:01,899 --> 00:51:05,737
♪ Her name ♪
997
00:51:05,770 --> 00:51:09,407
[Milsap] Crossover was kind of
a nasty word back then.
998
00:51:09,439 --> 00:51:12,743
I wasn't trying to make
crossover records.
999
00:51:12,777 --> 00:51:15,513
But once I had my first
million-seller single,
1000
00:51:15,546 --> 00:51:18,716
I thought my music
is in a different place.
1001
00:51:18,748 --> 00:51:21,218
The country fans like it,
1002
00:51:21,252 --> 00:51:24,255
people who like all kinds
of music like it too.
1003
00:51:24,288 --> 00:51:28,359
And I always loved
playing all kinds of music.
1004
00:51:28,392 --> 00:51:32,797
It started just because I heard
records on the radio.
1005
00:51:32,830 --> 00:51:36,668
I grew up in the Smoky Mountains
of North Carolina.
1006
00:51:36,701 --> 00:51:40,572
My mother did not want
to raise a blind child.
1007
00:51:40,605 --> 00:51:42,840
It could be that she
didn't really know how.
1008
00:51:42,872 --> 00:51:46,443
So I was raised
by my grandparents.
1009
00:51:46,477 --> 00:51:48,413
I learned Braille
when I was six.
1010
00:51:48,446 --> 00:51:50,982
I learned violin
when I was seven,
1011
00:51:51,015 --> 00:51:52,750
piano at eight.
1012
00:51:52,783 --> 00:51:55,353
I had a musical aptitude.
1013
00:51:55,386 --> 00:51:59,357
And any song that I could hear,
I could play it.
1014
00:51:59,390 --> 00:52:02,393
So I came out of school
wanting to make these things
1015
00:52:02,426 --> 00:52:05,462
that I was hearing
on the radio called records.
1016
00:52:05,495 --> 00:52:09,834
I started out as a R&B singer
in Memphis,
1017
00:52:09,866 --> 00:52:15,272
and had a top five hit
on the first record we put out.
1018
00:52:15,306 --> 00:52:17,842
But Charley Pride heard me sing
and he said,
1019
00:52:17,875 --> 00:52:20,411
"I can tell from listening
to your voice,
1020
00:52:20,444 --> 00:52:21,879
"you are a country singer.
1021
00:52:21,911 --> 00:52:23,814
You need to move to Nashville."
1022
00:52:23,848 --> 00:52:28,018
So I signed a contract
with Charley Pride's manager,
1023
00:52:28,051 --> 00:52:32,457
and he went right to the president of
RCA, Jerry Bradley.
1024
00:52:32,489 --> 00:52:36,627
And Jerry said, "We know Ronnie Milsap.
He's not a country singer."
1025
00:52:36,660 --> 00:52:40,430
But he listened to my demos
and said, "You know what?
1026
00:52:40,464 --> 00:52:42,500
That SOB can sing country."
1027
00:52:42,533 --> 00:52:45,536
And all of a sudden,
I'm on RCA Records.
1028
00:52:45,569 --> 00:52:47,939
That's the record label
of Charley Pride,
1029
00:52:47,971 --> 00:52:50,440
of Elvis Presley.
1030
00:52:50,473 --> 00:52:53,277
I loved making records.
1031
00:52:53,310 --> 00:52:56,480
But there's something phenomenal
about doing a live show.
1032
00:52:56,513 --> 00:53:00,617
My style is always make sure
that when I go out onstage,
1033
00:53:00,651 --> 00:53:04,022
that I look presentable
with a lot of rhinestones
1034
00:53:04,055 --> 00:53:06,991
and all kinds of pretty designs.
1035
00:53:07,024 --> 00:53:10,627
It costs a lot of money to dress like
that, but that's part of my image.
1036
00:53:10,660 --> 00:53:13,563
The fans expect it
and they deserve it.
1037
00:53:13,596 --> 00:53:18,502
And the fans know exactly
what you're supposed to be.
1038
00:53:18,535 --> 00:53:21,038
I was worried about being
a crossover artist,
1039
00:53:21,071 --> 00:53:26,009
and I walked that line a lot,
every record I put out.
1040
00:53:26,042 --> 00:53:29,546
Country fans, they don't want
you to stray from country.
1041
00:53:29,580 --> 00:53:33,484
But you can't be afraid
to try something new
1042
00:53:33,517 --> 00:53:36,087
because your intuition
may be right.
1043
00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:39,824
♪ You got to know
when to hold 'em ♪
1044
00:53:39,857 --> 00:53:41,959
♪ Know when to fold 'em ♪
1045
00:53:41,991 --> 00:53:45,363
[Rogers] I took a lot of flak
for taking country music pop.
1046
00:53:45,395 --> 00:53:48,765
But I'm a country artist with a
lot of other musical influences.
1047
00:53:48,799 --> 00:53:52,904
And I've never worn
a cowboy hat in my life.
1048
00:53:52,937 --> 00:53:56,607
I was the first artist
to work large venues
1049
00:53:56,640 --> 00:53:59,009
with lots of production.
1050
00:53:59,042 --> 00:54:01,945
I was wearing three-piece suits,
white suits,
1051
00:54:01,978 --> 00:54:04,348
and it wasn't an attempt
to be bizarre.
1052
00:54:04,381 --> 00:54:06,550
It was just where I was
comfortable at the time.
1053
00:54:06,584 --> 00:54:12,357
And I think I was resented for taking
it away from that country base.
1054
00:54:12,390 --> 00:54:15,660
But country music is
what country people will buy.
1055
00:54:15,692 --> 00:54:18,095
And you can't do what
everybody else is doing.
1056
00:54:18,129 --> 00:54:21,565
♪ When the deal is done ♪
1057
00:54:21,598 --> 00:54:24,901
You develop styles
in this business
1058
00:54:24,935 --> 00:54:27,038
by listening to what people say.
1059
00:54:27,071 --> 00:54:29,607
It's like "Islands
in the Stream."
1060
00:54:29,640 --> 00:54:31,776
Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees
wrote that song.
1061
00:54:31,808 --> 00:54:33,777
Then I agreed to cut it.
But he said,
1062
00:54:33,810 --> 00:54:35,546
"You know what we need?
We need Dolly Parton."
1063
00:54:35,578 --> 00:54:37,981
♪ Islands in the stream ♪
1064
00:54:38,015 --> 00:54:39,984
♪ That is what we are ♪
1065
00:54:40,017 --> 00:54:42,620
♪ No one in between ♪
1066
00:54:42,652 --> 00:54:45,922
♪ How can we be wrong? ♪
1067
00:54:45,955 --> 00:54:48,125
I didn't really know her
at the time.
1068
00:54:48,158 --> 00:54:51,461
But once she walked in,
that song was never the same.
1069
00:54:51,495 --> 00:54:56,901
We both just kind of locked in
to each other.
1070
00:54:56,933 --> 00:55:00,404
Your image will
attract attention,
1071
00:55:00,437 --> 00:55:03,073
but then you have to sell it
with the music.
1072
00:55:03,107 --> 00:55:06,177
If you give me a song
that touches me,
1073
00:55:06,210 --> 00:55:08,746
I can make it touch
somebody else.
1074
00:55:08,779 --> 00:55:10,448
Country is where the heart is.
1075
00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:12,984
And in country music
if it hurts, you say it hurts,
1076
00:55:13,017 --> 00:55:18,723
and I saw the value to simple songs
with lyrics that had something to say.
1077
00:55:18,756 --> 00:55:22,960
I don't wanna just sing words.
Because it's not a song, it's a story.
1078
00:55:22,993 --> 00:55:27,864
When people hear "The Gambler," they realize
that's a great way to live your life.
1079
00:55:27,897 --> 00:55:30,834
Know when to walk away
and know when to run.
1080
00:55:30,868 --> 00:55:33,904
We're all three people.
I'm who I think I am,
1081
00:55:33,937 --> 00:55:37,674
I'm who you think I am,
and I'm who I really am.
1082
00:55:37,707 --> 00:55:42,579
And throughout my whole career,
I tried to stay true to who I was.
1083
00:55:42,613 --> 00:55:44,982
[Tanya Tucker] What makes us
beautiful is our differences.
1084
00:55:45,015 --> 00:55:50,187
♪ Delta Dawn, what's that
flower you have on? ♪
1085
00:55:50,221 --> 00:55:52,089
I got started early.
1086
00:55:52,122 --> 00:55:55,493
I was a 13-year-old kid
when I recorded "Delta Dawn."
1087
00:55:55,526 --> 00:55:59,830
And my producer said, "I don't want anybody
to know that this girl's 13 years old.
1088
00:55:59,864 --> 00:56:02,600
'Cause this is a great record.
We don't want a freak show."
1089
00:56:02,632 --> 00:56:06,504
But that song was meant to be.
1090
00:56:06,536 --> 00:56:11,209
Growing up, everybody called me
the female Elvis.
1091
00:56:11,241 --> 00:56:14,711
And I thought country music
should be bigger than it was.
1092
00:56:14,745 --> 00:56:16,547
I wanted to take it
to another place.
1093
00:56:16,580 --> 00:56:18,549
But I loved to have fun.
1094
00:56:18,582 --> 00:56:21,518
And when I moved to LA,
I started drinking.
1095
00:56:21,551 --> 00:56:23,254
The party didn't start
till I got there.
1096
00:56:23,286 --> 00:56:24,622
♪ When I die ♪
1097
00:56:24,654 --> 00:56:26,556
That's when I did the TNT album.
1098
00:56:26,589 --> 00:56:28,225
♪ I may not go to heaven ♪
1099
00:56:28,259 --> 00:56:30,962
It was a bad deal
all the way around.
1100
00:56:30,995 --> 00:56:33,531
I've got a bunch of 'em,
bad reviews.
1101
00:56:33,564 --> 00:56:34,966
They didn't like the music,
1102
00:56:34,998 --> 00:56:37,267
and especially didn't like
the pictures.
1103
00:56:37,301 --> 00:56:40,171
I didn't even notice the microphone
cord was between my legs.
1104
00:56:40,203 --> 00:56:42,973
My manager puts an ad
in Hustler magazine.
1105
00:56:43,006 --> 00:56:46,943
Said this album is so good,
it's gonna get your ears hard.
1106
00:56:46,977 --> 00:56:50,181
But if I had been involved,
I don't think I'd approve that.
1107
00:56:50,214 --> 00:56:53,918
I became known as the bad girl
of country music.
1108
00:56:53,951 --> 00:56:55,786
A lot of people said,
"She's outside the box."
1109
00:56:55,819 --> 00:56:57,654
And I said, "Shit, I've been
trying to get in the box
1110
00:56:57,687 --> 00:57:00,991
for I don't know how long.
Where is the box?"
1111
00:57:01,024 --> 00:57:03,093
But I am country.
1112
00:57:03,127 --> 00:57:06,596
And people have said,
"Your music helped me through
1113
00:57:06,629 --> 00:57:09,700
some of the worst times."
The voice is the gift.
1114
00:57:09,732 --> 00:57:15,171
And I'm just singing the songs
best I know how.
1115
00:57:15,205 --> 00:57:18,009
[Horenstein] People feel very
close to country music,
1116
00:57:18,042 --> 00:57:21,178
and they feel that they
could be that person onstage.
1117
00:57:21,210 --> 00:57:25,248
But you go to a rock and roll show,
there's no way you're gonna be that person.
1118
00:57:25,281 --> 00:57:27,984
[Diltz] I think a lot of rock
guys wanted to play the guitar
1119
00:57:28,018 --> 00:57:30,121
to meet girls
and go on the road.
1120
00:57:30,154 --> 00:57:33,690
But it seemed like country
musicians are a little more serious.
1121
00:57:33,723 --> 00:57:37,160
I'm comfortable shooting
musicians because I'm a musician
1122
00:57:37,194 --> 00:57:39,931
in my heart and a photographer
in my head.
1123
00:57:39,964 --> 00:57:45,969
I first picked up a camera in '66 on
the road with my folk singing group,
1124
00:57:46,002 --> 00:57:47,971
the Modern Folk Quartet.
1125
00:57:48,004 --> 00:57:50,740
We stopped at a little store
in East Lansing, Michigan,
1126
00:57:50,774 --> 00:57:52,910
and bought these
secondhand cameras
1127
00:57:52,942 --> 00:57:56,647
and started taking pictures of
each other and whatever we saw.
1128
00:57:56,680 --> 00:57:59,817
When I got back to LA,
I had a slideshow
1129
00:57:59,850 --> 00:58:03,921
and it was amazing to see
these images huge on the wall.
1130
00:58:03,953 --> 00:58:05,589
That got me hooked.
1131
00:58:05,622 --> 00:58:08,592
So I started photographing
my friends
1132
00:58:08,625 --> 00:58:10,995
who were virtually
all musicians.
1133
00:58:11,027 --> 00:58:14,098
Stephen Stills,
Neil Young,
1134
00:58:14,131 --> 00:58:17,067
Joni Mitchell playing
a mountain dulcimer.
1135
00:58:18,669 --> 00:58:20,638
[country music plays]
1136
00:58:20,671 --> 00:58:23,107
My favorite way of photographing
is the fly on the wall
1137
00:58:23,140 --> 00:58:27,044
to try to get candid shots and
see what was really happening.
1138
00:58:27,076 --> 00:58:30,080
JD Souther was
a terrific songwriter
1139
00:58:30,114 --> 00:58:33,150
and his girlfriend at the time
was Linda Ronstadt.
1140
00:58:33,183 --> 00:58:36,887
I photographed Linda
very early on.
1141
00:58:36,919 --> 00:58:41,157
She did a concert in LA singing
harmony with Emmylou Harris.
1142
00:58:41,190 --> 00:58:44,160
I photographed Emmylou
at the Troubadour
1143
00:58:44,194 --> 00:58:47,331
and hanging out in
the San Fernando Valley.
1144
00:58:47,364 --> 00:58:51,202
Glen Campbell had his own television
show, "The Glen Campbell Show."
1145
00:58:51,234 --> 00:58:54,204
And I was on the other side
of the dressing room
1146
00:58:54,238 --> 00:58:56,406
sneaking little candid shots.
1147
00:58:56,439 --> 00:58:59,776
I don't feel like
I make photographs.
1148
00:58:59,810 --> 00:59:01,344
I'm just lucky enough
to be the guy there
1149
00:59:01,377 --> 00:59:03,881
to push the button
to grab that moment.
1150
00:59:03,913 --> 00:59:08,752
Kris Kristofferson was
recording an album in Colorado,
1151
00:59:08,785 --> 00:59:11,755
and I'm looking for that moment
when they really shine,
1152
00:59:11,788 --> 00:59:13,790
and then catch it as it happens.
1153
00:59:13,823 --> 00:59:18,261
Even the stuff you do on stage,
that's all lit and very exciting.
1154
00:59:18,294 --> 00:59:23,233
But I'm looking for the person to look
the way I think they look the best.
1155
00:59:23,267 --> 00:59:25,835
And I get to pick the moment.
1156
00:59:25,868 --> 00:59:29,873
In the '80s, I ended up doing a
lot of work with Capitol Records.
1157
00:59:29,906 --> 00:59:32,977
And they had a new artist
named Garth Brooks.
1158
00:59:33,009 --> 00:59:36,113
[Brooks] I'm an average Joe
from Oklahoma.
1159
00:59:36,145 --> 00:59:38,682
And I just wanted to be George Strait.
That's all I wanted to do.
1160
00:59:38,716 --> 00:59:42,453
Pictures capture some of the
biggest highlights of my life.
1161
00:59:42,486 --> 00:59:45,321
[Diltz] When I work with Garth,
I can go anywhere.
1162
00:59:45,355 --> 00:59:48,359
And that's fantastic when you get
all these great vantage points.
1163
00:59:48,392 --> 00:59:52,797
Like standing out on the edge
of the stage from behind.
1164
00:59:52,830 --> 00:59:54,864
[Brooks] When a photographer
captures you,
1165
00:59:54,897 --> 00:59:58,035
and all you see are people
and the New York skyline,
1166
00:59:58,067 --> 00:59:59,969
that picture is the truth.
1167
01:00:00,002 --> 01:00:03,239
You can feel everything
that people were there felt.
1168
01:00:03,272 --> 01:00:06,376
[Diltz] A lot of country artists have
a microphone and they stand there,
1169
01:00:06,410 --> 01:00:09,080
they play the guitar, and they
don't move around a lot.
1170
01:00:09,113 --> 01:00:12,216
Garth Brooks never stands
in one place.
1171
01:00:12,248 --> 01:00:14,884
He'd be standing right here,
I put a wide angle and look up.
1172
01:00:14,917 --> 01:00:17,887
Oh, he's over there now!
Now I gotta switch to a telephoto.
1173
01:00:17,921 --> 01:00:21,058
By the time I get that out,
he's back on that side.
1174
01:00:21,091 --> 01:00:24,328
He did crazy things
like smash guitars,
1175
01:00:24,361 --> 01:00:26,763
get bottles of water
and shake 'em all over.
1176
01:00:26,797 --> 01:00:31,736
Then the good stuff happens. He'd
climb the rigging and swing on a rope.
1177
01:00:31,768 --> 01:00:35,305
- It was amazing.
- [Brooks] The arms were out, legs were moving.
1178
01:00:35,339 --> 01:00:38,875
If there was a cowboy hat in the
shot, even if it was blurred,
1179
01:00:38,908 --> 01:00:40,910
that meant movement.
1180
01:00:40,944 --> 01:00:45,882
That action symbolized
what we stood for.
1181
01:00:45,915 --> 01:00:49,252
[McCall] A decade before,
cowboy hats had been out of fashion.
1182
01:00:49,285 --> 01:00:52,789
The only guys in cowboy hats were
Hank Williams Jr., Charlie Daniels.
1183
01:00:52,823 --> 01:00:54,357
Guys who weren't really
mainstream country.
1184
01:00:54,390 --> 01:00:56,826
When George Strait came along
in the early '80s,
1185
01:00:56,859 --> 01:01:01,131
he was wearing a cowboy hat and by
the late '80s, it became iconic again.
1186
01:01:01,165 --> 01:01:04,268
It became the hat era.
And all the guys were wearing hats.
1187
01:01:04,301 --> 01:01:07,837
Dwight Yoakam, Clint Black,
Alan Jackson.
1188
01:01:07,870 --> 01:01:10,940
Somebody in the music business
said, "When you get a record deal,
1189
01:01:10,973 --> 01:01:14,812
you need to wear that hat. There is
no girl doing that Be the first one."
1190
01:01:14,844 --> 01:01:17,480
And when I first got signed,
I wore the hat in,
1191
01:01:17,513 --> 01:01:20,216
and my manger, he said,
"They're not really sure."
1192
01:01:20,250 --> 01:01:23,888
Well, I think I should wear it. I think they're
crazy if they make me wear spike heels.
1193
01:01:23,921 --> 01:01:26,457
I would've looked like I
was in drag walking in that.
1194
01:01:26,489 --> 01:01:29,794
It would have been ridiculous.
And it's become a big part of my image.
1195
01:01:29,826 --> 01:01:32,129
If there was anybody
that didn't know my name,
1196
01:01:32,161 --> 01:01:36,033
and somebody said, "The girl in
the hat," "Oh, I know who that is."
1197
01:01:38,301 --> 01:01:42,138
[LeAnn Rimes] I don't think the image
of me could have ever matched my voice.
1198
01:01:42,172 --> 01:01:46,010
I've been in this business for 20
years, and when you start as a child,
1199
01:01:46,042 --> 01:01:48,845
your image evolves so much.
1200
01:01:48,879 --> 01:01:50,581
In the '90s, I dressed
like a teenager.
1201
01:01:50,614 --> 01:01:53,150
I had really big hair
and big bangs.
1202
01:01:53,183 --> 01:01:56,887
By the time I was 18,
I started to be a little more fashionable
1203
01:01:56,919 --> 01:01:59,522
because country music
was going a little more pop,
1204
01:01:59,556 --> 01:02:02,159
and the image changed with that.
1205
01:02:02,192 --> 01:02:06,230
People like Reba took country music
to a different kind of sophistication.
1206
01:02:06,263 --> 01:02:08,431
First nominee is Reba McEntire.
1207
01:02:08,464 --> 01:02:10,133
[Rimes] I think
of the red dress.
1208
01:02:10,167 --> 01:02:12,036
[Sandi Spika Borchetta]
I designed that dress.
1209
01:02:12,069 --> 01:02:15,005
And the lighting
enhanced the cleavage.
1210
01:02:15,038 --> 01:02:19,476
People gasped and I didn't know if
I was gonna have a job the next day.
1211
01:02:19,509 --> 01:02:23,013
Reba received more press
from the red dress
1212
01:02:23,046 --> 01:02:25,082
than if she would
have won an award.
1213
01:02:25,114 --> 01:02:27,350
[Pecknold] Reba McEntire
is famous for having
1214
01:02:27,384 --> 01:02:29,987
15 costume changes
in a single show
1215
01:02:30,020 --> 01:02:32,022
with some of
the changes happening onstage
1216
01:02:32,055 --> 01:02:33,890
while she's surrounded
by dancers.
1217
01:02:33,924 --> 01:02:36,393
And as it becomes apparent,
by the early '90s,
1218
01:02:36,426 --> 01:02:38,261
what a big business
country music is,
1219
01:02:38,294 --> 01:02:40,163
women are becoming
more visible
1220
01:02:40,196 --> 01:02:42,632
and Reba began
the transformation
1221
01:02:42,665 --> 01:02:46,169
that you see later
with Shania Twain or Faith Hill,
1222
01:02:46,203 --> 01:02:51,242
where they are taking on
the style of rock and pop stars.
1223
01:02:51,274 --> 01:02:53,977
[Borchetta] Country singers were
now wearing higher fashion.
1224
01:02:54,011 --> 01:02:58,148
They were more trendy and started
gaining attention from designers
1225
01:02:58,181 --> 01:03:00,017
who would then
loan them clothes.
1226
01:03:00,049 --> 01:03:02,952
And the image of the artist
became more important
1227
01:03:02,986 --> 01:03:04,555
than it had been.
1228
01:03:04,587 --> 01:03:06,990
[Lorrie Morgan] If I feel like
wearing something, I wear it.
1229
01:03:07,024 --> 01:03:10,194
If I feel like looking
a certain way, I just do it.
1230
01:03:10,227 --> 01:03:12,562
And I don't follow rules
very well at all.
1231
01:03:12,596 --> 01:03:15,332
And that's got me in trouble
many times in my life.
1232
01:03:15,364 --> 01:03:18,468
Because I have always been the
one who wore the too-short dress
1233
01:03:18,502 --> 01:03:21,672
or showed too much cleavage,
so the record labels
1234
01:03:21,705 --> 01:03:25,409
gave me the real short haircut
to try and make me sultry.
1235
01:03:25,442 --> 01:03:29,413
And then I would get too sultry and
they'd have to pull the reigns back.
1236
01:03:29,446 --> 01:03:33,017
[Stuart] Everybody has
their own image.
1237
01:03:33,049 --> 01:03:37,620
And that's the beauty of coming from
a rural area like so many of us did.
1238
01:03:37,654 --> 01:03:42,626
Country boys and girls can kind of make it
up as you go. We're self-made characters.
1239
01:03:42,658 --> 01:03:46,296
[Smith] Grandpa Jones wouldn't have
been Grandpa Jones without his hat.
1240
01:03:46,330 --> 01:03:50,366
Or String Bean without the pants
down to here, without his long shirt.
1241
01:03:50,399 --> 01:03:51,935
That was part of their image.
1242
01:03:51,968 --> 01:03:54,003
[Cooper] These artists
were very aware
1243
01:03:54,036 --> 01:03:56,540
that the way they looked
was part of the show.
1244
01:03:56,573 --> 01:03:59,410
And that was included
in the price of the ticket.
1245
01:03:59,442 --> 01:04:02,613
And they worked hand in hand
with people like Nudie
1246
01:04:02,645 --> 01:04:06,249
and later on Manuel
to craft their image.
1247
01:04:06,283 --> 01:04:10,353
[Manuel] People wanted to see a
show, but if you don't see something
1248
01:04:10,386 --> 01:04:13,489
that you have not seen before,
why spend the 20 dollars
1249
01:04:13,522 --> 01:04:16,559
or the thousand dollars
for the front seat?
1250
01:04:16,593 --> 01:04:21,198
I worked for Nudie for 14 years
before I went on my own.
1251
01:04:21,230 --> 01:04:23,600
I grew up with ranchera music
in Mexico.
1252
01:04:23,632 --> 01:04:27,370
So I was very familiar with the
meaning of country music.
1253
01:04:27,404 --> 01:04:30,708
And it was through country music
I knew Nashville.
1254
01:04:30,741 --> 01:04:35,579
I came here because Nashville
was Music City, USA.
1255
01:04:35,611 --> 01:04:39,015
I was trying to make
one-of-a-kind clothes.
1256
01:04:39,049 --> 01:04:41,552
That's my mission
from day one.
1257
01:04:41,585 --> 01:04:43,554
They are all originals.
1258
01:04:43,587 --> 01:04:47,658
And nobody has escaped the
rhinestones by Manuel, I don't think.
1259
01:04:47,690 --> 01:04:50,259
To be a star is difficult.
1260
01:04:50,292 --> 01:04:53,497
So I say, let me make you
a suit that you love.
1261
01:04:53,529 --> 01:04:57,167
That's made for you.
So when they go onstage,
1262
01:04:57,200 --> 01:05:01,571
they feel confident to be the
stars that they really are.
1263
01:05:01,605 --> 01:05:04,141
[Morgan] It just
makes you better,
1264
01:05:04,174 --> 01:05:06,343
because you feel better
about how you look.
1265
01:05:06,375 --> 01:05:09,245
You know, I've got
a Manuel jacket on tonight
1266
01:05:09,279 --> 01:05:11,448
and I'm gonna sing my ass off.
1267
01:05:11,480 --> 01:05:14,584
- Oh, my baby.
- Manuel. Mm.
1268
01:05:14,618 --> 01:05:17,353
[Morgan] When you come in
to get a fitting with Manuel,
1269
01:05:17,386 --> 01:05:20,256
you can't be modest
1270
01:05:20,290 --> 01:05:23,259
because he has to measure
every part of you.
1271
01:05:23,292 --> 01:05:26,095
- 36 and a half.
- He's the one that measures you.
1272
01:05:26,129 --> 01:05:28,565
And he's the one
that makes your image.
1273
01:05:28,598 --> 01:05:32,069
- Look what I got for you.
- Oh, my God!
1274
01:05:32,102 --> 01:05:33,469
Manuel!
1275
01:05:33,502 --> 01:05:35,805
Pink is my favorite color.
1276
01:05:35,839 --> 01:05:38,174
I love everything
about these boots.
1277
01:05:38,207 --> 01:05:42,311
I can wear them with everything.
Yeah!
1278
01:05:42,344 --> 01:05:45,649
Or nothing at all.
1279
01:05:45,681 --> 01:05:48,752
[Terri Clark] Growing up, I always
saw the women with the great big hair
1280
01:05:48,785 --> 01:05:52,288
and the sparkly earrings
and jewelry, evening gowns.
1281
01:05:52,321 --> 01:05:54,624
And it definitely evolved
over the years.
1282
01:05:54,658 --> 01:05:56,794
But there was still
that classic look.
1283
01:05:56,826 --> 01:06:01,397
The greatest women, their images
convey who they are truly.
1284
01:06:01,431 --> 01:06:03,801
And it's authentic.
1285
01:06:03,834 --> 01:06:08,138
When I started out, people tried
to look through me to see my dad.
1286
01:06:08,171 --> 01:06:12,142
So it was important for me
to craft my own self.
1287
01:06:12,174 --> 01:06:15,578
But in the beginning,
when I was first signed to a record label,
1288
01:06:15,611 --> 01:06:18,181
there was this meeting
about my image.
1289
01:06:18,214 --> 01:06:22,318
And the head of marketing said,
"We just have to make her look fuckable."
1290
01:06:22,352 --> 01:06:25,589
I was shocked. I mean, I shouldn't
have been shocked, but I really was.
1291
01:06:25,622 --> 01:06:29,292
You know, I was really confident
about the music I wanted to make.
1292
01:06:29,326 --> 01:06:31,695
And this is what
it boiled down to?
1293
01:06:31,727 --> 01:06:33,863
And I didn't play along.
1294
01:06:33,897 --> 01:06:37,201
We're judged very
quickly on image.
1295
01:06:37,234 --> 01:06:43,140
But I want the image on an album cover
to say something about what's inside.
1296
01:06:43,172 --> 01:06:47,877
That's always the goal. And it's a
collaboration with the photographer.
1297
01:06:47,910 --> 01:06:52,548
[Rogers] Music is very subliminal.
And photography is obviously visual.
1298
01:06:52,582 --> 01:06:55,451
It's a way of exposing yourself.
1299
01:06:55,484 --> 01:06:57,887
I've never done drugs,
I don't drink, I don't smoke.
1300
01:06:57,921 --> 01:06:59,589
I take pictures.
1301
01:06:59,622 --> 01:07:02,258
When I was at the peak
of my career, I took a picture
1302
01:07:02,292 --> 01:07:04,361
and someone said,
"Wow, that's a great picture."
1303
01:07:04,393 --> 01:07:06,562
I thought, really? I don't
even know what I'm doing.
1304
01:07:06,596 --> 01:07:10,334
So I hired a professional
photographer to teach me the tricks.
1305
01:07:10,366 --> 01:07:12,335
And it was just fascinating.
1306
01:07:12,368 --> 01:07:15,905
I love to shoot people,
and obviously I love country artists.
1307
01:07:15,939 --> 01:07:18,274
And photography gave me
a chance to get to know
1308
01:07:18,308 --> 01:07:20,710
some of these people
that I'd never met before.
1309
01:07:20,743 --> 01:07:26,582
I shot people like Faith Hill,
Brad Paisley, Martina McBride.
1310
01:07:26,616 --> 01:07:31,622
And as a photographer, you really
do get a chance to feel their soul,
1311
01:07:31,654 --> 01:07:33,890
feel what they're all about.
1312
01:07:33,924 --> 01:07:35,692
And it's magical.
1313
01:07:35,725 --> 01:07:37,828
[Urban] Photography
can say an enormous amount.
1314
01:07:37,861 --> 01:07:41,565
But one of the least enjoyable
things to me is doing a photo shoot.
1315
01:07:41,598 --> 01:07:45,469
When I came to Nashville, I was already
an established artist in Australia.
1316
01:07:45,502 --> 01:07:49,640
I had my look and my sound.
But I was completely out of sync
1317
01:07:49,672 --> 01:07:51,808
with everything that was
happening in Nashville.
1318
01:07:51,841 --> 01:07:53,810
As an artist, you should
never compromise.
1319
01:07:53,843 --> 01:07:55,712
But I think you
do have to adapt.
1320
01:07:55,745 --> 01:07:57,647
And so I had to start again.
1321
01:07:57,681 --> 01:08:00,851
And in the midst
of trying to fit in,
1322
01:08:00,884 --> 01:08:02,753
I sort of lost myself.
1323
01:08:02,785 --> 01:08:06,556
My first solo record, I remember
the label president saying,
1324
01:08:06,589 --> 01:08:10,593
"It looks like the picture
that comes with the frame."
1325
01:08:10,627 --> 01:08:13,430
He was dead on, seriously.
But I had to keep believing.
1326
01:08:13,462 --> 01:08:15,966
And all the covers I've been
able to do have really captured,
1327
01:08:15,998 --> 01:08:18,868
for better or worse,
where I was at at the time.
1328
01:08:18,902 --> 01:08:23,607
And it was a slow process
to get to where I am now.
1329
01:08:23,639 --> 01:08:26,209
[Lee Ann Womack] Sometimes
image can get in the way.
1330
01:08:26,242 --> 01:08:30,613
Sometimes it's what made an artist
work, what made 'em famous.
1331
01:08:30,647 --> 01:08:33,584
I was hardcore
traditional country.
1332
01:08:33,617 --> 01:08:36,386
And nobody really said,
"You need to have this image."
1333
01:08:36,419 --> 01:08:39,389
But my label just thought, "We just
gotta get this girl some clothes."
1334
01:08:39,421 --> 01:08:43,727
So they took me shopping,
and it does give a girl from East Texas
1335
01:08:43,760 --> 01:08:47,965
a little bit more confidence.
And the camera really reads that.
1336
01:08:47,997 --> 01:08:50,399
♪ Don't listen to the wind ♪
1337
01:08:50,433 --> 01:08:53,303
A great photographer can
position you a certain way
1338
01:08:53,336 --> 01:08:56,506
or put you in a certain setting
that works.
1339
01:08:56,538 --> 01:09:00,509
♪ Can't you hear it
call his name ♪
1340
01:09:00,542 --> 01:09:03,846
Country music can be wrapped
in all kinds of packages.
1341
01:09:03,880 --> 01:09:06,350
But it's gotta have
that heart and soul.
1342
01:09:06,382 --> 01:09:09,885
And when the music and the image
complement one another,
1343
01:09:09,919 --> 01:09:13,756
that's when you have
something really special.
1344
01:09:13,790 --> 01:09:16,760
[Michael Wilson] When you're photographing
a musician, there's expectations
1345
01:09:16,792 --> 01:09:19,763
that are not just the photographer's,
not just the subject's.
1346
01:09:19,795 --> 01:09:23,366
There are expectations by the
record company, or the management.
1347
01:09:23,399 --> 01:09:27,536
In the '90s, when I first started
trying to get work in country music,
1348
01:09:27,569 --> 01:09:32,576
there were art directors whose point of
reference was not just celebrity portraits.
1349
01:09:32,608 --> 01:09:34,577
They were interested
in beautiful pictures
1350
01:09:34,611 --> 01:09:37,848
that would be an appropriate
parallel for the music.
1351
01:09:37,880 --> 01:09:42,518
And that's what country is about,
being connected to something genuine.
1352
01:09:42,551 --> 01:09:46,322
So I steered in the direction of
making portraits of musicians.
1353
01:09:46,355 --> 01:09:49,792
People like John Hiatt and
the Carolina Chocolate Drops,
1354
01:09:49,826 --> 01:09:53,330
taking that traditional music
and making it their own.
1355
01:09:53,362 --> 01:09:56,432
I know when I see
beautiful lighting.
1356
01:09:56,465 --> 01:10:01,671
And you can sit somebody down in that
beautiful light and know that this is a gift.
1357
01:10:01,705 --> 01:10:05,475
But the portrait is more than just
the fall of light on a subject.
1358
01:10:05,507 --> 01:10:08,377
A portrait is also
a conversation.
1359
01:10:08,411 --> 01:10:10,681
And the real making of that
picture has to do
1360
01:10:10,714 --> 01:10:13,317
with the interaction I have
with the person.
1361
01:10:13,349 --> 01:10:17,553
I first shot Lyle Lovett in '92
for the record Joshua Judges Ruth.
1362
01:10:17,586 --> 01:10:20,756
[Lovett] ♪ It was a
private conversation ♪
1363
01:10:20,790 --> 01:10:22,959
♪ No one heard her say ♪
1364
01:10:22,992 --> 01:10:24,795
I'd done a few projects
for Warner Bros.
1365
01:10:24,827 --> 01:10:26,729
and they thought he would
be a good fit.
1366
01:10:26,763 --> 01:10:29,433
♪ 2,000 miles away ♪
1367
01:10:29,465 --> 01:10:33,002
The role a photographer plays
in establishing an image
1368
01:10:33,036 --> 01:10:35,706
depends on the relationship.
1369
01:10:35,738 --> 01:10:39,509
And what's key for me is the
trust that we've developed
1370
01:10:39,541 --> 01:10:43,012
over the last 22 years.
1371
01:10:43,045 --> 01:10:45,748
[Wilson] Lyle has strong ideas
about his image.
1372
01:10:45,782 --> 01:10:47,951
'Cause he has a strong idea
of who he is as a person.
1373
01:10:47,983 --> 01:10:52,088
[Lovett] I went to Nashville because
Nashville was the city of songs
1374
01:10:52,121 --> 01:10:54,857
and a place where
I could play my own songs.
1375
01:10:54,890 --> 01:10:58,394
And when it came time for me
to start making records,
1376
01:10:58,428 --> 01:11:00,964
I thought back
to the classic photos.
1377
01:11:00,996 --> 01:11:04,967
And there was a real dignity
in the way people dressed.
1378
01:11:05,001 --> 01:11:08,505
And that image of the country
performer stays with you.
1379
01:11:08,537 --> 01:11:10,473
So I decided to wear a suit.
1380
01:11:10,506 --> 01:11:14,411
I didn't expect my hair
to be anything of note,
1381
01:11:14,443 --> 01:11:17,647
but it turned into something
people remembered.
1382
01:11:17,679 --> 01:11:19,915
Once something like that
happens, you have to go with it
1383
01:11:19,948 --> 01:11:25,821
and hope that it helps cement your
identity in the mind of the public.
1384
01:11:25,854 --> 01:11:28,959
What I'm imagining is just
the venue in the background.
1385
01:11:28,992 --> 01:11:33,730
It's a big deal to me that I've gotten to
play here so many times over the years.
1386
01:11:33,763 --> 01:11:39,870
To be able to make pictures here at
Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia is fun.
1387
01:11:39,903 --> 01:11:44,641
It's kind of great, actually, with the snow
falling. I'm thinking something dead center.
1388
01:11:44,674 --> 01:11:48,879
Lyle and I, when we work,
it's kind of an improvisation.
1389
01:11:48,912 --> 01:11:50,947
It's lovely.
1390
01:11:50,979 --> 01:11:54,517
[Lovett] It's a tremendously
creative environment.
1391
01:11:54,550 --> 01:11:59,522
I feel completely comfortable working with
Michael, and I can be completely myself.
1392
01:11:59,555 --> 01:12:01,625
There's something about that
tree that's bugging me.
1393
01:12:01,657 --> 01:12:04,059
- But if we got between these two trees, I think I'd be happier.
- Okay.
1394
01:12:04,093 --> 01:12:08,732
[Wilson] I arrive at a place and am
just at the mercy of the environment.
1395
01:12:08,764 --> 01:12:09,965
That's good, Lyle.
1396
01:12:09,998 --> 01:12:11,902
I'm looking for those surprises.
1397
01:12:11,934 --> 01:12:14,103
[Lovett] And when he sends
the contact sheets,
1398
01:12:14,136 --> 01:12:17,474
they're always images that I
didn't realize he had taken
1399
01:12:17,506 --> 01:12:20,009
and that I didn't expect.
1400
01:12:20,042 --> 01:12:26,148
[Wilson] A still photograph allows you into
this space that doesn't really exist in time.
1401
01:12:26,181 --> 01:12:29,519
And it becomes a trigger
for the music.
1402
01:12:29,551 --> 01:12:32,788
♪ As I lay sick and broken ♪
1403
01:12:32,822 --> 01:12:35,192
♪ Viva Mexico ♪
1404
01:12:35,224 --> 01:12:37,861
[Lovett] When you
hear country music,
1405
01:12:37,894 --> 01:12:42,998
you imagine the singer to be
a character in those songs.
1406
01:12:43,032 --> 01:12:48,071
And to see pictures just serves
to reinforce that identity.
1407
01:12:48,104 --> 01:12:52,576
But a successful picture of me is a picture
that makes me look better than I look.
1408
01:12:52,608 --> 01:12:54,577
That's what I'm looking for.
1409
01:12:54,611 --> 01:12:57,147
[Rimes] ♪ Got a date
a week from Friday ♪
1410
01:12:57,179 --> 01:13:00,149
[Rimes] These days you're supposed
to be an actress and a model.
1411
01:13:00,183 --> 01:13:03,185
You're supposed to know how to express all
of these feelings that are inside of you,
1412
01:13:03,219 --> 01:13:07,623
in so many different mediums,
and feel free enough to expose yourself
1413
01:13:07,657 --> 01:13:11,228
- and be that vulnerable.
- ♪ Probably wouldn't be this way ♪
1414
01:13:11,260 --> 01:13:15,798
[McClister] LeAnn and I, we stepped out
of the box on the very first video we did.
1415
01:13:15,831 --> 01:13:19,068
She came up with the premise
and trusted me as a director
1416
01:13:19,102 --> 01:13:22,973
to let her go to that place
and be real, to keep it real.
1417
01:13:23,005 --> 01:13:27,943
I love being able to go back and forth
between music videos and photography.
1418
01:13:27,977 --> 01:13:29,880
But they're very
different approaches.
1419
01:13:29,912 --> 01:13:33,015
Music videos are very
structured, whereas photo shoots
1420
01:13:33,049 --> 01:13:35,685
are very spontaneous.
You can go wherever you want to go,
1421
01:13:35,718 --> 01:13:38,153
where the light is taking you,
where the artist is taking you.
1422
01:13:38,187 --> 01:13:41,657
My first professional photo session
was Ryan Adams Heartbreaker.
1423
01:13:41,690 --> 01:13:44,094
It was an intense,
amazing two hours.
1424
01:13:44,126 --> 01:13:46,129
And it was a pretty great
way to start.
1425
01:13:46,162 --> 01:13:48,532
I photographed Jamey Johnson
for Rolling Stone.
1426
01:13:48,564 --> 01:13:50,533
He was a huge
Waylon Jennings fan.
1427
01:13:50,567 --> 01:13:52,903
And he had just purchased
Waylon's Cadillac.
1428
01:13:52,935 --> 01:13:55,604
Even with stills, I like
to keep the artist moving
1429
01:13:55,638 --> 01:13:58,274
because that's when you get
that spontaneity.
1430
01:13:58,308 --> 01:14:00,944
I was backstage
with Eric Church.
1431
01:14:00,977 --> 01:14:03,046
There was a bit of time
before the show.
1432
01:14:03,078 --> 01:14:05,215
And there was a bar
across the street.
1433
01:14:05,247 --> 01:14:07,716
And the lighting was amazing.
1434
01:14:07,750 --> 01:14:10,220
You only have a very limited
time with the artist.
1435
01:14:10,252 --> 01:14:14,090
You'll walk in, totally cold,
under the gun to get a great shot
1436
01:14:14,122 --> 01:14:16,259
and try and establish
that rapport right away
1437
01:14:16,291 --> 01:14:18,227
to get that natural feeling
moment in ten minutes.
1438
01:14:18,260 --> 01:14:21,196
But when you actually
can go out with the artist
1439
01:14:21,229 --> 01:14:25,669
and hang out with them, that's when you
get the most natural, real photographs.
1440
01:14:25,702 --> 01:14:28,872
Like Emmylou Harris at
Lawrence Records in Nashville.
1441
01:14:28,904 --> 01:14:32,309
She got a big thrill out of going
in and checking out all the vinyl.
1442
01:14:32,341 --> 01:14:36,746
I'm trying to help create the
vision they have for themselves.
1443
01:14:36,778 --> 01:14:38,982
And that comes from listening
to the music,
1444
01:14:39,014 --> 01:14:42,151
and then capturing the essence
of the moment of the artist.
1445
01:14:42,184 --> 01:14:46,322
Even an icon like Dolly,
she's already Dolly when she walks in.
1446
01:14:46,355 --> 01:14:50,960
But she puts her trust in you to create
a great portrait, capture a moment.
1447
01:14:50,993 --> 01:14:55,165
I think a lot of music photographers
secretly wanted to be artists.
1448
01:14:55,197 --> 01:14:59,702
And is there anything cooler than being
in the studio with one of your heroes?
1449
01:14:59,736 --> 01:15:02,138
Getting to actually take
a photograph of Willie.
1450
01:15:02,170 --> 01:15:06,875
He's got such an amazing face. It's not
hard to take some really great shots.
1451
01:15:06,908 --> 01:15:08,644
They're legends, they're icons.
1452
01:15:08,678 --> 01:15:10,380
But I do get to work
with new artists
1453
01:15:10,412 --> 01:15:13,183
who have their own voice,
who have their own style.
1454
01:15:13,215 --> 01:15:16,885
Like Kacey Musgraves backstage
at Bonnaroo
1455
01:15:16,919 --> 01:15:19,221
having fun with the image.
1456
01:15:19,255 --> 01:15:23,259
I want a great shot.
I'm not afraid to try anything.
1457
01:15:23,291 --> 01:15:27,396
Especially with an artist who
have a uniqueness in their sound
1458
01:15:27,429 --> 01:15:30,200
and in their visuals
and get it and stand up for it.
1459
01:15:30,233 --> 01:15:33,370
[Kimberly Perry] The spirit
of the song guides our style.
1460
01:15:33,403 --> 01:15:35,071
♪ Chainsaw ♪
1461
01:15:35,104 --> 01:15:39,643
It's the visual extension
of our music.
1462
01:15:39,675 --> 01:15:42,711
We grew up on rock and roll
and country.
1463
01:15:42,745 --> 01:15:45,948
And our songs really are
a blend of both of those genres.
1464
01:15:45,982 --> 01:15:48,818
[Neil] Our musical style
is very traditional.
1465
01:15:48,850 --> 01:15:53,288
The three of us grew up loving Loretta
Lynn, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline.
1466
01:15:53,322 --> 01:15:57,694
And we maintained a lot of the
traditional country songwriting.
1467
01:15:57,727 --> 01:16:01,163
But when we record our songs,
we take a lot of cues from modern music.
1468
01:16:01,197 --> 01:16:06,169
And we like to make our songs as
big as they possibly can sound.
1469
01:16:06,202 --> 01:16:09,372
[Kimberly] Whatever we're portraying,
whatever story we're telling,
1470
01:16:09,404 --> 01:16:13,676
we just hope that folks get the
spirit behind it and see authenticity.
1471
01:16:13,710 --> 01:16:15,879
[country music plays]
1472
01:16:15,912 --> 01:16:18,214
[Holly Williams] As a musician,
you hope to create moments.
1473
01:16:18,246 --> 01:16:21,750
And people can relate to your music better
if they can relate to your whole image.
1474
01:16:21,783 --> 01:16:26,121
I love to get decked out and wear fun heels
and dresses, but it doesn't really fit
1475
01:16:26,154 --> 01:16:27,791
with the type of music
that I'm doing.
1476
01:16:27,823 --> 01:16:29,759
So onstage I wear these jeans,
these boots,
1477
01:16:29,791 --> 01:16:32,294
and a black t-shirt.
Simple Americana branding.
1478
01:16:32,327 --> 01:16:35,130
But everyone has
their own thing.
1479
01:16:35,163 --> 01:16:37,701
You've got people doing
very edgy fashion.
1480
01:16:37,733 --> 01:16:39,401
You got the more
bedazzled guys.
1481
01:16:39,434 --> 01:16:42,738
Then you got the simple guys
with cowboy boots and jeans.
1482
01:16:42,772 --> 01:16:46,276
[Gatlin] Today I've seen people
walk out on the stage
1483
01:16:46,309 --> 01:16:50,046
of the Grand Ole Opry in a pair
of jeans and a baseball cap.
1484
01:16:50,078 --> 01:16:53,950
I didn't come to the Opry
to get an oil change.
1485
01:16:53,983 --> 01:16:56,219
[Horenstein] Although country
music is very popular now,
1486
01:16:56,251 --> 01:16:59,321
the music is not the same,
the culture is not the same.
1487
01:16:59,354 --> 01:17:02,058
The bands today
have marketing teams.
1488
01:17:02,090 --> 01:17:04,993
They have investors.
It's a whole business.
1489
01:17:05,027 --> 01:17:09,299
They call some places honky-tonks
now and they are physically.
1490
01:17:09,331 --> 01:17:11,767
But it's a different audience.
1491
01:17:11,800 --> 01:17:16,138
Trout's in Bakersfield is one of
the classic places of country music.
1492
01:17:16,171 --> 01:17:19,942
It's a remnant
of what used to be.
1493
01:17:19,975 --> 01:17:22,178
One of the last honky-tonks.
1494
01:17:22,211 --> 01:17:24,214
It's an older crowd.
1495
01:17:24,246 --> 01:17:27,916
They're people who are going
out for a night on the town.
1496
01:17:27,950 --> 01:17:30,854
It's people who come out
to see Red Simpson.
1497
01:17:30,886 --> 01:17:33,822
He's one of the originals,
and they remember him.
1498
01:17:33,855 --> 01:17:36,760
♪ Driving away and ignoring ♪
1499
01:17:36,792 --> 01:17:38,894
These places are
gonna disappear.
1500
01:17:38,928 --> 01:17:41,064
But this is where
the music's from.
1501
01:17:41,096 --> 01:17:43,233
And it's part of the story.
1502
01:17:43,265 --> 01:17:46,969
[McClister] Going back, I think there
was something that was different
1503
01:17:47,002 --> 01:17:49,139
that people gravitated to.
1504
01:17:49,171 --> 01:17:52,007
When you look back at some
of the '60s, '70s records,
1505
01:17:52,041 --> 01:17:54,477
there was some great
concept photography.
1506
01:17:54,510 --> 01:17:57,013
They went out on locations,
they thought about wardrobe.
1507
01:17:57,045 --> 01:17:59,047
And photo shoots were addressing
the themes of that record,
1508
01:17:59,081 --> 01:18:02,886
whether it was songs of the
railroad or gunfighter ballads.
1509
01:18:02,919 --> 01:18:07,857
Those artists didn't have the bleached
teeth and the faux five o'clock shadow
1510
01:18:07,889 --> 01:18:10,125
and the, you know,
buff bodies.
1511
01:18:10,158 --> 01:18:12,261
They had talent
like you can't believe
1512
01:18:12,295 --> 01:18:15,565
and when you saw their pictures,
it was beautiful.
1513
01:18:15,598 --> 01:18:18,968
[Lovett] I just remember
listening to an entire album
1514
01:18:19,001 --> 01:18:21,271
and never putting down
the album jacket.
1515
01:18:21,304 --> 01:18:23,473
Looking at that cover
and looking at the pictures
1516
01:18:23,505 --> 01:18:26,408
on the back the entire time.
1517
01:18:26,442 --> 01:18:31,346
When you look at photos like the famous
Johnny Cash one with the middle finger,
1518
01:18:31,380 --> 01:18:34,551
the look on his face,
that said it all.
1519
01:18:34,584 --> 01:18:36,986
[McClister] That's the one image
from the great Jim Marshall
1520
01:18:37,019 --> 01:18:40,356
that summed up Johnny Cash
defying the establishment.
1521
01:18:40,389 --> 01:18:43,859
And it's a reminder about how
powerful an image can be.
1522
01:18:43,893 --> 01:18:48,430
I actually met Johnny Cash.
It was the week after June had passed.
1523
01:18:48,464 --> 01:18:51,100
And I took some portraits of Johnny.
He was in a wheelchair.
1524
01:18:51,132 --> 01:18:54,269
But he was recording with
Randy Scruggs and Marty Stuart.
1525
01:18:54,303 --> 01:18:59,242
Toward the end of his life,
the work order became keep JR entertained.
1526
01:18:59,274 --> 01:19:02,277
And so in the bedroom
of the Cash home,
1527
01:19:02,310 --> 01:19:05,081
we set up microphones
and had recording sessions.
1528
01:19:05,113 --> 01:19:07,482
Because music was what
he was holding on to.
1529
01:19:07,515 --> 01:19:12,221
At one of those sessions, the afternoon
light started coming in on his back.
1530
01:19:12,255 --> 01:19:14,958
And he looked like
an old president.
1531
01:19:14,991 --> 01:19:17,227
I said, "JR."
And he sat up straight.
1532
01:19:17,260 --> 01:19:19,863
And he gave me that look.
1533
01:19:19,895 --> 01:19:21,930
And I took the photograph.
1534
01:19:21,964 --> 01:19:24,200
It was the last portrait.
1535
01:19:24,233 --> 01:19:27,070
He was John R. Cash, JR,
1536
01:19:27,103 --> 01:19:29,973
Ray and Carrie's boy
from Arkansas.
1537
01:19:37,045 --> 01:19:41,083
[Cooper] This music, at its best,
is taking what seems personal
1538
01:19:41,117 --> 01:19:44,554
and presenting it in a way
that becomes universal.
1539
01:19:44,586 --> 01:19:47,089
That's why country music happens
all over the world.
1540
01:19:47,122 --> 01:19:52,060
And to a lot of people, it often
embodies the best parts of America.
1541
01:19:52,094 --> 01:19:56,165
I played from Denmark to Amsterdam
to Italy to Spain, all these places.
1542
01:19:56,197 --> 01:20:00,469
And the people in Europe are so into
the stories and the songs of country.
1543
01:20:00,502 --> 01:20:04,407
[Rogers] I had people from Korea
and Poland say we learned
1544
01:20:04,439 --> 01:20:06,910
to speak English
listening to your music.
1545
01:20:06,943 --> 01:20:12,081
I sang in Morocco, 130,000 people
were singing along with all the songs.
1546
01:20:12,113 --> 01:20:13,616
I did a thing called
Glastonbury.
1547
01:20:13,648 --> 01:20:17,452
180,000 young people
knew all the music.
1548
01:20:17,486 --> 01:20:22,090
We go to many countries and sell
out performances all over the world.
1549
01:20:22,123 --> 01:20:24,993
And there are artists today
that have taken country music
1550
01:20:25,027 --> 01:20:27,697
to where we took it
and beyond.
1551
01:20:27,729 --> 01:20:31,233
[Stuart] People have always said,
"What's happening to country music?"
1552
01:20:31,267 --> 01:20:34,037
But country music can do
anything it wants to do.
1553
01:20:34,069 --> 01:20:36,438
As long as the roots
of country music are felt.
1554
01:20:36,471 --> 01:20:41,076
Success means you hang onto your roots
and grow from there and branch out.
1555
01:20:41,109 --> 01:20:43,446
[Urban] Everybody's voice
is so important.
1556
01:20:43,479 --> 01:20:46,182
We have to have the people
who are pushing the boundaries.
1557
01:20:46,215 --> 01:20:48,451
And we have to have the people who
are pulling it back to the center.
1558
01:20:48,483 --> 01:20:51,520
- Everybody's needed.
- ♪ I can feel it flying ♪
1559
01:20:51,554 --> 01:20:53,957
♪ Like a hand out the window ♪
1560
01:20:53,989 --> 01:20:57,093
[Gatlin] People tell me the music that's
going on today is not country music.
1561
01:20:57,126 --> 01:21:00,330
And I beg to differ. These kids
are living their dreams,
1562
01:21:00,362 --> 01:21:03,999
they're singing it the way
they feel it.
1563
01:21:04,032 --> 01:21:07,437
[Kimberly] We love the stories of country
and embrace a lot of the tradition
1564
01:21:07,470 --> 01:21:09,172
and try to bring it back around.
1565
01:21:09,205 --> 01:21:11,474
[Rogers] Somebody's got
to do something different.
1566
01:21:11,506 --> 01:21:14,443
And it takes someone
who's strong enough
1567
01:21:14,477 --> 01:21:18,046
or unique enough to do something
that people will go, "Wow."
1568
01:21:18,080 --> 01:21:20,683
♪ Our song is
a slamming screen door ♪
1569
01:21:20,715 --> 01:21:23,352
♪ Sneaking out late
Tapping on your window ♪
1570
01:21:23,385 --> 01:21:26,656
Taylor Swift has helped propel
country music into the forefront.
1571
01:21:26,688 --> 01:21:31,226
Taylor Swift represents
a new kind of authenticity
1572
01:21:31,260 --> 01:21:34,230
that hasn't been
in country music before.
1573
01:21:34,263 --> 01:21:37,300
She is a deft blend
of traditional country
1574
01:21:37,332 --> 01:21:40,236
with the mainstream appeal
of pop music.
1575
01:21:40,269 --> 01:21:44,207
And for her to keep challenging herself
musically, it had to go somewhere.
1576
01:21:44,239 --> 01:21:47,577
♪ Losing him was blue
like I'd never known ♪
1577
01:21:47,609 --> 01:21:51,546
♪ Missing him was dark grey
all alone ♪
1578
01:21:51,580 --> 01:21:54,484
[Gatlin] Taylor Swift,
she had a great band.
1579
01:21:54,517 --> 01:21:59,121
She sang great songs. She changed
wardrobe, she flew across the stage,
1580
01:21:59,154 --> 01:22:01,157
and she communicated
with that audience.
1581
01:22:01,189 --> 01:22:03,225
That's not exactly
how Patsy Cline did it.
1582
01:22:03,259 --> 01:22:05,261
That's okay 'cause Patsy Cline
didn't do it
1583
01:22:05,294 --> 01:22:07,363
exactly like Mother Maybelle.
1584
01:22:07,395 --> 01:22:09,398
♪ Loving him is red ♪
1585
01:22:09,431 --> 01:22:12,635
Taylor has a lot of ideas.
And so we were backstage,
1586
01:22:12,667 --> 01:22:16,671
bouncing ideas off each other.
She was totally game to try anything.
1587
01:22:16,705 --> 01:22:20,443
But there's something about that
gaze, that simple honest look.
1588
01:22:20,475 --> 01:22:23,211
- And that's your goal.
- ♪ Loving him is like driving ♪
1589
01:22:23,245 --> 01:22:28,318
- ♪ A new Maserati ♪
- To capture the essence of that personality.
1590
01:22:32,321 --> 01:22:34,556
[Diltz] Photographs
grab moments.
1591
01:22:34,590 --> 01:22:38,194
And the photograph is one way to
look at the lifespan of country music
1592
01:22:38,227 --> 01:22:41,229
from its early roots
to what it is today.
1593
01:22:41,263 --> 01:22:43,698
[Anderson] When you start thinking
maybe things weren't a certain way,
1594
01:22:43,732 --> 01:22:47,136
you look at those pictures and, "Hell,
they were that way, weren't they?"
1595
01:22:47,169 --> 01:22:50,706
[Rimes] Cowboy boots and
rhinestones and big hair.
1596
01:22:50,738 --> 01:22:54,343
All of those pictures explain what
people thought about country music
1597
01:22:54,376 --> 01:22:55,845
and where it came from.
1598
01:22:55,877 --> 01:22:58,447
[Lee] We need to know
who brought us to the dance.
1599
01:22:58,480 --> 01:23:03,553
And to learn the great history
of our musical family.
1600
01:23:03,586 --> 01:23:07,423
[Rubenstein] Each artist has to
stand out to make the image revealing
1601
01:23:07,456 --> 01:23:09,525
so that it never fades away.
1602
01:23:09,558 --> 01:23:13,095
The camera gives the photographer
a chance to represent them.
1603
01:23:13,129 --> 01:23:16,498
So that the public can see
who they really are.
1604
01:23:16,532 --> 01:23:19,268
[Rogers] The people who last the
longest are what they present.
1605
01:23:19,300 --> 01:23:22,404
And they don't vary
from who they are.
1606
01:23:22,438 --> 01:23:24,774
[Wilson] These are the alchemists,
these are the magicians.
1607
01:23:24,806 --> 01:23:27,777
And nothing has ever moved me
the way music does.
1608
01:23:27,809 --> 01:23:29,778
It's songs that get me.
1609
01:23:29,812 --> 01:23:32,582
[Brooks] Country music is what
moves you and if something moves you
1610
01:23:32,614 --> 01:23:36,285
in the rap world, the rock
world, they stole it from us.
1611
01:23:36,318 --> 01:23:39,222
[McClister] Country photography
has such an interesting arc.
1612
01:23:39,255 --> 01:23:43,559
And being let behind the curtain over the
decades is very powerful and exciting.
1613
01:23:43,591 --> 01:23:45,460
[Urban] Country has always been
like a church.
1614
01:23:45,493 --> 01:23:48,230
It's gotta figure out constantly
how to honor its values
1615
01:23:48,264 --> 01:23:51,367
and stay true to itself,
but grow and evolve.
1616
01:23:51,399 --> 01:23:55,270
[Horenstein] Country music was stories
about working people and what they did.
1617
01:23:55,304 --> 01:24:01,676
It was music to drink to, cry over,
fight over, and be nostalgic about.
1618
01:24:01,710 --> 01:24:05,515
[Terri Clark] All these artists
and all these images shape
1619
01:24:05,547 --> 01:24:07,916
people's perception of country
music and country lifestyle.
1620
01:24:07,950 --> 01:24:11,287
But it's really about what it does to
your heart when you look at something.
1621
01:24:11,319 --> 01:24:16,658
Music is a conversation, and it's the
greatest healing force in the universe.
1622
01:24:16,692 --> 01:24:20,596
[Smith] Everybody gets their heart broke,
everybody wants something that they can't have.
1623
01:24:20,629 --> 01:24:22,631
And these are the things
that we sing about.
1624
01:24:22,665 --> 01:24:24,867
Country music is the cry
of the heart.
1625
01:24:24,899 --> 01:24:27,803
[Stuart] It will touch you and
absolutely meet you with the truth.
1626
01:24:27,836 --> 01:24:31,841
That's what Harlan Howard called country
music: three chords and the truth.
1627
01:24:31,873 --> 01:24:36,179
[Lovett] It's that desire
to believe something's genuine,
1628
01:24:36,211 --> 01:24:39,581
sincere, and absolutely honest.
1629
01:24:39,614 --> 01:24:42,218
That's what drives
country music.
1630
01:24:42,251 --> 01:24:45,889
And that's what people
look for in a country song.
1631
01:24:48,489 --> 01:24:51,760
[country music plays]
1632
01:24:54,662 --> 01:24:57,599
♪ Country is ♪
1633
01:24:57,632 --> 01:25:01,203
♪ Sitting on the back porch ♪
1634
01:25:01,237 --> 01:25:04,540
♪ Listen to the whippoorwills ♪
1635
01:25:04,572 --> 01:25:07,642
♪ Late in the day ♪
1636
01:25:07,675 --> 01:25:10,779
♪ Country is ♪
1637
01:25:10,813 --> 01:25:14,217
♪ Mindin' your business ♪
1638
01:25:14,250 --> 01:25:17,252
♪ Helpin' a stranger ♪
1639
01:25:17,286 --> 01:25:20,756
♪ If he comes your way ♪
1640
01:25:20,788 --> 01:25:24,227
♪ Country is ♪
1641
01:25:24,260 --> 01:25:27,363
♪ Livin' in the city ♪
1642
01:25:27,395 --> 01:25:30,532
♪ Knowin' your people ♪
1643
01:25:30,565 --> 01:25:33,736
♪ Knowin' your kind ♪
1644
01:25:33,769 --> 01:25:37,006
♪ Country is ♪
1645
01:25:37,038 --> 01:25:40,408
♪ What you make it ♪
1646
01:25:40,442 --> 01:25:43,578
♪ Country is ♪
1647
01:25:43,612 --> 01:25:46,748
♪ All in your mind ♪
1648
01:25:54,622 --> 01:25:58,693
♪ He was driving home
one evening ♪
1649
01:25:58,727 --> 01:26:01,564
♪ In his beat-up Pontiac ♪
1650
01:26:01,596 --> 01:26:04,800
♪ When an old lady
flagged him down ♪
1651
01:26:04,832 --> 01:26:07,670
♪ Her Mercedes had a flat ♪
1652
01:26:07,702 --> 01:26:10,672
♪ He could see that
she was frightened ♪
1653
01:26:10,706 --> 01:26:13,843
♪ Standing out there
in the snow ♪
1654
01:26:13,876 --> 01:26:16,979
♪ Till he said I'm here
to help you, ma'am ♪
1655
01:26:17,011 --> 01:26:21,683
♪ By the way
my name is Joe ♪
1656
01:26:21,716 --> 01:26:24,687
♪ She said I'm from St. Louis ♪
1657
01:26:24,720 --> 01:26:27,690
♪ And I'm only passing
through ♪
1658
01:26:27,723 --> 01:26:30,893
♪ I must have seen
a hundred cars go by ♪
1659
01:26:30,925 --> 01:26:33,595
♪ This is awful nice of you ♪
1660
01:26:33,629 --> 01:26:36,998
♪ And when he changed the tire
and closed her trunk ♪
1661
01:26:37,032 --> 01:26:39,802
♪ And was about to drive away ♪
1662
01:26:39,835 --> 01:26:42,772
♪ She said how much
do I owe you? ♪
1663
01:26:42,804 --> 01:26:46,508
♪ Here's what he had to say ♪
1664
01:26:46,541 --> 01:26:50,412
♪ If you really want
to pay me back ♪
1665
01:26:50,446 --> 01:26:52,681
♪ Here's what you do ♪
1666
01:26:52,715 --> 01:26:57,586
♪ Don't let the chain of love ♪
1667
01:26:57,618 --> 01:27:00,790
♪ End with you ♪
1668
01:27:00,822 --> 01:27:02,825
[applause]
1669
01:27:02,858 --> 01:27:05,561
[instrumental
country music plays]
1670
01:27:05,615 --> 01:27:10,615
Provided by explosiveskull
https://twitter.com/kaboomskull
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