Alisande, as I think it was explained, Willie sings (and writes chords) in a much different style than Patsy. He sings ahead of the beat and in a rather choppy style compared to her smooth-as-velvet style. Nothing wrong with that imo, just the way they are.

Patsy was also coming off a recent serious car accident, including a pretty serious head gash, and was on crutches when she came into the studio to try to sing it. Besides probably being in pain (many suspect), she initially had trouble with the musical score as written. I believe someone slightly revised the score, smoothing it out a bit, and she recorded it the first time perfectly on pitch.

" Willie sings (and writes chords) in a much different style than Patsy. He sings ahead of the beat "

I don't think this is strictly correct. His singing style is his own, which is true of all the great artists. He phrases the lyrics not strictly in time to the beat. But he's often behind the beat with a lag at the beginning of a measure or segment, he's not always ahead at the start.

Willie Nelson discusses his phrasing

I have always pretty much disliked Country songs, so I was "mad" when I saw

that the usual Masterpiece series wasn't going to be on. I watched part of

the Country series...and got hooked. LOL The music still isn't something I

really like, but the shows are really interesting. Looking forward to watching

tonight.

I have to say that I've never been disappointed watching any of the Ken Burns documentaries. But it takes commitment to watch all of the episodes. My favorite one is still the one about the Lewis and Clarke expedition. I liked the one on the Civil War but didn't get to catch all of it. The last one I watched on the Prohibition was interesting and not so many episodes.

He's become a "brand" with a consistency of outstandingness (if that's a word) in his products. A one of a kind.

" I was listening to country before it was cool. "

Well, watchme, different perspectives may be at work. I don't know where you grew up or even where you live now, but I think country and western music has always been popular in the Central Valley and other ag and outlying areas in California and has never been popular in the populated urban/suburban parts of the Bay Area. Same in SoCal. When I was growing up, and I think maybe you're about the same age, early evolved American rock and roll was supplemented by the British Invasion (and Beatles) and that seeded the major popular music activity in SF and LA from the mid-60s onward. That's what was and remained popular in those areas.

It's about the same dividing line as California's political split personality, with the populated coastal areas being like a Blue State and inland and coastal ag areas being more like a Red State. Country has long been a big deal in the Red areas and mostly a fringe type of music with limited interest in the Blue areas. .

I was going to make a similar comment :-) Country music has long been popular in more rural parts of the country, even those well away from its more southern roots. But I have never heard it or its popularity referred to as "cool" under any circumstances.....it has just become less regional and more mainstream.

I grew up in white bread suburbia with nary a person of color to be seen. And yet I was drawn in my formative years to the blues and R&B, something none of my peers were interested in at all, if they even knew it existed. Just different tastes :-)

I really liked Ken Burn's docu's on the Dust Bow and the National Parks.

I hadn't heard about this series until reading here, so thank you! I've managed to find and either record, or set-to-record, all but the first two in the series. Last night watched the Hank Williams timeframe, it was very well done. I've been a country fan for many years, but hadn't paid much attention to "old" country until I met my late husband. Became very familiar with the songs of HIS youth, and know he would've really enjoyed what I watched last night. I'm definitely looking forward to more in the series and again ... thank you!!

I like Peter Coyote’s narration voice but he makes everything sound the same. It’s hard to discern important facts from incidental bits of information.

I’ve missed all but one episode, may have been a replay because it was just Saturday morning, of early days of recording Country music, and the start of the Carters.

Well Elmer there you go again. I am a Frisco bay area native. And before anyone pipes up from the peanut gallery about Frisco I can say Frisco because that is my birthplace. Popular radio stations were KYA and KFRC based in the city. I mostly listened to KEEN based in San Jose.

A good friend of mine, may he RIP, was instrumental in promoting Willie in the Bay Area.

Yeah? I'm gonna pipe up - Bay Area folks never say Frisco (as you know). Were you kidnapped and raised by aliens or wild wolves?

Did you spend your childhood in SF and say "Frisco" and listen to country music? If Yes, your kind is about as numerous as unicorns and Abominable Snowmen.

When I was a kid and was listening to music, I didn't know there were "labels". I just liked music. We were very lucky in that a neighbor worked for a company that maintained and serviced jukeboxes. All the 45's that he took out he gave to us. We played them all the time on our little tiny record player. It was everything from country to rock to R&B but we didn't know about labels, we just listened and liked it. This was back in the very early 60's. Our parents didn't pay any attention to what we listened to. Now that I think about it I guess we were the most musically educated kids around concerning modern music, not so much classical or otherwise. But I do remember all kinds of music being played on entertainment shows on TV such as classical, jazz, and opera. I pretty much liked it all until I became a rebellious teen-ager who refused to listen to anything the adults wanted to hear, stupid, stupid, stupid. Glad I grew out of it.

I was born at St. Francis hospital. Not only did I spent my childhood there, after moving across the bay I spent my teen years (the 60s) in Frisco. I remember at Christmas time I didn't tell Santa what I wanted. I told the real King Norman of the toy kingdom what I wanted and he probably passed it on to my parents. Now I had a cousin by marriage who came over to attempt join the music scene from NY and he and his transplants referred to it as "The City". That would have been around '65 since I was 14 at the time and used to tag along to hear him jam at clubs and tryouts. The Frisco chapter (these days they are called charters) of the Hells Angels was formed in 1954 and has always proudly worn the Frisco rocker then and now. So do tell who are your experts Elmer?

This yammering about Frisco is a bunch of hooey made up by people who haven't a clue. sort of like white people telling black people what they think.

Yep. have been told more than once I am different. LOL What's your superpower?

DH is also a born in San Francisco native and he is laughing right along with me.

Frisco is the real deal. It's the community and culture of the people who grew up there before it became the cesspool of liberalism it is today. It's the working class that built the city and no amount of blue bloods or elitist wannabes can take that away.

Every Sunday on my father’s day off, after mass in the morning with my mother they would play music. French accordion dance music. Edit Piaf. The like. Some classical. Either we’d have company or we’d go visit.

My sister and brother are 10 and 8 years older than I am. I grew up listening to the music they played too. That was the late 60’s. That was all rock or folk

I remember distinctly being a kid in school when disco became a thing and you had to declare which side you were on. LOL.

I never listened to country. I met my husband when I was 20. He listened (listens) to EVERYTHING. Over the years I’ve grown to love a lot of country music. Not new country but some of that older music I find to be very moving. Some is just fun and that’s great too.

You can say Frisco a hundred times and then another one hundred times and I wouldn't care. I'm from coastal SoCal. I learned early on when I moved up here in my mid-20s that the majority of locals considered it almost a pejorative term. It makes no never mind to me, there's no compelling reason I know to use an unessential word some don't like that has enough alternatives. So I don't use it. But say it all you want.

I did think of one country-ish SF band - New Riders of the Purple Sage. But really not country, more like Folk Rock (like the Dead) with a steel guitar added.

"before it became the cesspool of liberalism it is today."

What an unfortunate thing to say. You maybe would be happier in the Red part of the state. Plenty of people who may share your views along with lots of country music there too

My father was a country/western singer/entertainer in the 1940-1960s, so I grew up on country music. Love it! I am thoroughly enjoying this series.

I'm happy where I am Elmer. I don't let politics get in the way of how I live my life nor do I choose my friends by their politics. According to Nextdoor many people right here share my views. Unlike people who put themselves in little boxes, stay in their comfort zones and are afraid of their own shadows I make my own happy. But it's not something you would understand. You would have to consult some expert or other.

Unlike some I speak what I know. If that scares you, sorry about that. You grew up in San Diego. Dago to some. You are a transplant. So get off your high horse. I know silly comment, can't see you riding a horse unless it's a part of a merry go round. LOL

But I probably shouldn't pick on the weak. But you basically called me a liar several times on this thread and others and I don't care much for those that do that. I figure most times they are just projecting their own insecurities and give them a pass. But sometimes a bully needs to be reminded it just doesn't work the way they like.

I don't ever call anyone a liar. A different opinion is a different opinion, don't be so quick to catch on fire. And no high horse but you're right, I don't ride horses.

From San Diego - no. I never said that. Dago is a pejorative. If you like using words like that, how sad.

Just curious ... I'm not understanding how the term Dago or Frisco as used by WatchMe, is a pejorative. I didn't see contempt or disapproval in her descriptions.

online definition shows -- expressing contempt or disapproval..

Mystical Manns It's not. It's common usage by natives of those cities. Elmer is just being Elmer. LOL

Last night's episode was a let-down. I guess it's because I pretty much already knew most of what was portrayed. I guess I am more entertained when I'm learning something new than to rehash stuff I already knew?? This episode focused on the 60's which is when I heard most of it on the radio and on TV. I think there will be at least one more episode, I hope it will hold my interest better.

BTW, although I was born in WV, I was brought to Tampa when I was a baby. It's a good thing that I don't get offended easily since there's no end to the hillbilly and incest jokes out there. Then there are the ones that refer to anyone from Tampa as a Tampon. There are more important things to be offended by out there.

I forgot to add: There is also a Great Performance Series that just started, this first one I so enjoyed. It's called "Now Hear This: Vivaldi: Something Completely Different" It focuses on "The Four Seasons" which is my all-time favorite classical piece. The presenter, Scott Yoo, actually plays some of it on a Stradivarius.

Yay....I watched it last night! I thought it was very good. I didn't know that Merle had been in prison or I had forgotten about it. He is one of my favorite singers as is Johnny Cash..

Ritaweeda, did the program include anything about Nigel Kennedy's version(s) of "The Four Seasons"? I'm guessing yes, as his recording of the piece in the 1980s was one of the best-selling classical recordings of all time. He's brilliant.

"I'm not understanding how the term Dago or Frisco as used by WatchMe, is a pejorative."

The D word cited is the equivalent, when referring to people of Italian ancestry (and elsewhere Spaniards), of the N word for African Americans. As I thought I said clearly, Frisco is a disliked form for many and for that reason, using it can be offensive.

The use of the D word she cited for San DIego is rare, rare, rare, As is Frisco. As is anyone calling SF a "cesspool of liberalism".

Yes, I'm a "transplant" within my native state, having been here for 40 years.

Her comments are either intentionally disingenuous or for some reason extreme. I don't call names. Pick the point of view you like best or neither.

Now, back to our country music programming.

Thanks, Elmer.

I understand and don't disagree, that the D word, when used to describe a person, is not appropriate. I grew up in an Army town many years ago, so am familiar with all sorts of personally descriptive words that, thankfully, I rarely hear any more.

I do find it interesting that using the same word as an abbreviated form of the city's actual name is considered inappropriate by some. Same with the use of Frisco rather than San Francisco. It would never cross my mind, in that context, that either is derogatory.

However, I've never been to California, so have no knowledge of the regional norms.

I'm not sure what regional norms are or aren't but it's a very diverse state ethnically and it's always been a landing spot for "Immigrants" both domestic and international. I believe a consequence of that is both a tolerance of ethnic and regional differences among the people here and an effort to avoid the use of possibly offensive terms.

The offensive D word mentioned above does not have the same pronunciation as the second word of the city. The first syllable in the offensive D word is the same sound as Day. The second word of the city name is pronounced as phonetically DEE AY GO. This person seems to take this flippantly and while she may, that's unusual.

I rarely, more like never, hear people speaking with such words like this or similar ones. You can swear at me like a drunken sailor and sometimes I do the same, but words that are either disliked or cause offense are simply not funny or welcome to use or hear.

Dago is a slang word for San Diego (Spanish) coined by Sailors and Marines during WW2 coming off the ships. It has never had anything to do with the derogatory term used to to demean Italians. Calling it the D word is hilarious in the context it was used in this thread. But carry on.

Slang words used by 18-20 year old service members in the 1940s and 50s, and later, hardly find their way into common and accepted speech. If they did, George Carlin wouldn't have had his "Seven Dirty Words" material in the 1970s. The sound is the sound, it's alarming to many to hear however used and your suggesting otherwise is what's hilarious. Maybe this is in your everyday speech, it isn't in mine. Nice try, but no.

Everyone should stay away from liberal cesspools they find distasteful. Real cesspools are uncommon but those are the ones to keep away from.

This conversation has really been quite disappointing to me.

Well getting back to the subject of country music.

It's about time!

Ottis Redding left his home in Georgia for the Frisco Bay....I wonder if any locals sing his song?

Well Otis Redding played at the Fillmore on more than one occasion including at least one sharing the bill with the Grateful Dead. He wrote the lyrics shortly after a Fillmore performance. I am sure locals were and are OK with the lyrics. The song became number one after his death. I can go into more detailed reasons but I don't want the thread to be hijacked again. ;-) Hint: Grateful Dead - (Pigpen)

Apparently, the controversy over the use of the 'Frisco nickname spans the centuries, lol. I found THIS article amusing. It's just one of many along the same theme.

We have really been enjoying the Ken Burns series, enormously so. My favorite "country" genre is bluegrass, especially the older stuff by musicians long gone.

Thanks for the article Rhizo. It tickled my funny bone. I had known much of what was in it but loved the timeline.

So there REALLY isn't anything derogatory about the use of Frisco. It's just a preference, dating back to the 1800s. Interesting!

Thanks, Rhizo!

Actually, my take from the article is that some people truly ARE annoyed by the nickname and will always think that anyone who uses it as something of a rube. It's not a derogatory word (like dago absolutely is) but a nickname that grates on the nerves of some of the natives......right or wrong.

I lived in South Carolina for a very long time. When I first heard "South Cackalacky", I could have choked on my sweet tea!

My dad was a huge fan of country music. I remember growing up listening to Patsy Cline, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard (who lived in N. Cal in his later years), Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Glen Campbell. He would have loved this show.

I wasn't aware it was on, but will watch for re-runs. Sounds like it would be an interesting watch.

There are several themes that repeats itself over and over again throughout this series. Abject poverty, alcoholism for generations, unflinching passion for their music, drug abuse, and incredible talent. Many talk about horrible abuse in their childhoods while others were warmly loved by their families. I've known quite a bit about the life stories of these people but not nearly as much as I thought.

I've been listening to favorite tunes ever since this series started, with new appreciation.

The castigation can end over the wrong word choice.

A quick word choice perhaps better replaced with something else. Let's call it an "annoying, unwanted nickname" that for whatever reason is disliked. Your name is Allison, you hate being called Ally, and your siblings do so when they want to annoy you. I think that's what's happened in this thread.

I didn't make up the issue, it's there. I pointed out that it was odd for a local to use it. Those making a weak and childish effort to be annoying by insisting on finding multiple instances of use (that everyone knows about) are welcome to do so. It's not particularly clever but the word doesn't bother me. Call me Ally if you want.

Like most people around here, I don't use "Frisco". If you want to, go ahead. What is annoying is people making an effort to be annoying.

Move on. Elmer!

What this series has done for me was to remind me how much I like Johnny Cash. And have a better appreciation of the significance of some country crossover music, like the southern rock of the Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I am basically a rocker at heart but I enjoy all music and this series has been most enjoyable. And informative.

Popular music forms evolve and are influenced by what's around to be heard. What's thought of as early rock came out of black R&B and blues. Those influences are still present. It's been said (to demonstrate that effect, not to be taken literally) that Elvis sold more recordings of black music than any other artist. Sure, what he did changed greatly over time from his own roots, but that's where his first songs came from. And in that way, Southern rock is a pretty pure form of black music + blues + rock elements. The black influences you hear most in the singing.

My favorite "country" artist? Hank Snow. I learned about him in the 1980s from a track I heard on an airplane.

Elmer, have you been watching this series? In the early episodes, a great deal of time was devoted to the earliest black musicians. Back in the turn of the last century, their music was called "race music" until it became more mainstream. Many of the early country, jazz, and rock musicians were inspired directly by the music and skills of those early black musicians and are still today.

This wonderful series has caused me to review our extensive collection of old time and early bluegrass cds. In total we have about 220 cds. I would say 75% are in the Bluegrass area. The rest include old country (pre 1980) and a few folk and a dozen or so outright classical as in Bach, Vivaldi etc. We really need to spend time listening to all these treasured recordings. We tend to forget how much we enjoyed them as we played them soon after we bought them. A few were/are favorites that we do play over and over again but many have been forgotten and I am sure we could find a new appreciation for many as our music tastes have evolved a little with time.

rhizo, I haven't been watching, I don't like country music at all. Vanilla folk music (like the folk revival of the 50s and into the 60s) I do like.

I don't think the music of guitar playing black musicians, most of whom did pretty straight ahead blues, has ever become very popular. Incredibly influential on white musicians and on rock music and R&B but less so on country. Never very popular at the time outside of its intended audience. Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Blind Willie McTell, and many others.

I've only watched a little. I do think Ken Burns has a knack for delving the depths of a mildly interesting topic to make a riveting documentary. From what I've seen of this one though he's delved the depths of an uninteresting topic (to me) and made a mildly interesting documentary. It might be more interesting to me, if they just covered the artists and the history, without adding in all of those snippets and clips and recordings of annoying country music. :-)