All language subtitles for America in Color Series 3 6of6 Small Town Life 1080p

Narrator: This is
the story of america...

Seen in color
for the first time.

[girls laughing]

America has always celebrated
its small towns.

[horn honks]

Commentator: Here they go!

Narrator: They give birth
to traditions...

Heroes...

Jimmy stewart: Well, hello.

Narrator: And presidents.

Main street is a symbol
of the american ideal,

But reality doesn't always
match the myth.

Isolation and intolerance

Can be the downside
of small-town life.

In the first half
of the 20th century,

Their share of the population
will plummet.

War,

Depression,

And a changing culture

Will challenge
the main street ideal.

This is small town america

As you've never seen it before.

♪

♪

John kennedy: I want us
to recapture that...

♪

Narrator: Chandler, oklahoma.

In 1900, 60% of americans live
in small towns like this one.

Chandler's 2,000 residents

Have an unusual
thanksgiving tradition.

Members of the commercial club

Hurl live turkeys
from the courthouse roof.

Catch one, and you get
to keep it for dinner.

[turkey gobbling]

♪

Main street is chandler's
social and commercial heart.

In 1915,
the whole town crowds it

For the 19th anniversary
of jacobs,

The local department store.

They're eager for a slice
of the 627-pound birthday cake.

This rare footage is shot
by former jeweler benny kent.

Born in England in 1866,
he settled in chandler.

After losing his wife,
he took up filmmaking.

In chandler, cotton is king.

It's the town's most important
source of income.

The town is segregated,

Though almost everyone
comes out to help...

Even the children.

[cheering]

Displays of civic pride

Are a popular subject
for early movie cameras,

And every town has its parade.

In 1904,

Leominster, massachusetts,
celebrates labor day.

It only became a federal holiday
10 years earlier,

But leominster's
12,000 residents

Have already embraced
the tradition.

It's a chance to show off
the town's horsepower--

Old-fashioned and new.

Both proudly
roll down main street,

Alongside representatives
of local businesses,

Like papermakers,
bakers, and barbers.

They all benefit from
the increased foot traffic.

Local traditions can be a source
of both pride and profit.

♪

Out west,
inspired by touring troupes,

Small town ranches put on
their own wild west shows.

At the miller brothers
101 ranch,

Just outside
new ponca, oklahoma,

Cowboys who learned
to lasso on the range

Become showmen.

In 1905, the ranch stages
the oklahoma gala day,

Featuring 200 performers.

It begins with a grand parade

And draws 65,000 locals,
tourists, and journalists

From across the nation.

It's a huge success
and becomes an annual event.

But it's not all about
the cow-boys.

Lucille mulhall is one of
the show's founding performers.

[horse neighs]

The riding and roping skills
she learned on the family spread

Make her the first
female rodeo rider

To come to national fame.

But another sooner state native
with star-quality roping skills

Will spread small-town values
around the world.

His name is will rogers.

Will's ability
to jump through hoops

And tie knots with his lasso

Take him to new york,

Where he performs
on the vaudeville stage.

But it's his folksy charm
that really catches on,

In newspapers and on the radio.

He opens his act with a setup--

"all I know is
what I read in the papers"--

And then riffs on the headlines.

Will rogers: And the thing
about my jokes is

They don't hurt anybody.

You can take 'em or leave 'em.
You know what I mean.

But with congress,

Every time they make
a joke, it's a law.

And every time they make
a law, it's a joke.

[applause]

Narrator: Audiences warm
to his homespun humor,

And he becomes one of america's
most loved personalities.

However, not all small towns

Share the same
happy-go-lucky spirit.

In the south, segregation
deprives black citizens

Of education and skills.

In 1881, black educator
booker t. Washington

Seeks to change that.

He establishes
the tuskegee institute

In alabama.

By 1906, the institute
has nearly 1,600 students--

More than half
the town's population.

It's one of
the first black colleges

Formed to educate
the descendants of slaves.

Here the students learn nursing,

Surveying,

And agriculture.

The college's mission is to
give them the practical skills

To become self-reliant.

In time, tuskegee will evolve to
embrace more radical concepts

And produce civil rights leaders
like amelia robinson

And betty shabazz,
wife of malcom x.

Many small towns depend
on a single industry,

Leaving them vulnerable
when disaster strikes.

In remote dawson, new mexico,

9,000 people rely almost
entirely on the local coal mines

For income.

On October 22, 1913...

[explosion]

A blast rocks mine number 2.

The explosion traps 284 men,

Some of them
more than 2,000 feet down.

Help comes from as far away
as wyoming, kansas,

And pittsburgh, pennsylvania.

Rescuers put on gas masks
as they descend into the mine.

Even so, two of them
die of suffocation

In a search
that lasts four days.

23 miners survive,
but 261 perish

In america's
second worst mining disaster.

The disaster devastates
the small town of dawson.

By 1950, declining demand
sees the mines close for good,

And the town
is finally abandoned.

Only the graves remain.

In the early part
of the 20th century,

Small towns across the nation

Will experience
losses of their own.

In April 1917,

President woodrow wilson
declares war on germany.

Small towns
bravely answer the call.

Back in chandler, oklahoma,

Local filmmaker benny kent
documents major h.B. Gilstrap

Recruiting
the young men of the town

Into the 142nd regiment.

Drafted soldiers
pose for the camera,

Sharing a final moment
with their loved ones.

Across the country,
a generation of young men

Will leave their home towns
for the first time

For the blood-soaked
western front in europe.

Many will never return.

[explosion]

In 18 months,

More than 50,000 american
soldiers are killed in action.

The small town of chandler
loses seven of its own.

Those that survive
the global war

Return to a country ready
to focus on life at home.

In 1920,
senator warren g. Harding

Becomes the republican
presidential nominee.

Aware of the great sacrifice
small-town families have made,

He focuses his message on them,

Calling for a return to normalcy
and "america first."

He conducts
his presidential campaign

From the front porch
of his house

In small town marion, ohio.

Narrator: 600,000 people
travel from across the nation

To hear harding speak
from his front porch.

Many presidential candidates

Have made the most
of their humble roots,

But harding really strikes
a chord with the voters.

[applause]

On November 2, 1920,
he wins by a landslide.

He beats democrat james cox
by seven million votes--

A 26% margin.

It's a record that
still stands to this day.

In the coming decade,

A huge road-building project

Connects small towns
with the rest of the nation,

And they will have to adapt
to a fast-changing world.

In the 1920s,

The logging town
of aberdeen, washington,

Grows to almost 20,000 people.

The small town calls itself
the lumber capital of the world,

And the industry
shapes the town's culture.

Here, lumberjacks
take each other on

In log rolling competitions.

They spin the logs over,

Attempting to throw
their opponent off.

In a twist,

One man shows off his skills
and fashion sense

By rolling in a dress.

♪

28 miles away,
on October 7, 1930,

Cars line up in the tiny
community of willapa

For the opening of
the aberdeen-willapa highway.

Across america,
a huge new road-building project

Is connecting
small towns to each other

And the rest of the nation.

A local photographer

Documents the changing face
of aberdeen and the vicinity.

His name is charles d. Anderson.

He's caught on film only once,

A fleeting shadow
on the football field

Cranking
his trusty movie camera.

Football is
a relatively new sport,

But already it's a big part
of the town's identity.

On thanksgiving 1927,

The aberdeen high bobcats
host the grizzlies,

Long-time rivals
from another logging town--

Hoquiam.

[whistle blows]

Their turkey day game
dates back 21 years,

The oldest such annual rivalry
in the state.

A competitive spirit
has developed

Between the close neighbors,

And the football field
has become the battleground

For their friendly rivalry.

Aberdeen wins 43 to 6

To take bragging rights
for another year.

High school football binds
small towns like these together,

But young people are
increasingly being lured away

To the cities.

As they seek a future elsewhere,

They leave some small-town
traditions under threat.

♪

The appalachian mountains

Are home to the descendants
of scots-irish colonists.

Isolated small towns are spread
throughout the range.

♪

For mountain folk,

The banjo and fiddle-led
songs and dances

Are their storytelling,
history, and entertainment

Rolled into one.

They have been passed down
by word of mouth

For more than a century.

By the '20s,
city styles are more popular,

And the radio is bringing
new music to the mountains.

This old-time folk music
is in danger of disappearing.

♪

Bascom lunsford:
How 'bout the thumb string?

[plucking banjo]

Sounds pretty good.

♪

Narrator: Bascom lunsford from
mars hill, north carolina,

Was born into appalachian
folk music culture.

He's one of its
most passionate supporters.

[singing]

Narrator:
He makes it his mission

To preserve the songs and dances

So they will not die out
with the older generation.

Lunsford:
♪ breaking up the ground ♪

♪ and I'm gonna pitch a camp ♪

♪ I'm getting something started
in the doggett gap ♪

Narrator: In 1928,
he brings small-town performers

To the rhododendron parade in
the biggest town in the state...

Asheville.

♪

There he stages the first-ever
folk music festival.

By 1935,

10,000 people
come to watch performances

Of square dancing and folk music
led by callers.

[calling]

Lunsford has brought
his beloved music

To the mainstream

And a bigger audience.

Songwriters like
woody guthrie and bob dylan

Will update and spread this vein
of americana across the world.

[horn honking]

By 1930,

56% of americans
live in urban areas

Of more than 2,500 people.

For many city dwellers

There's a sense that they've
left something behind.

In places like
pinehurst, north carolina,

City vacationers
can enjoy a taste

Of small-town perfection.

Golf is the main pastime,

But there are other
more rustic pursuits.

Society ladies
try out pig racing.

The challenge
is to herd their pig

In the right direction.

Here the tourists
can retreat from city life

In a picturesque
village setting.

The reality of small-town life
can be brutal.

All over the country,
there are "sundown towns,"

Where white residents

Make it clear to black people

That they had better

Be gone by dark...

Or there will be violence.

By the 1930s,
the great migration

Has carried a million
and a half southern blacks

To northern cities.

[train whistle blows]

A growing black middle class

Also wants to escape
from the city.

Segregation means
they would be banned

From resorts like pinehurst.

But now they have
somewhere new to go.

Developers establish the town
of idlewild, michigan,

For african americans.

It has horseback riding...

Boating...

And hiking.

[applause]

The town holds
its own beauty pageant.

♪

Maree weaver of ironton, ohio,
wins miss idlewild 1927.

For a month or so in the summer,

Black city dwellers
can enjoy the simple life.

Vacation towns offer
an idealized version

Of small-town living.

The simplicity is charming
for a couple of weeks,

But the long-term reality
of many small towns

Is often one of deprivation.

Only 10% of rural towns
have electricity.

Many still light with kerosene.

In 1917, as the country
enters the first world war,

The federal government

Commissions
a huge hydroelectric dam

To harness the tennessee river

And power newly created
munitions factories.

18,000 workers answer the call.

♪

To house them,
the government builds a town

In the farmland
of muscle shoals.

They create a new school,

And a bustling neighborhood
springs up.

But the war is over

Long before the dam is ready
for operation in 1924.

While government
and private utilities

Argue over who will control it,

The dam and its turbines
sit idle.

Muscle shoals,

A town founded
to house power plant workers,

Has neither power nor work.

Its population shrinks
to 719 people.

[cheering]

In 1933,

President franklin roosevelt
responds to their plight.

The whole town
turns out to greet him.

Franklin roosevelt:
I'm looking forward

With the greatest of pleasure
to my day here,

And it is going to give me
a great advantage

In putting muscle shoals
back on the map.

[cheering]

Narrator: The president's
new deal takes over the dam.

The tennessee valley authority

Brings electricity
to muscle shoals

And other small towns
across seven states.

In the 1930s,

Small-town culture
and heroes like will rogers

Will capture
the nation's attention.

May 20, 1929,

The busiest time of year
for angels camp, california...

Also known as frogtown.

More than 60 years earlier,
mark twain set his story

"the celebrated jumping frog
of calaveras county" here.

So the townsfolk have decided
to turn fiction into fact.

This is the second annual
frog jumping jubilee.

Frog jockeys attempt
to coax their frog

Into the longest leap.

In twain's story,
the winner cheats,

But this competition
is on the level.

The contest continues
to this day.

[cheering]

Other small-town claims to fame
are more widespread.

In 1934, soap box racing

Takes the borough of
wilkinsburg, pennsylvania,

By storm.

Teenage boys race
home-made wooden cars downhill.

Their engineless carts
pick up speed

And hurtle toward
the finish line.

Narrowly avoiding a crash,
the red cart of brad west

Wins the race in under a minute.

Americans go wild
for soap box racing,

And in 1936, akron, ohio,
hosts 100,000 fans

For the finals
of the national soap box derby.

A 1,175-foot-long track
has been built,

Along with a grandstand
and a press enclosure.

Top nbc announcers
graham mcnamee and tom manning

Are there
to broadcast the event.

Commentator: Here they go!

[cheering]

Look at those cars travel!

Narrator:
An impromptu small-town event

That started with 19 boys

Has grown to host 115 racers
from across the globe.

[cheering]

The country listens

As 14-year-old herbert muench
from st. Louis

Beats harold hansen
to win the title.

Commentator: Here's the finish!

What a race!

[cheering]

Narrator: Herbert wins
a $2,000 college scholarship

And is crowned the all-american
soap box derby champ.

Another slice of small-time
small-town americana

Also goes national.

The appalachian
music and square dancing

That bascom lunsford
worked to revive

Is all the rage.

[calling]

In arthurdale, west virginia,
first lady eleanor roosevelt

Do-si-does to the tune of
harry rich and his family band.

♪

Singer: ♪ pick 'em up
and lay them down... ♪

Narrator: In new york city,

The square dancing
revival hits its peak

As 10,000 dancers
descend on central park.

Caller:
♪ swing your corner lady ♪

Narrator:
Legendary caller ed durlacher

Leads the dancers
into the night.

♪ promenade your partner
once around the town ♪

♪

Narrator: Small towns
have hit the big time.

By the '30s, will rogers has
become america's biggest star,

And his jokes
have become catchphrases.

Narrator: Despite his fame,

Rogers maintains
his folksy, everyman appeal.

In 1931,

Two years into the depression,

With its record unemployment,
soup kitchens, and bread lines,

Rogers speaks his mind.

Rogers: The only problem that
confronts this country today

Is that at least seven million
people are out of work.

That's our only problem.

[applause]

Narrator: In 1932,

Franklin roosevelt,
seeking the presidency,

Invites rogers to introduce him
at a huge rally

At the hollywood bowl
in los angeles.

Rogers: We must have

Some 80 or 90,000 people
here tonight.

That's the most people that
ever paid to see a politician.

[laughing and cheering]

Narrator: Rogers' endorsement

Helps fdr win over an electorate
facing the hardest of times.

[applause]

But will rogers'
time in the spotlight

Won't last much longer.

In August 1935,

He boards a plane
built by his friend,

The pilot wiley post.

They're heading for alaska.

On August 15th,

15 miles southwest
of point barrow,

The plane's engine fails.

Both men plummet
to their deaths.

A nation mourns
its beloved small-town hero.

In los angeles,
50,000 people pay their respects

In the biggest outpouring
of national grief

Since the assassination
of abraham lincoln.

♪

While a small-town hero
did conquer the mainstream,

Other places
remain on the fringes.

Roswell, new mexico,
is a rodeo town

200 miles away
from the nearest city.

By 1930, good land
and the discovery of an aquifer

Have brought 11,000 people
to live here.

Most are here for the ranching.

But one man, dr. Robert goddard,
has come for the isolation.

His goal is to create
self-propelled rockets.

The scientific community
considers him a fantasist.

Newspapers dub him
"the moon man."

In this secluded location,

Goddard can carry out
his secret experiments

Away from the eyes of skeptics.

His wife esther
records his work.

In 1939,

Goddard begins his final series
of experiments in roswell.

He hopes to produce the first

Liquid-propelled
high-altitude guided rockets.

He doesn't get
the results he wants,

But the military
are beginning to realize

That goddard's visionary
theories could be valuable.

[explosion]

He will become known as
the father of american rocketry.

In 1941, the navy hires him.

War is coming,

And a small-town hero
will rally the troops.

America goes to war
in late 1941.

Small-town heroes
rally the nation...

None more effectively
than jimmy stewart.

A hardware man's son,

Born in 1908
in indiana, pennsylvania,

Jimmy was set to take over
the family business.

But college sends him
in a different direction.

This rare footage shows him
practicing the accordion

For a triangle club show
at princeton university.

The acting bug bites.

Soon he makes it to hollywood,

Starring in features like
"the philadelphia story,"

For which he earns
a best acting oscar.

Typically humble,
he keeps his speech short.

Stewart: It's a great thrill
to me to receive this trophy

And especially to receive it
from you, mr. Lunt.

Thank you very much.

Narrator: In 1940, as war looms,

Jimmy tries to enlist
in the u.S. Army air corps.

He's rejected
for being underweight.

Within months, he puts on nearly
five pounds to scrape through.

He becomes
the first hollywood star

To wear a uniform
in world war ii,

And his service
is no publicity stunt.

He wins the distinguished
flying cross

For combat missions
in France and germany

And reaches the rank
of brigadier general,

The highest of any actor
in military history.

The same down-to-earth qualities
that made him a star

Make him the perfect face of
the air force recruitment drive.

Stewart: Hello.

Gee, it looks like I'm back
in the movies again, doesn't it?

Well, as a matter of fact,
I'd like to do some talking.

Don't go away
until I get this thing off.

Narrator:
Like will rogers before him,

His "aw, shucks" amiability
comes across well.

Stewart: Young men of america,
your future's in the sky.

Your wings are waiting.

Narrator: He gets credit for
inspiring 150,000 new recruits.

But the u.S. Military's
segregation policy

Marginalizes black men.

Many in the air force feel
that only white recruits

Are able to perform
responsible roles.

That doesn't stop the students
of tuskegee university, alabama.

They transform their campus
into a pilot training facility.

Here they learn the theories
of aviation and navigation

And practice
in an early flight simulator.

Black students grab
the opportunity with both hands,

Intent on protecting
their country

And overcoming prejudice.

926 pilots graduate,

And the tuskegee airmen

Become the u.S. Military's first
african-american aviators.

Unlike many black servicemen,

They get to engage in combat.

In early 1944,

The 332nd fighter group
is sent to Italy.

They take part
in savage dogfights,

Facing up to
300 german fighters.

Protecting 179 bombing missions,

The red tails lose only
27 bombers to enemy fire,

Half as many
as the average squadron,

Thanks to brave pilots
like captain elwood driver.

Elwood driver:
Yesterday I fulfilled

One of my ambitions
as a combat pilot.

I got one airplane.

As they came over
and completed the dive-bomb run,

I saw three pass
underneath my wing.

The fourth one was
the unfortunate one.

♪

Narrator: The success

Of the tuskegee airmen's
small-town training corps

Paves the way
for military desegregation.

Peace comes in 1945,

But the fear of new threats

Looms large in
the american consciousness.

In 1947,
the small town of roswell

Becomes the center
of fevered paranoia.

That July, people report
seeing a flying saucer

Crash in the desert nearby.

Hysteria is spreading
across the country,

And americans report
hundreds of ufo sightings.

Three years later, in 1950,

In louisville, kentucky,

A tv cameraman films
what appears to be a ufo.

Trying to calm the public,

The director
of air force intelligence,

General john samford,

Makes a statement
from the pentagon.

John samford: We can say
that the recent sightings

Are in no way connected

With any secret development

By any department
of the united states.

Narrator: The denial
only adds fuel to the fire,

And many suspect
a military cover-up.

They're right.

In 1994,

An internal investigation
reveals the roswell sighting

Was the result of project mogul.

The top-secret project
used high-altitude balloons

To monitor
soviet atomic bomb tests.

When one crashed in 1947,

The military covered it up

To hide the true purpose
of the balloons.

But the conspiracy
refuses to die,

And over time,
this small town in new mexico

Becomes the ufo capital
of the world.

It won't be the only small town

To find a new future
in postwar america

And put itself on the world map.

By the 1950s, nearly two-thirds
of americans live in cities.

Many are nostalgic

For the small towns
they've left behind.

♪

The educational film
"our community"

Portrays millwood, connecticut,
as a picture-perfect town.

Announcer: This is the story
of one day in millwood,

Just any day.

The story begins at daybreak.

All is quiet
in the anderson home,

Everybody is asleep.

Narrator: The film
is distributed in schools

By encyclopedia britannica

To encourage students to
appreciate the contribution

Of the members
of their local community.

The folk of millwood
perform the neighborly roles

Of milkman, baker,
and postman...

Working in harmony
to create a wholesome town.

Schoolchildren are encouraged

To aspire to the example set
by the town of millwood.

In 1951,

The epitome
of the small-town hero

Making it big in the city

Is mickey mantle...

An oklahoma kid
whose skills with the bat

Transform his dreams
into reality.

[bat cracks, crowd cheers]

His raw talent

Propels him from the obscurity
of commerce, oklahoma,

To new york city,

Where he replaces star
yankee outfielder joe dimaggio.

Dropped into
the major league circus,

His simple plain-speaking ways
make him a cult hero.

Mickey mantle: I'm sure not
going to be disappointed.

If I end up the season
with about 55 home runs,

I'd be very happy.

Narrator: He ends up winning
seven world series

And is selected to play
in 16 all-star games.

[cheering]

Far away from
the glitz and glamour

Of major league baseball,

Many small towns,
like hayters gap, virginia,

Are suffering.

In 1965, some families here
struggle to survive

On less than $100 a month.

The coal mines and family farms
that the town was built on

Are outdated
and no longer profitable.

Lack of resources and expertise

Means the town cannot adapt
to the changing demands

Of the modern manufacturing
and service industries.

The people are left stranded,
without opportunity.

Man: I just do labor work

And got no education.

Just labor work's
all I have to hunt for.

Narrator: Across the country,

One-third of all rural families,
16 million people,

Are trapped in poverty.

When lyndon johnson
comes to power in 1964,

He responds to the crisis

In his first
state of the union address.

Lyndon johnson:
And this administration today

Here and now

Declares unconditional war
on poverty in america.

Narrator: One billion dollars
of federal funds

Is committed
to new training programs.

Local community representatives

Are appointed to reach out
to america's underprivileged,

Encouraging them to learn
how to read, write,

And develop
modern technical skills.

8 billion dollars is provided
to improve housing for the poor.

President johnson's mission
is to stamp out poverty.

He urges congress to
"pursue it wherever it exists,

In city slums and small towns."

The president also pledges
his support for civil rights.

In March 1965, the students from
tuskegee join the movement.

They demonstrate
for voting rights

In montgomery, alabama.

Police confront protestors
and try to move them on.

Practicing non-violent
non-cooperation,

They drop to the floor.

Officers drag them away.

Demonstrations
continue for 19 days.

Ten months later,

An attack on tuskegee student
sammy younge, jr.,

A former u.S. Naval serviceman,

Brings the demand for
black rights into sharp focus.

On January 3, 1966,
at a standard oil gas station,

He objects when
he believes an attendant

Sends him to
a "colored only" bathroom.

After a confrontation,

The attendant shoots him dead
in this alleyway.

[gunshot]

Sammy younge, jr.

Is the first
black college student

To be killed for his actions
in the civil rights movement.

The next day, shown here
in never-before-seen footage,

2,000 students March outside
the gas station in tuskegee

To protest his murder.

11 months later,
an all-white jury

Finds the killer,
marvin segrest, not guilty.

Younge's death empowers
black political participation

In tuskegee and beyond.

By 1970, the majority of

Local government office holders

In black alabama counties

Are african american.

A decade of
the civil rights movement

Has ended segregation

And changed the mindset of
the black population forever.

♪

In the small town
of muscle shoals,

Racial integration
is bringing great reward.

♪

30 years after roosevelt
brought the town electricity,

It has grown to a population
of nearly 7,000 people.

♪

Here in 1962,

Music producer rick hall
opens fame studios.

♪

He forms a house band

In which black and white
musicians play together

To back visiting artists.

♪

Rick hall: I think, let's do it
the other way and try it.

Man: One, two...
One, two, three, four.

♪

Hall: We feel the people here
love each other.

Willie hightower:
♪ if I could be you ♪

♪ and you could be me ♪

♪ for just one hour ♪

♪ oh, yeah ♪

Narrator: In 1970,

Willie hightower records
the racial tolerance anthem

"walk a mile in my shoes" here.

Hightower: ♪ oh, yeah ♪

Narrator: The simple life
and small-town charm

Of the studio's
muscle shoals home

Persuades songwriters
like sonny limbo

To turn their back
on the big city.

Sonny limbo: I just
like it here much better.

The attitude of the people
in new york city,

Particularly
in the music business,

It's a little too fast for me.

Well, it's a dog-eat-dog
world up there.

Narrator: The fame name

Draws artists like
aretha franklin,

Wilson pickett and duane allman,

And otis redding.

Hightower: ♪ oh, yeah ♪

♪ if I could see you in my eye ♪

♪ instead of your ego ♪

♪ oh, yeah ♪

Narrator: The house band,
with rick hall at the helm,

Craft the famously deep,
soulful, swampy

Muscle shoals sound

And produce 75
gold and platinum hits.

Hightower:
♪ walk a mile in my shoes ♪

♪

Narrator: Muscle shoals'
small-town enterprise

Becomes
an international success.

Hightower: ♪ before you abuse ♪

♪ criticize and accuse ♪

♪ just walk a mile in my shoes ♪

♪

Narrator: At the turn
of the 20th century,

Two-thirds of americans
lived in small towns.

By the 1960s,
only one-third remains.

In post-industrial america,

Small towns have faced
many challenges.

Some have survived.

Some have been left behind.

But the wholesome ideal
of small-town life,

Where a friend is only
a short stroll away,

Continues to burn brightly
in the minds of americans.