"Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” (1968 – 1972)

ANNOUNCER: FUNDING FOR "COUNTRY MUSIC" WAS PROVIDED BY THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS OF THE BETTER ANGELS SOCIETY: THE BLAVATNIK FAMILY FOUNDATION, THE SCHWARTZ/REISMAN FOUNDATION, THE PFEIL FOUNDATION, DIANE AND HAL BRIERLEY, JOHN AND CATHERINE DEBS, THE FULLERTON FAMILY CHARITABLE FUND, BY THE PERRY AND DONNA GOLKIN FAMILY FOUNDATION, JAY ALIX AND UNA JACKMAN, MERCEDES T. BASS, AND FRED AND DONNA SEIGEL AND BY THESE ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.

[BOB WILLIS AND HIS TEXAS PLAYBOYS' "NEW SAN ANTONIO ROSE" PLAYING] WILLIS: OH, TEAR IT DOWN, MR. MAN.

TEAR IT DOWN NOW.

MAJOR FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY: THE ANNENBERG FOUNDATION; BY THE ARTHUR VINING DAVIS FOUNDATIONS, DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING AMERICA'S FUTURE THROUGH EDUCATION; BY BELMONT UNIVERSITY, WHERE STUDENTS CAN STUDY MUSIC AND MUSIC BUSINESS IN THE HEART OF MUSIC CITY; BY THE SOUNDTRACK OF AMERICA-- MADE IN TENNESSEE-- TRAVEL INFORMATION AT TNVACATION.COM; BY THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY; BY ROSALIND P. WALTER; BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING; AND BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

♪ HEADING DOWN SOUTH TO THE LAND OF THE PINE ♪ ♪ THUMBING MY WAY INTO NORTH CAROLINE ♪ ♪ STARING UP THE ROAD, PRAY TO GOD I SEE HEADLIGHTS ♪ ♪ SO, ROCK ME, MAMA, LIKE A WAGON WHEEL ♪ ♪ ROCK ME, MAMA, ANY WAY YOU FEEL ♪ ♪ HEY, MAMA, ROCK ME ♪ [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] ["WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN" PLAYING] CONGREGATION: ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN ♪ ♪ BY AND BY, LORD, BY AND BY?

♪ ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY ♪ WOMAN: WHOO!

♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?

♪ [CHORUS FADES OUT; LEON RUSSELL PLAYING PIANO] RUSSELL AND CHORUS: ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY ♪ ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN ♪ ♪ BY AND BY, LORD, BY AND BY?

♪ ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY ♪ ♪ WELL, I WAS STANDING BY MY WINDOW ♪ ♪ ON A COLD, DAMP, RAINY DAY... ♪ TRICIA YEARWOOD: "WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?"

THAT SONG REALLY ENCOMPASSES WHAT COUNTRY MUSIC IS ABOUT BECAUSE OF HOW TIMELESS IT IS AND HOW IT JUST NEVER--IT CHANGES, BUT, IN A WAY, IT DOESN'T CHANGE AT ALL.

RUSSELL: ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?

♪ MARTY STUART: AND IT HAS BEEN DONE EVERY WAY YOU CAN IMAGINE TO DO A SONG.

IT IS SO FAMOUS AND IT IS SO OFTEN SUNG, I THINK IT GETS CRUSHED BENEATH THE WEIGHT OF ITS OWN FAME SOMETIMES.

RUSSELL: ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN... ♪ YEARWOOD: IT'S A SONG THAT STARTS OFF WITH SOMEONE WHO IS DEAD AND BEING BURIED AND CARRIED AWAY.

IT'S NOT LIKE AN UPLIFTING, POSITIVE SONG, ALTHOUGH IT IS BECAUSE HOW SAD THIS MOMENT IS, BUT THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING... RUSSELL: ♪ BY AND BY, LORD... ♪ YEARWOOD: AND IT IS A SONG ABOUT SADNESS, HOPE, REDEMPTION, LOVE.

RUSSELL: ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAIT... ♪ YEARWOOD: IT'S ABOUT HOW WE'RE ALL GONNA BE TOGETHER.

YOU NEVER, EVER HEAR THAT SONG WITHOUT A CHORUS OF PEOPLE SINGING IT.

RUSSELL: WHOA!

♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN ♪ ♪ BY AND BY, OH, BY AND BY?

♪ ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, WHOA, IN THE SKY ♪ ♪ WHOO, YEAH ♪ CHORUS: ♪ OOH ♪ [JOAN BAEZ & THE JORDANAIRES' "WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?"

PLAYING] ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN ♪ ♪ BY AND BY, LORD, BY AND BY?

♪ ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY ♪ [PROTESTORS CHANTING] [DISTANT GUNFIRE] FIRE!

NARRATOR: BY 1968, WITH THE WAR IN VIETNAM INTENSIFYING, AMERICA WAS MORE DIVIDED THAN IT HAD EVER BEEN SINCE THE CIVIL WAR.

THE WOUNDS THAT THE NATION SEEMED TO BE SUFFERING-- AND INFLICTING ON ITSELF-- SOMETIMES APPEARED TOO DEEP TO HEAL.

THE GULF BETWEEN GENERATIONS SOMETIMES SEEMED TOO WIDE TO BE BRIDGED.

MORE AND MORE PEOPLE, FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, FELT THEIR VOICES WERE NOT BEING HEARD.

COUNTRY MUSIC WAS NOT IMMUNE TO THE DIVISIONS.

A YOUNG POET AND TROUBADOUR WOULD REJECT THE PATH HIS PARENTS HAD CHOSEN FOR HIM, AND IN NASHVILLE FIND SALVATION IN HIS ART, BRINGING TO COUNTRY MUSIC AN HONESTY AND LYRICISM RARELY HEARD BEFORE.

A RESTLESS REBEL WHO HAD BEEN EXPELLED FROM THE GRAND OLE OPRY WOULD TRIUMPHANTLY RETURN TO ITS STAGE, THEN WELCOME OTHERS FROM EVERY STYLE OF MUSIC TO JOIN HIM.

TWO REMARKABLE SINGERS, PURSUED AND BESET BY THEIR OWN INNER DEMONS, WOULD TURN THEIR TROUBLES INTO SONGS AND FIND, FOR A TIME, SOME PEACE WITH EACH OTHER.

AND JUST WHEN ONE OF THE MOST TRADITIONAL FORMS OF COUNTRY MUSIC SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN LEFT BEHIND, IT WOULD RESURFACE AND THEN FIND A WAY TO BRING THE GENERATIONS TOGETHER.

BAEZ & THE JORDANAIRES: ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN ♪ ♪ BY AND BY, LORD, BY AND BY?

♪ ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY... ♪ VINCE GILL: THAT'S WHAT THEY SAY, THE CIRCLE.

IT SHOULD STAY UNBROKEN.

AND THAT'S THE WAY I'VE SEEN LIFE WORK.

YOU KNOW, I'VE REALLY SEEN IT WORK IN CIRCLES.

AND IT'S KIND OF NEAT, WHEN IT-- WHEN SOMETHING COMES BACK AROUND.

AND THE MUSIC COMES BACK AROUND.

IT STRAYS FROM--MAYBE A STRETCH WILL GO THROUGH WHERE IT'S NOT AS TRADITIONAL AS YOU LIKE, AND THEN IT WILL FIND ITS WAY BACK TO IT.

BAEZ & THE JORDANAIRES: ♪ ...BETTER HOME A-WAITING ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY ♪ RALPH STANLEY: ♪ POLLY, PRETTY POLLY ♪ ♪ WOULD YOU THINK ME UNKIND?

♪ ♪ LET ME SET BESIDE YOU, TELL YOU MY MIND ♪ ♪ WELL, MY MIND IS TO MARRY AND NEVER TO PART... ♪ RICKY SKAGGS: THERE WAS DEFINITELY A TIME THAT BLUEGRASS, YOU KNOW, GOT MARGINALIZED.

I DON'T KNOW WHO THE ALIEN BRAINCHILD WAS THAT COME UP WITH THE IDEA THAT, "HEY, WE NEED TO SEPARATE BLUEGRASS AND COUNTRY ON RADIO."

♪ NARRATOR: BY THE LATE SIXTIES, BLUEGRASS AND STRING BAND MUSIC HAD ALL BUT DISAPPEARED FROM COUNTRY RADIO STATIONS, WHERE THE ELECTRIFIED BAKERSFIELD SOUND AND SMOOTHER NASHVILLE SOUND STILL HELD SWAY.

EDDIE STUBBS: BLUEGRASS MUSIC WAS ALL PART OF COUNTRY MUSIC, BUT ABOUT 1963, WE START SEEING THIS PHASING OUT.

THE MUSIC WAS CHANGING IN A BIG-TIME WAY.

AND IF YOU HAD AN ACOUSTIC BAND, LIKE THE STANLEY BROTHERS, AND BEING PLAYED BACK TO BACK WITH A RECORD BY SKEETER DAVIS, SAY, "THE END OF THE WORLD," WITH THE VOICES AND THE STRINGS, I MEAN, IT WAS A HEAD-ON COLLISION.

AND A PROGRAM DIRECTOR WOULD COME IN AND SAY, "WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT?"

"WELL, THAT WAS THE LATEST BLUEGRASS RECORD."

"WELL, NO MORE BLUEGRASS.

WE DON'T WANT ANY OF THAT."

[NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS YODELING ON "ON SOME FOGGY MOUNTAIN TOP"] ♪ YEE-HAH!

♪ NARRATOR: BUT OLD-TIME MUSIC BEGAN TO FIND NEW FANS AMONG MIDDLE-CLASS COLLEGE STUDENTS CAUGHT UP IN THE FOLK REVIVAL.

GROUPS LIKE THE NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS HELPED LEAD THEM BACK TO COUNTRY MUSIC'S ROOTS.

♪ NOW, IF YOU SEE THAT GIRL OF MINE ♪ ♪ THERE'S SOMETHING I WANT YOU TO TELL HER... ♪ BILL C. MALONE: THEY WERE ACTUALLY EMBRACING HILLBILLY MUSIC AND RACE MUSIC AND GOSPEL MUSIC AND CAJUN MUSIC.

IT WAS EXCITING.

IT WAS SO OLD THAT IT WAS NEW.

ALL: ♪ I'D SAIL AWAY TO THE WEST... ♪ MALONE: AND, ONCE THAT HAPPENED, THEN THE NEXT STEP IS FOR PEOPLE TO GO BACK AND START FINDING RECORDS BY THE PEOPLE FROM WHOM THE NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS HAD BORROWED.

[YODELING] "LET'S GO SEE IF WE CAN FIND A CARTER FAMILY RECORD."

"LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND SOME 'UNCLE DAVE' MACON RECORDS," AND SO ON.

MAN: MAYBELLE CARTER!

NARRATOR: MAYBELLE CARTER, OF THE ORIGINAL CARTER FAMILY, HAD BEEN MOONLIGHTING AS A PRACTICAL NURSE IN A NASHVILLE HOSPITAL, WHEN THE NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS TOOK HER WITH THEM TO PLAY AT THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL.

[PLAYING "LIBERTY DANCE"] ♪ SOON, FESTIVALS DEDICATED EXCLUSIVELY TO BLUEGRASS MUSIC BEGAN SPROUTING UP IN PLACES AS DIVERSE AS TINY LURAY, VIRGINIA, AND METROPOLITAN CHICAGO.

COMBINED WITH CONCERTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES, THEY BECAME THE PRINCIPAL LIFELINE, KEEPING MANY STRING BANDS AFLOAT.

MALONE: SO BLUEGRASS BEGAN TO CREATE ITS OWN WORLD.

BLUEGRASS CONTINUED TO BE, IN MY OPINION, THE MOST AUTHENTIC FORM OF COUNTRY MUSIC, THE MOST REFLECTIVE OF ITS ROOTS, BUT NEVERTHELESS, IT STILL HAD TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.

NARRATOR: THE EXCEPTION WAS LESTER FLATT AND EARL SCRUGGS, WHO HAD ECLIPSED EVERY OTHER BLUEGRASS ACT, INCLUDING BILL MONROE'S.

FLATT: ♪ COME AND LISTEN TO MY STORY ABOUT A MAN NAMED JED ♪ ♪ A POOR MOUNTAINEER, BARELY... ♪ NARRATOR: THEIR MANAGER, EARL'S WIFE LOUISE, PERSUADED THEM TO HELP WITH THE THEME SONG OF A NEW TELEVISION COMEDY CALLED "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES."

FLATT: ♪ ... BLACK GOLD ♪ NARRATOR: "WE'D WORKED SO HARD TO GET AWAY FROM THAT IMAGE," EARL SAID, BUT LOUISE CONVINCED THEM THAT THE MAIN CHARACTERS WERE PORTRAYED MORE FAVORABLY THAN THE CITY SLICKERS.

FLATT: ♪ SO THEY LOADED UP THE TRUCK ♪ ♪ AND THEY MOVED TO BEVERLY ♪ ANNOUNCER: "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES"!

♪ NARRATOR: "THE BALLAD OF JED CLAMPETT" HIT NUMBER-ONE ON THE COUNTRY CHARTS-- UNHEARD OF AT THAT TIME FOR A BLUEGRASS BAND.

"THE SONG WASN'T OUR FAVORITE," FLATT CONCEDED, BUT "AFTER IT SOLD 100,000 COPIES, WE JUST LEARNED TO LOVE IT."

FLATT: ♪ Y'ALL COME BACK NOW, Y'HEAR?

♪ [ALARM RINGING; MAN SHOUTING] [FLATT & SCRUGGS PLAYING "FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREAKDOWN"] NARRATOR: A FEW YEARS LATER, WARREN BEATTY USED THEIR RECORDING OF "FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREAKDOWN" IN THE HIT MOVIE "BONNIE AND CLYDE."

♪ LET'S GET SOME LEEWAY.

NARRATOR: THE EXPOSURE FROM THE FILM TRANSFORMED THE SONG INTO THE NATION'S BEST-KNOWN BLUEGRASS TUNE.

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT BLUEGRASS IS WHEN I STARTED PLAYING IT, IN THE MID-SIXTIES, FIRST THING YOU HEARD WAS, "BLUEGRASS IS GONNA BE BIG THIS YEAR!"

AND NEXT YEAR, "WELL, BLUEGRASS WILL BE BIG THIS YEAR!"

NOT MUCH WOULD HAPPEN.

"OH, 'BONNIE AND CLYDE.'"

"'FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREAKDOWN'S' "ON POP RADIO, AND IT'S RESPECTED.

IT'S GONNA BE BIG THIS YEAR."

NOTHING FOR A COUPLE YEARS.

"DUELING BANJOS" COMES OUT.

"BLUEGRASS WILL BE BIG THIS YEAR."

THE THING ABOUT BLUEGRASS IS IT'S ALWAYS BEEN BIG.

IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THESE CAREERS, THEY ALL KIND OF WENT UP VERY SLOWLY.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE POP SUCCESS AND THEN DISAPPEAR.

BUT IT'S JUST BEEN KIND OF MOVING ALONG, AND THEY'RE DOING FINE, THANK YOU.

♪ GEORGE JONES: ♪ WHEN YOU LEFT ♪ ♪ I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD SOON GET OVER YOU ♪ ♪ EVEN TOLD MYSELF THAT I'D FIND SOMEBODY, TOO ♪ RAY WALKER: THE MINUTE WE HEARD HIM, WE'D NEVER HEARD A VOICE LIKE THAT.

♪ ...HAVE COME AND GONE BUT NOT YOUR MEMORY ♪ GEORGE JONES.

JONES: ♪ ...I'LL BE OVER YOU WHEN THE GRASS... ♪ I'M NOT SURE WHETHER HE DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS IMPORTANT OR FOUGHT BEING IMPORTANT.

♪ YES, I'LL BE OVER YOU ♪ ♪ WHEN YOU'RE STANDING OVER ME ♪ BRENDA LEE: WELL, I THINK THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS THAT GEORGE WENT THROUGH HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HIS MUSIC.

I THINK WHEN HE WAS HURTING, YOU COULD HEAR IT IN A SONG.

♪ DON'T EXPECT TO HEAR ME SAY THAT I STILL LOVE YOU THEN ♪ I ALWAYS SAY...GEORGE DIDN'T SING COUNTRY SONGS.

GEORGE WAS A COUNTRY SONG.

♪ FOR I'LL BE OVER YOU ♪ ♪ WHEN THE GRASS GROWS OVER ME ♪ [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] NARRATOR: "IF I COULD HAVE MADE A LIVING "DOING SOME OTHER THINGS, I KNOW I WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT HAPPIER," GEORGE JONES ONCE SAID, "BUT YOU DON'T GET THAT IN THIS BUSINESS."

JONES: ♪ BENEATH STILL WATERS ♪ ♪ THERE'S A STRONG UNDERTOW ♪ NARRATOR: SINGING HAD HELPED RAISE HIM FROM THE POVERTY OF HIS CHILDHOOD, BUT NEVER LET HIM ESCAPE ITS MOST PAINFUL MEMORIES.

JONES: ♪ WHAT THE DEEP WATER KNOWS ♪ NARRATOR: BORN IN 1931 IN A LOG SHACK IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS, THE YOUNGEST OF 8 CHILDREN, JONES INHERITED A GIFT OF MUSIC FROM HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY.

JONES: ♪ ...SOMETHING'S WRONG ♪ NARRATOR: BUT HIS FATHER HAD A WEAKNESS FOR HARD LIQUOR, WHICH TURNED HIM MEAN AND UNCONTROLLABLY VIOLENT.

RETURNING HOME DRUNK MANY NIGHTS, HE WOULD ROUST YOUNG GEORGE FROM BED AND DEMAND SOME SONGS, BELT-WHIPPING THE BOY IF HE HESITATED.

GEORGE WOULD PERFORM WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN HIS FACE.

JONES: ♪ ...SOON BE LEAVING ME ♪ NARRATOR: WHEN THE FAMILY MOVED TO A GOVERNMENT HOUSING PROJECT IN BEAUMONT, THE FATHER TOOK HIS 11-YEAR-OLD SON TO A BUS STOP AND FORCED HIM TO SING FOR STRANGERS PASSING BY AND THEN CONFISCATED THE COINS THEY TOSSED INTO GEORGE'S TIN CUP TO GO ON A BENDER.

JONES: ♪ OOH, WHITE LIGHTNING ♪ ♪ WELL, I ASKED MY OLD PAPPY WHY HE CALLED... ♪ NARRATOR: BY THE TIME HE WAS IN HIS MID TEENS, JONES HAD QUIT SCHOOL AND WAS A GOOD ENOUGH SINGER TO PERFORM IN LOCAL BARS FOR TIPS AND FREE BEER.

JONES: ♪ ...MY FACE TURNED BLUE ♪ NARRATOR: THEY CALLED HIM "POSSUM" BECAUSE OF HIS CLOSE-SET EYES, TURNED UP NOSE, AND TIGHT-LIPPED GRIN.

BILLY SHERILL: HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED AT HIM REAL CLOSE?

HE LOOKS LIKE A POSSUM, LITTLE BEADY EYES.

HE KNOWS HE LOOKS LIKE A POSSUM.

BOTH: ♪ ...BUT MY PAPPY KEPT ON COOKIN' ♪ ♪ PHOO....WHITE LIGHTNIN' ♪ NARRATOR: GEORGE JONES' FIRST NUMBER-ONE HIT, "WHITE LIGHTNIN'," WAS RELEASED IN 1959.

HE WAS WELL INTO A SECOND UNHAPPY MARRIAGE BY THEN.

JONES: ♪ I HEARD HIM A-MOANIN' AS HE HIT... ♪ NARRATOR: ON THE ROAD, HE HAD DEVELOPED HIS OWN TASTE FOR WHISKEY AND WAS HAVING THE SAME TROUBLES WITH IT AS HIS FATHER.

JONES: ♪ ... WHITE LIGHTNIN' ♪ AT ONE CONCERT, HE WAS SO DRUNK HE FELL OFF THE STAGE.

JONES: ♪ PHOO... ♪ NARRATOR: SOMETIMES JONES WOULD SIMPLY DISAPPEAR, UNTIL HIS BANDMATES FINALLY FOUND HIM, SITTING ALONE, DRINKING IN A DARK CORNER OF A BAR.

A PRODUCER AT STARDAY RECORDS WANTED HIM TO TRY TO DEVELOP HIS OWN STYLE.

HE BELIEVED JONES COULD BE A MAJOR STAR, IF HE STOPPED IMITATING HIS MUSICAL HEROES-- ROY ACUFF, HANK WILLIAMS, AND LEFTY FRIZZELL.

JONES: ♪ SHE THINKS I... ♪ NARRATOR: HE FOUND THAT STYLE-- HOLDING BACK THE POWER OF HIS VOICE UNTIL THE DRAMA OF THE SONG REQUIRED IT, BENDING AND EMBROIDERING NOTES, ALL THE WHILE SINGING THROUGH HIS NEARLY CLENCHED TEETH.

JONES: ♪ JUST BECAUSE I ASKED A FRIEND ABOUT HER ♪ ♪ JUST BECAUSE I SPOKE HER NAME SOMEWHERE ♪ LLOYD GREEN: HE HAD THIS QUALITY OF A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

JONES: ♪ ...BECAUSE I RANG HER NUMBER... ♪ HE HAD COMPLETE CONTROL OF HIS VOICE, MUCH LIKE AN OPERATIC SINGER, EXCEPT IT WAS COUNTRY.

JONES: ♪ SHE THINKS I STILL CARE ♪ NARRATOR: HE APPROACHED EACH RECORDING, HE SAID, "UNTIL "YOU'RE JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE IN THE SONG, AND YOU'RE LIVING IT "AND THEIR PROBLEMS BECOME YOUR PROBLEMS, UNTIL YOU'RE LOST IN THE SONG AND IT JUST TAKES EVERYTHING OUT OF YOU."

WHEN JONES RECORDED IN NASHVILLE, OTHER MUSICIANS STARTED COMING TO HIS SESSIONS, JUST TO LISTEN TO HIM SING.

JONES: ♪ OH, WHERE... ♪ STUBBS: IN THE SIXTIES, HE GOT TO A POINT WHERE HE WAS MAKING $1,000 A NIGHT, WHICH WAS A LOT OF MONEY FOR A COUNTRY ARTIST.

HE HAD THE FLAT-TOP HAIRCUT.

HE WAS SINGING HUNGRY.

AND YOU THINK ABOUT MONUMENTAL RECORDS LIKE "A GIRL I USED TO KNOW," "SHE THINKS I STILL CARE," "YOU COMB HER HAIR," "THE RACE IS ON."

THESE ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT RECORDS AT THAT POINT IN TIME.

GEORGE WAS WIDE-OPEN IN THOSE DAYS.

HE WAS LIVING HARD.

NARRATOR: IN 1968, HIS SECOND WIFE, WHO DIDN'T DRINK AND DIDN'T REALLY LIKE COUNTRY MUSIC, DIVORCED HIM, AND HE MOVED FROM TEXAS TO NASHVILLE.

HE OPENED A NIGHTCLUB ON LOWER BROADWAY CALLED POSSUM HOLLER AND MARKETED A LINE OF SOUVENIRS, INCLUDING WOMEN'S LINGERIE CALLED POSSUM PANTIES.

JONES WAS 37 YEARS OLD AND A MAJOR STAR.

HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS, "YOU CAN JUST SAY OLE POSSUM AIN'T GETTIN' MARRIED AGAIN UNTIL HE'S 69."

JONES: ♪ ...STILL CARE ♪ [APPLAUSE] ♪ WELL, I'M GONNA GET ON THE OLD TURNPIKE ♪ ♪ AND I'M GONNA RIDE ♪ ♪ I'M GONNA LEAVE THIS TOWN TILL YOU DECIDE WHICH ONE... ♪ NARRATOR: GEORGE JONES' VOW TO STAY SINGLE FOR THE NEXT 32 YEARS LASTED LESS THAN ONE.

JONES AND HIS NEW WIFE SHARED A NUMBER OF THINGS IN COMMON.

BOTH HAD ALREADY BEEN MARRIED TWICE BEFORE.

BOTH HAD EXTRAORDINARY VOICES.

JONES: SING A LITTLE BIT OF IT.

♪ WE WERE WATCHING TV, ERNEST TUBB WAS SINGIN' LOUD ♪ ♪ I SAID, "HE'S THE MAN FOR ME" ♪ ♪ I LOVE HIM, THERE'S NO DOUBT ♪ ♪ I'M LEAVIN' YOU AND GOIN' NOW TO FIND OUT WHERE HE'S AT ♪ ♪ AND IF I CAN'T FIND HIM, I'LL SETTLE FOR THAT BLUEGRASS LESTER FLATT ♪ NARRATOR: AND TAMMY WYNETTE'S PERSONAL LIFE SEEMED JUST AS FRAGILE AND TORMENTED AS HER NEW HUSBAND'S.

LEE: TAMMY'S SNATCHES AT HAPPINESS WERE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN.

THAT IS WHAT I OBSERVED.

AND YOU ALWAYS WANTED HER TO BE HAPPIER BECAUSE YOU FELT LIKE SHE WASN'T, AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT.

AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO ASK HER IF YOU COULD FIX IT.

[ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYING "WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?"]

NARRATOR: BORN VIRGINIA WYNETTE PUGH, IN ITAWAMBA COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, CLOSE TO THE ALABAMA BORDER, SHE HAD BEEN RAISED ON A COTTON FARM BY HER GRANDPARENTS.

HER FATHER HAD DIED BEFORE SHE WAS 1, AND HER MOTHER HAD MOVED TO MEMPHIS TO WORK IN A DEFENSE FACTORY DURING WORLD WAR II.

SHE MARRIED AT AGE 17, A MONTH BEFORE HER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION.

BY THE TIME SHE TURNED 23, SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF 3 GIRLS, DIVORCING HER HUSBAND AND LIVING IN BIRMINGHAM, MAKING $45 A WEEK BY SINGING ON A LOCAL TELEVISION SHOW EARLY EACH MORNING, BEFORE GOING TO WORK ALL DAY AT A BEAUTY SALON.

IN 1966, SHE PACKED HER CHILDREN AND A FEW BELONGINGS INTO HER CAR AND MOVED TO NASHVILLE, WHERE SHE STARTED MAKING THE ROUNDS ALONG MUSIC ROW, HOPING SOMEONE WOULD SIGN HER TO A CONTRACT.

WHEN AN EXECUTIVE OFFERED HER THAT POSSIBILITY IN EXCHANGE FOR SEXUAL FAVORS, SHE RAN OUT.

EVENTUALLY, SHE BEGAN SHOWING UP AT THE OFFICE OF BILLY SHERRILL, A YOUNG PRODUCER AT EPIC RECORDS.

SHERRILL: ANOTHER RECORD PRODUCER, WHO WILL BE FOREVER NAMELESS, SHE HAD SEEN HIM AND HE MADE SOME KIND OF DEROGATORY REMARKS ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP, AND IT MADE ME REALLY, REALLY MAD AT HIM.

SO THE NEXT TIME SHE CAME IN, I SAID, "I'VE GOT THIS SONG.

WE'LL RECORD THIS."

SHE SAID, "YOU WOULDN'T BE KIDDING ME, WOULD YOU?"

I SAID, "YOU LEARN THE SONG, AND TOMORROW WE'LL MAKE A LITTLE HISTORY."

WYNETTE: ♪ JUST FOLLOW THE STAIRWAY ♪ ♪ TO THIS LONELY WORLD OF MINE ♪ ♪ YOU'LL FIND ME WAITIN' HERE ♪ ♪ IN APARTMENT NUMBER 9 ♪ SHERRILL: AT THAT POINT, HER NAME WAS VIRGINIA WYNETTE PUGH.

I SAID, "PUGH'S THE UGLIEST NAME I'VE EVER HEARD."

SHE SAID, "WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO-- WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO BE?"

I SAID, "I ALWAYS LOVED THE NAME TAMMY.

"THERE'S A MOVIE OUT, 'TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR.'

"LET'S CALL YOU TAMMY AND FORGET PUGH AND USE YOUR MIDDLE NAME WYNETTE.

YOU'LL--FROM NOW ON, YOU'LL BE TAMMY WYNETTE."

WYNETTE: ♪ ...YOUR ARMS AROUND ME ♪ ♪ AND THE SUN WILL NEVER SHINE ♪ ♪ IN APARTMENT NUMBER 9 ♪ NARRATOR: "APARTMENT #9" DID NOT MAKE HISTORY, BUT MUSICIANS IN NASHVILLE TOOK NOTICE OF THE NEW SINGER.

WYNETTE: ♪ AND AFTER ALL THE PLANS WE MADE ♪ ♪ YOU JUST... ♪ THAT TEARDROP IN HER VOICE JUST SAID IT ALL.

I MEAN, YOU COULD HEAR THE HURT AND THE PAIN AND THE WANTING.

TAMMY WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT YOU ALWAYS JUST WANTED TO HUG AND ENVELOP, AND SAY "IT'S GONNA BE ALL RIGHT.

IT'S GONNA BE FINE."

WYNETTE: ♪ ...WILL NEVER SHINE ♪ LORETTA LYNN: YEAH, WHAT A VOICE.

WYNETTE: ♪ ...NUMBER 9 ♪ THAT WAS HER FIRST RECORD.

AND I HEARD IT ON THE RADIO AND I SAID, "I GOT COMPETITION."

["D-I-V-O-R-C-E" PLAYING] NARRATOR: BILLY SHERRILL HAD BEEN INSPIRED BY THE RICH ARRANGEMENTS THAT ROCK PRODUCER PHIL SPECTOR WAS CREATING IN LOS ANGELES, KNOWN AS THE "WALL OF SOUND."

WHEN SHERRILL WRAPPED HIS OWN VERSION OF IT AROUND TAMMY WYNETTE'S DYNAMIC VOICE, THE RESULT WAS A STEADY STRING OF NUMBER-ONE COUNTRY HITS.

WYNETTE: ♪ ...BECOMES FINAL TODAY ♪ ♪ ME AND LITTLE J-O-E ♪ ♪ WILL BE GOIN' AWAY... ♪ NARRATOR: ONE OF THEM WAS WRITTEN BY BOBBY BRADDOCK AND CURLY PUTMAN, IN WHICH A MOTHER TRIES TO SHIELD HER SON FROM THE AGONY OF THE BREAKUP OF HER MARRIAGE BY SPELLING OUT WORDS LIKE "DIVORCE" AND "CUSTODY."

WYNETTE: ♪ ...THIS D-I-V-O-R-C-E ♪ NARRATOR: THE SONG, WYNETTE WOULD SAY, "FIT MY LIFE COMPLETELY."

WHEN IT HIT THE TOP OF THE COUNTRY CHARTS, HER SECOND MARRIAGE TO SONGWRITER DON CHAPEL WAS BEGINNING TO DISINTEGRATE.

BY THIS TIME, GEORGE JONES' SECOND DIVORCE HAD JUST BEEN FINALIZED.

THE TWO HAD GOTTEN TO KNOW EACH OTHER PERFORMING AT CONCERTS ON THE ROAD.

JONES, 11 YEARS OLDER, WAS WYNETTE'S IDOL AS A COUNTRY SINGER.

SHE HAD ALL OF HIS SONG LYRICS HANDWRITTEN IN A LOOSE-LEAF NOTEBOOK.

NARRATOR: ONE NIGHT, JONES STOPPED AT WYNETTE'S AND CHAPEL'S HOUSE.

SHE HAD BEEN PLAYING JONES' LATEST HIT, WRITTEN BY HER HUSBAND, OVER AND OVER.

CHAPEL BEGAN RANTING AND CUSSING.

JONES, WHO HAD BEEN DRINKING, EXPLODED, TURNING OVER A DINING TABLE AND TOSSING A CHAIR THROUGH A WINDOW.

HE SHOUTED AT CHAPEL, "YOU DON'T TALK TO HER LIKE THAT."

"SHE'S MY WIFE," CHAPEL ANSWERED, "WHAT THE HELL BUSINESS IS IT OF YOURS?"

"BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH HER," JONES BLURTED OUT, "AND SHE'S IN LOVE WITH ME, AREN'T YOU, TAMMY?"

"YES," SHE ADMITTED, "I AM."

A FEW DAYS LATER, HE FLEW HER TO MEXICO CITY SO SHE COULD GET A QUICK DIVORCE.

WYNETTE: ♪ SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO BE A WOMAN... ♪ NARRATOR: IN THE MIDST OF ALL THE TURMOIL, BILLY SHERRILL BROUGHT TAMMY BACK INTO THE STUDIO TO RECORD A SONG THEY HAD CO-WRITTEN.

WYNETTE: ♪ YOU'LL HAVE BAD TIMES ♪ ♪ AND HE'LL HAVE GOOD TIMES ♪ ♪ DOIN' THINGS THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ♪ SHERRILL: I ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE A SONG ABOUT A WOMAN TALKING TO ANOTHER WOMAN.

IT'S ALWAYS A GUY TALKING ABOUT WOMEN, WOMEN TALKING ABOUT GUYS.

AND I FIGURED IF A WOMAN TALKED TO ANOTHER WOMAN, WHAT WOULD SHE TELL HER?

WYNETTE: ♪ AND IF YOU LOVE HIM... ♪ "SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO BE A WOMAN, GIVING ALL YOUR LOVE "TO JUST ONE MAN.

"YOU'LL HAVE BAD TIMES, HE'LL HAVE GOOD TIMES," AND ALL THAT.

SO "IF YOU LOVE HIM, YOU'LL FORGIVE HIM, SO STAND BY YOUR MAN."

WYNETTE: ♪ STAND BY YOUR MAN ♪ ♪ GIVE HIM TWO ARMS TO CLING TO ♪ ♪ AND SOMETHING WARM TO COME TO... ♪ NARRATOR: "STAND BY YOUR MAN" WOULD BE TAMMY WYNETTE'S BIGGEST RECORD EVER, SELLING 5 MILLION COPIES, EARNING HER A GRAMMY, AND MAKING HER THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION'S FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR, BEATING OUT THE PREVIOUS RECIPIENT, LORETTA LYNN.

JUST LIKE TO SAY THANKS FOR MAKING THIS THE GREATEST YEAR OF MY LIFE.

THANK YOU.

[APPLAUSE] JEANNIE SEELY: ONE AMUSING THING TO ME ABOUT TAMMY AND LORETTA-- I DON'T KNOW IF YOU EVER NOTICED THIS-- TAMMY'S SONGS WERE ALWAYS ABOUT STANDING BY YOUR MAN AND TREATING YOUR MAN RIGHT, AND BEING THERE FOR HIM, AND YET SHE DIVORCED SEVERAL TIMES.

LORETTA LYNN WAS ALWAYS THREATENING, "DON'T COME HOME DRINKING, DON'T DO THIS, OR I'LL DO THAT."

AND SHE ALWAYS STAYED WITH HER MAN, SO...

I ALWAYS KIND OF THOUGHT THEY WROTE EACH OTHER'S SONGS.

NARRATOR: IN EARLY 1969, GEORGE JONES AND TAMMY WYNETTE WERE MARRIED AND BEGAN TOURING TOGETHER IN A BUS EMBLAZONED, "MR. AND MRS. COUNTRY MUSIC."

WYNETTE: ♪ ...THE LOVE YOU CAN ♪ NARRATOR: JONES HAD HIS OWN HIT RISING IN THE CHARTS AT THE TIME, "I'LL SHARE MY WORLD WITH YOU."

IT REACHED NUMBER 2.

"STAND BY YOUR MAN" WAS STILL NUMBER 1.

WYNETTE: ♪ ...MAN ♪ NARRATOR: IN 1968, JOHNNY CASH HAD REDEEMED HIS CAREER BY RECORDING AN ALBUM AT FOLSOM PRISON.

A YEAR LATER, HE HAD EVEN GREATER SUCCESS WITH ONE RECORDED LIVE AT SAN QUENTIN.

[JOHNNY CASH'S "A BOY NAMED SUE" PLAYING] CASH: ♪ WELL, MY DADDY LEFT HOME WHEN I WAS 3 ♪ ♪ AND HE DIDN'T LEAVE MUCH TO MA AND ME ♪ ♪ JUST THIS OL' GUITAR AND AN EMPTY BOTTLE OF BOOZE ♪ [INMATES CHEERING] ♪ NOW, I DON'T BLAME HIM 'CAUSE HE RUN AND HID ♪ ♪ BUT THE MEANEST THING THAT HE EVER DID ♪ ♪ WAS BEFORE HE LEFT, HE WENT AND NAMED ME SUE ♪ [LAUGHTER] NARRATOR: THE BIGGEST HIT ON THE ALBUM WAS A NOVELTY TUNE CALLED "A BOY NAMED SUE."

CASH: ♪ ...ROAM FROM TOWN TO TOWN TO HIDE MY SHAME ♪ NARRATOR: IT WAS WRITTEN BY A FRIEND OF CASH'S WITH AN UNLIKELY BACKGROUND FOR A COUNTRY SONGWRITER.

CASH: ♪ ...AND KILL THAT MAN THAT GIVE ME THAT AWFUL NAME ♪ [LAUGHTER] NARRATOR: SHEL SILVERSTEIN WAS A CARTOONIST FOR "PLAYBOY" MAGAZINE AND A CELEBRATED AUTHOR OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS.

CASH: ♪ ...AND HAD MYSELF A BREW ♪ BOBBY BARE: HIS LOVE FOR COUNTRY MUSIC WAS NOT FAKE.

IT WAS THE REAL DEAL.

HIS FAVORITE SINGER AS A KID WAS ERNEST TUBB.

AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE A SMALL, JEWISH BOY GROWING UP AROUND CHICAGO LOVING ERNEST TUBB.

I MEAN IT'S STRANGE.

AND, OF COURSE, SHEL WAS STRANGE.

CASH: ♪ MY NAME IS SUE!

HOW DO YOU DO?

♪ ♪ NOW YOU GONNA DIE!

♪ YEAH!

BARE: BUT HE WAS THE MOST CREATIVE PERSON I EVER MET IN MY LIFE.

CASH: ♪ ...THE EYES, AND HE WENT DOWN, BUT TO MY SURPRISE ♪ ♪ HE COME UP WITH A KNIFE AND CUT OFF A PIECE OF MY EAR ♪ ♪ BUT I BUSTED A CHAIR RIGHT ACROSS HIS TEETH ♪ ♪ AND WE CRASHED THROUGH THE WALL AND INTO THE STREET ♪ ♪ KICKIN' AND A-GOUGIN' IN THE MUD AND THE BLOOD AND THE BEER ♪ [LAUGHTER] ♪ AND I THINK ABOUT HIM NOW AND THEN ♪ ♪ EVERY TIME I TRY AND EVERY TIME I WIN ♪ ♪ AND IF I EVER HAVE A SON, I THINK I'M GONNA NAME HIM ♪ ♪ BILL OR GEORGE, ANYTHING BUT SUE!

♪ ♪ I STILL HATE THAT NAME, YEAH ♪ [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] NARRATOR: "A BOY NAMED SUE" WOULD BE CASH'S BIGGEST SINGLE EVER.

CASH: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

NARRATOR: IT WAS PART OF A LONG TRADITION.

COUNTRY MUSIC FANS HAD ALWAYS ENJOYED SILLY AND SOMETIMES SUGGESTIVE SONGS, CALLED "HOKUM."

SHEL WROTE 20-SOME SONGS ABOUT THE REALITIES OF GETTING OLDER IN MUSIC CITY, AND WE DID SONGS LIKE, "I'M AN OLD DOG, BUT I CAN STILL BURY A BONE."

I DID ONE CALLED "SHE'D RATHER BE HOMELESS THAN HERE AT HOME WITH ME."

WAYLON DID ONE CALLED "LORD, AIN'T IT HARD WHEN IT AIN'T."

MEL DID ONE CALLED "I'M NOT TOO OLD TO CUT THE MUSTARD, JUST TOO TIRED TO SPREAD IT AROUND."

♪ MAY THE BIRD OF PARADISE FLY UP YOUR NOSE ♪ ♪ MAY AN ELEPHANT CARESS YOU WITH HIS TOES ♪ NARRATOR: THE ONLY NUMBER-ONE SONG LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS EVER HAD WAS "MAY THE BIRD OF PARADISE FLY UP YOUR NOSE."

♪ ...FLY UP YOUR NOSE ♪ NARRATOR: ROY CLARK HAD A HIT WITH "THANK GOD AND GREYHOUND YOU'RE GONE."

DICKENS: ♪ MY LAUNDRY MAN IS REALLY ON HIS TOES... ♪ NARRATOR: THEN THERE WAS "SHE GOT THE GOLD MINE, I GOT THE SHAFT."

DICKENS: ♪ ...BILL AMONG MY CLOTHES ♪ NARRATOR: "MY WIFE RAN OFF WITH MY BEST FRIEND, AND I SURE DO MISS HIM."

DICKENS: ♪ ...BACK HIS DIME FOR PHONIN'... ♪ NARRATOR: ONE OF CONWAY TWITTY AND LORETTA LYNN'S MOST POPULAR DUETS WAS TITLED, "YOU'RE THE REASON OUR KIDS ARE UGLY."

DICKENS: ♪ ...UP YOUR NOSE ♪ MY FAVORITE, AND IT CAME FROM MY FATHER, "IT'S HARD TO KISS THE LIPS AT NIGHT THAT CHEW YOUR ASS OUT ALL DAY LONG."

PRETTY HARD TO BEAT.

HA HA HA!

DICKENS: ♪ ...IN HER HOSE ♪ ♪ MAY THE BIRD OF PARADISE FLY UP YOUR NOSE ♪ [BOB DYLAN PLAYING "DESOLATION ROW"] ♪ DYLAN: ♪ THEY'RE SELLING POSTCARDS OF THE HANGING ♪ ♪ THEY'RE PAINTING THE PASSPORTS BROWN ♪ ♪ THE BEAUTY PARLOR IS FILLED WITH SAILORS ♪ ♪ THE CIRCUS IS IN TOWN... ♪ NARRATOR: BACK IN 1965, DURING A VISIT TO NEW YORK CITY, CHARLIE McCOY, ONE OF NASHVILLE'S "A-TEAM" SESSION MUSICIANS, STOPPED BY THE COLUMBIA RECORDS STUDIO, WHERE PRODUCER BOB JOHNSTON WAS MAKING A NEW ALBUM WITH BOB DYLAN--"HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED."

DYLAN: ♪ AND THE RIOT SQUAD, THEY'RE RESTLESS ♪ ♪ THEY NEED SOMEWHERE TO GO... ♪ HE INTRODUCED ME TO BOB DYLAN, AND BOB SAID, "I'M GETTING "READY TO DO A SONG.

WHY DON'T YOU GRAB THAT GUITAR AND PLAY ALONG?"

SO WE DID THE SONG, CALLED "DESOLATION ROW," AND IT WAS 11 MINUTES LONG.

DYLAN: ♪ CINDERELLA, SHE SEEMS SO EASY ♪ ♪ "IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE," SHE SMILES ♪ McCOY: THERE WAS HIM AND MYSELF AND AN ACOUSTIC BASS PLAYER, WHO HAD ANOTHER SESSION TO GO TO.

SO WE HAD TIME TO RECORD THE SONG ONCE, LISTEN TO IT ONCE, AND RECORD IT ONE MORE TIME, AND THAT WAS IT.

DONE.

I GUESS BOB JOHNSTON WAS SAYING, "NOW DID YOU SEE HOW EASY THAT WENT "WITH THIS GUY?

THAT'S THE WAY THEY DO IT IN NASHVILLE."

DYLAN: ♪ ...WHERE LOVELY MERMAIDS FLOW ♪ ♪ AND NOBODY HAS TO THINK TOO MUCH ♪ ♪ ABOUT DESOLATION ROW ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: THE NEXT YEAR, WHEN DYLAN BECAME DISSATISFIED WITH THE PROGRESS ON A NEW ALBUM, JOHNSTON MOVED EVERYTHING TO NASHVILLE, WHERE McCOY AND OTHER A-TEAM SESSION MUSICIANS SAT IN.

[BOB DYLAN'S "I WANT YOU" PLAYING] NARRATOR: "BLONDE ON BLONDE" WAS BOTH A CRITICAL AND COMMERCIAL SUCCESS.

IT WAS FOLLOWED BY "JOHN WESLEY HARDING," ALSO RECORDED ON MUSIC ROW.

DYLAN: ♪ THE GUILTY UNDERTAKER SIGHS ♪ ♪ THE LONESOME ORGAN GRINDER CRIES ♪ ♪ THE SILVER SAXOPHONES SAY I SHOULD REFUSE YOU ♪ ♪ THE CRACKED BELLS AND WASHED-OUT HORNS ♪ ♪ BLEW INTO MY... ♪ NARRATOR: THE NATION WAS BECOMING MORE POLITICALLY AND CULTURALLY POLARIZED, AND MUSICAL TASTES INCREASINGLY ACCENTUATED THAT DIVIDE.

BUT IN THE RECORDING STUDIOS OF NASHVILLE, AT LEAST, THERE SEEMED TO BE ROOM FOR EVERYONE.

McCOY: IT WAS ALMOST LIKE ALL OF THESE FOLK ROCK ARTISTS SAID, "NOW, WAIT A MINUTE.

WAIT.

THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON THERE."

IT WAS LIKE THE FLOODGATE OPENED.

HERE THEY CAME-- JOAN BAEZ; BUFFY ST. MARIE; PETER, PAUL, AND MARY; THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER; LEONARD COHEN; GORDON LIGHTFOOT; DAN FOGELBERG; THE BYRDS.

IT'S JUST LIKE THE GATES OPENED, AND HERE THEY CAME.

ROGER McGUINN: ♪ CLOUDS SO SWIFT, THE RAIN WON'T LIFT ♪ ♪ GATE WON'T CLOSE, RAILINGS FROZE ♪ ♪ AND GET YOUR MIND OFF... ♪ NARRATOR: THE BYRDS, AN ECLECTIC ROCK BAND FROM LOS ANGELES, HAD PIONEERED WHAT CAME TO BE CALLED FOLK-ROCK BY TURNING DYLAN'S SONG "MR. TAMBOURINE MAN" AND PETE SEEGER'S "TURN, TURN, TURN" INTO NATIONAL HITS.

THEN THEY HELPED POPULARIZE PSYCHEDELIC-ROCK WITH A SONG CALLED "EIGHT MILES HIGH."

IN 1968, LED BY FOUNDING MEMBERS ROGER McGUINN AND CHRIS HILLMAN, THEY SHOWED UP ON MUSIC ROW WITH THE INTENTION OF CREATING AN ALBUM OF COUNTRY MUSIC.

WITH THEM CAME THEIR NEWEST MEMBER, GRAM PARSONS, THE HEIR TO A FLORIDA CITRUS EMPIRE, WHO HAD ATTENDED HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

THE BYRDS: ♪ WHOO-EE, RIDE ME HIGH... ♪ NARRATOR: ORIGINALLY DRAWN TO FOLK MUSIC, AND SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO CONSIDERED COUNTRY MUSIC WITH CONTEMPT, PARSONS SWITCHED ALLEGIANCES AFTER A FRIEND PLAYED HIM SOME BUCK OWENS AND MERLE HAGGARD RECORDS.

WHEN THE BYRDS GOT TO NASHVILLE, LLOYD GREEN WAS CALLED IN TO PROVIDE A PEDAL STEEL GUITAR.

McGUINN: ♪ YOU BUY ME A FLUTE... ♪ GREEN: AND THE FIRST SONG WAS "YOU AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE," A BOB DYLAN SONG.

McGUINN: ♪ TAILGATES SUBSTITUTES... ♪ GREEN: SO, THEY'RE STANDING OVER MY STEEL.

I'M SITTING THERE, AND I SAY, "WELL, WHERE DO YOU GUYS WANT ME TO FILL?"

IN UNISON, THEY SAID, "EVERYWHERE.

EVERYWHERE."

THE BYRDS: ♪ WHOO-EE... ♪ AND I SAID, "HEY, MY KIND OF GUYS.

TURN IT ON."

SO, IF YOU LISTEN TO THE "SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO" ALBUM AND "YOU AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE," YOU'LL HEAR STEEL GUITAR FROM THE FIRST NOTE TO THE END OF THE SONG, THE LAST NOTE--THEY LET ME PLAY EVERYWHERE.

♪ NARRATOR: BUT WHEN THE BYRDS' RECORD LABEL USED ITS INFLUENCE TO GET THEM AN INVITATION TO PERFORM AT THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM--THE FIRST ROCK BAND EVER TO PLAY THE GRAND OLE OPRY--NO ONE WAS PREPARED FOR THE REACTION.

McGUINN: ♪ ...AND A GUN THAT SHOOTS ♪ ♪ ALL HIS KINGS SUPPLIED WITH SLEEP ♪ ♪ WE'LL CLIMB THAT HILL, NO MATTER HOW STEEP ♪ ♪ WHEN WE GET UP TO IT ♪ THE BYRDS: ♪ WHOO-EE... ♪ GREEN: PEOPLE SAW THEM COMING OUT AND STARTED BOOING.

THEY SAW THIS YOUNG GROUP OF HIPPIE-LOOKING GUYS AND WITH LONGER HAIR THAN WHAT THEY WERE USED TO.

THEY LITERALLY BOOED.

WELCOME TO NASHVILLE.

THE BYRDS: ♪ ...RIDE ME HIGH, TOMORROW... ♪ [THE BYRDS' 'HICKORY WIND" PLAYING] ♪ NARRATOR: THE BYRDS' ALBUM, "SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO," WAS NOT A COMMERCIAL SUCCESS.

PARSONS: ♪ IN SOUTH CAROLINA... ♪ NARRATOR: COUNTRY STATIONS AVOIDED IT, AND MANY ROCK STATIONS DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF IT.

BUT SOME REVIEWERS SAW IN IT THE BEGINNINGS OF SOMETHING NEW-- "COUNTRY ROCK."

PARSONS: ♪ ...REMEMBER THE OAK TREE... ♪ ELVIS COSTELLO: GRAM PARSONS-- I THINK HE HAD AN EVEN CLEARER VISION OF THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SOULFUL END OF COUNTRY MUSIC AND RHYTHM AND BLUES.

HE UNDERSTOOD WHERE THOSE TWO THINGS COULD PERCOLATE.

THE BYRDS: ♪ ...HICKORY WIND ♪ ♪ [KRIS KRISTOFFERSON'S "CASEY'S LAST RIDE" PLAYING] ♪ KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ CASEY JOINS THE HOLLOW SOUND OF SILENT PEOPLE WALKING DOWN ♪ ♪ THE STAIRWAY TO THE SUBWAY IN THE SHADOWS DOWN BELOW ♪ ♪ FOLLOWING THEIR FOOTSTEPS THROUGH THE... ♪ BOBBY BRADDOCK: I REMEMBER I USED TO DO DEMO SESSIONS AT COLUMBIA STUDIO, AND THIS GUY THERE WHO WAS THE JANITOR... KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ ...NEVER SPEAKIN' TO A SOUL ♪ WOULD ALWAYS LAY ASIDE HIS PUSH BROOM, AND HE'D START ASKING ME QUESTIONS ABOUT SONGWRITING.

AND, AS I GOT TO KNOW HIM, I REALIZED THIS GUY WAS NOT JUST A JANITOR.

I THINK HE WAS LIKE 3, 4 YEARS OLDER THAN I WAS.

AND I FOUND OUT THAT HE HAD BEEN TO OXFORD AND THAT HE HAD BEEN AN OFFICER IN THE MILITARY AND A HELICOPTER PILOT.

AND--HA HA!--I GOT TO KNOW HIM PRETTY WELL.

I THOUGHT HE WAS AN AMAZING SONGWRITER, AND HIS NAME WAS KRIS KRISTOFFERSON.

[LOS PANCHOS' "SOY RANCHERO" PLAYING] NARRATOR: GROWING UP IN BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON HAD SHOWN AN EARLY INTEREST IN POETRY AND MUSIC.

LOS PANCHOS: ♪ SOY RANCHERO, SOY CERRERO ♪ ♪ ...EL CAMPO... ♪ NARRATOR: HE ESPECIALLY ENJOYED LISTENING TO HANK WILLIAMS ON THE RADIO AND TO THE MEXICAN MUSIC THAT SEEMED TO PERMEATE THE STREETS OF HIS BORDER TOWN.

[LOS PANCHOS CONTINUE SINGING IN SPANISH] KRISTOFFERSON: THE RANCHERAS AND THE MUSIC I HEARD ACROSS THE RIVER IN MATAMOROS... [LOS PANCHOS CONTINUE SINGING] I THINK THAT PROBABLY-- PROBABLY PUT THE HEART IN IT FOR ME.

[LOS PANCHOS CONTINUE SINGING] NARRATOR: HIS MOTHER AND HIS FATHER, A GENERAL IN THE AIR FORCE, HAD THEIR OWN IDEAS FOR HIS FUTURE.

AND AFTER MOVING TO CALIFORNIA, WERE PROUD THAT THEIR SON ENTERED PRESTIGIOUS POMONA COLLEGE, WHERE HE PLAYED RUGBY AND FOOTBALL, JOINED THE RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS, AND GRADUATED PHI BETA KAPPA IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, BEFORE GOING ON TO OXFORD, ENGLAND, AS A RHODES SCHOLAR TO CONTINUE STUDYING THE ROMANTIC POETS.

KRISTOFFERSON: I LOVED WILLIAM BLAKE AND SHAKESPEARE, OF COURSE.

WILLIAM BLAKE SAID, "IF HE WHO IS ORGANIZED BY THE DIVINE "FOR SPIRITUAL COMMUNION REFUSE AND BURY HIS TALENT "IN THE EARTH, EVEN THOUGH HE SHOULD WANT NATURAL BREAD, "SHAME AND CONFUSION OF FACE WILL PURSUE HIM THROUGHOUT LIFE TO ETERNITY."

HE'S TELLING YOU THAT YOU'LL BE MISERABLE IF YOU DON'T DO WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO.

NARRATOR: WHEN KRISTOFFERSON TURNED 29, HIS LIFE WAS AT A CROSSROADS.

HE HAD A WIFE AND SMALL CHILD AND WAS WELL ON HIS WAY TOWARD A DISTINGUISHED MILITARY CAREER, LIKE HIS FATHER'S.

HE WAS A CAPTAIN AND HELICOPTER PILOT IN THE ARMY'S AIRBORNE RANGERS AND HAD VOLUNTEERED FOR DUTY IN VIETNAM, BUT INSTEAD WAS ASSIGNED TO BE AN INSTRUCTOR AT WEST POINT.

BEFORE HE STARTED THAT JOB, HE VISITED NASHVILLE FOR A FEW DAYS IN 1965.

MARIJOHN WILKIN, THE CO-WRITER OF THE CLASSIC SONG "LONG BLACK VEIL," AGREED TO SHOW HIM AROUND.

SHE INTRODUCED HIM TO PRODUCER COWBOY JACK CLEMENT, WHO IN TURN TOOK HIM BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY.

KRISTOFFERSON: JACK AND MARIJOHN TOOK ME BACKSTAGE THERE.

I WAS STILL IN UNIFORM.

CASH: ♪ NOW, I TAUGHT THE WEEPING WILLOW... ♪ KRISTOFFERSON: JOHNNY CASH WAS THERE, AND HE WAS SKINNY AS A SNAKE.

LOOKED LIKE HE WAS TRYING TO BE LIKE HANK WILL--LIKE HE WAS GONNA END UP LIKE HANK WILLIAMS.

HE WAS STILL EXCITING TO WATCH PERFORM.

DO IT!

AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHY I LEFT THE ARMY.

IT JUST ELECTRIFIED ME.

CASH: ♪ ...DOWN TO THE GULF ♪ NARRATOR: HE RESIGNED HIS WEST POINT POSITION, MOVED HIS SMALL FAMILY TO NASHVILLE, AND SET ABOUT TRYING TO INTEREST PEOPLE IN THE SONGS HE HAD BEGUN TO WRITE.

TO EARN MONEY, AND HOPING TO MEET SOME ARTISTS WHO MIGHT RECORD SOMETHING HE WROTE, KRISTOFFERSON GOT A JOB AT COLUMBIA RECORDS' STUDIO-- SWEEPING FLOORS, CLEANING ASHTRAYS, AND SOMETIMES SLIPPING DEMO TAPES AND LYRIC SHEETS TO THE STARS WHO PASSED THROUGH.

FOR 4 YEARS, HE STRUGGLED TO MAKE IT.

HE AND HIS WIFE DIVORCED.

HIS PARENTS LOST PATIENCE WITH THE DIRECTION HIS LIFE HAD TAKEN.

KRISTOFFERSON: WELL, MY MOTHER JUST DISOWNED ME.

SHE SENT ME A LETTER SAYING, UH, "WE THOUGHT IT WAS CUTE "WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE AND YOU LIKED COUNTRY MUSIC, BUT THINK "THAT AS A GROWN MAN, YOU KNOW, NOBODY OVER THE AGE OF 15 LISTENS TO THAT TRASH," SHE SAID, "AND IF THEY DID, IT WOULDN'T BE ANYBODY WE WANT TO KNOW," AND, "PLEASE DON'T WRITE OR COME HOME BECAUSE YOU'RE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO US."

WHEN I READ THE LETTER, I WAS IN JACK CLEMENT'S OFFICE.

AND JACK SAID, "YOU GOT TO GIVE ME THAT LETTER" 'CAUSE," HE SAYS, "I WANT TO SHOW IT TO JOHNNY CASH."

AND I GAVE HIM THE LETTER.

AND THE FIRST TIME I EVER MET JOHN WAS WHEN I WAS A JANITOR THERE ARE AT COLUMBIA AND HE SAID TO ME, "IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO GET A LETTER FROM HOME, ISN'T IT, KRIS?"

HA HA!

KIND OF WAIT UNTIL I'M INTO THE SONG, YOU KNOW.

NARRATOR: FROM THEN ON, CASH TOLD THE STUDIO TO LET KRISTOFFERSON WATCH HIS USUALLY CLOSED SESSIONS.

IN 1969, BOB BECKHAM OF COMBINE MUSIC DECIDED TO TAKE A CHANCE ON KRISTOFFERSON AND BROUGHT HIM TO HIS BOSS, THE RECORD PRODUCER AND PUBLISHER FRED FOSTER, TO AUDITION.

KRISTOFFERSON WAS HOPING TO BE HIRED AS A SONGWRITER WITH A WEEKLY SALARY, CALLED A "DRAW."

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ THIS MAY BE OUR LAST GOOD NIGHT TOGETHER ♪ FOSTER: NOW, MY FORMULA IS, IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY ME A SONG THAT YOU'VE WRITTEN, I WANT TO HEAR 4.

ANYBODY MIGHT LUCK UP AND WRITE ONE.

A MIRACLE COULD HAPPEN AND YOU MIGHT DO TWO.

YOU'RE NOT GONNA WRITE 4 GREAT SONGS UNLESS YOU'RE A WRITER.

SO HE SANG ME 4 SONGS.

AND I THOUGHT, HONESTLY, BEFORE HE FINISHED THOSE 4 SONGS, THAT I WAS HALLUCINATING.

I SAID, "THERE'S NO WAY ANYBODY CAN BE THIS GREAT.

MY, GOD, WHAT IS THIS?"

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ ...OUR SHADOWS COME TOGETHER ♪ ♪ SOFTER THAN YOUR... ♪ SO I SAID, "OK, I'LL SIGN YOU.

I'LL AGREE TO THE DRAW YOU WANT, BUT ON ONE CONDITION."

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ ...THESE MAY BE... ♪ NARRATOR: FOSTER INSISTED KRISTOFFERSON ALSO RECORD AN ALBUM, SINGING HIS OWN SONGS.

FOSTER: "MAN," HE SAID, "YOU'RE CRAZY.

I CAN'T SING.

I SOUND LIKE AN F-ing FROG."

I SAID, "POSSIBLY, BUT ONE THAT CAN COMMUNICATE 'CAUSE YOU'VE SOLD ME."

HE SAID, "OK, IF YOU'RE CRAZY ENOUGH, I GUESS I AM, TOO."

♪ NARRATOR: AS HE PREDICTED, KRISTOFFERSON'S DEBUT ALBUM DID NOT SELL WELL, BUT ONE DAY, FOSTER CAME TO HIM WITH AN IDEA FOR A NEW SONG.

IT WASN'T MUCH, JUST A PHRASE THAT CAME TO FOSTER WHEN HE MET THE SONGWRITER BOUDLEAUX BRYANT'S NEW SECRETARY NAMED BARBARA McKEE.

EVERYONE CALLED HER BOBBIE.

KRISTOFFERSON: FRED SAID HE HAD A SONG TITLE FOR ME.

I THOUGHT HE SAID, "McGEE."

BUT HE SAID, "BOBBIE McKEE."

"HOW DOES THAT GRAB YA?

ME AND BOBBIE McKEE?"

AND I SAYS, "HOW DOES WHAT GRAB ME?"

YOU KNOW.

I DIDN'T KNOW HOW I WAS GONNA WRITE THAT.

AND THEN IT STARTED COMING TOGETHER FOR ME.

♪ BUSTED FLAT IN BATON ROUGE AND HEADIN' FOR THE TRAINS ♪ ♪ FEELIN' NEARLY FADED AS MY JEANS ♪ ♪ BOBBY THUMBED A DIESEL DOWN JUST BEFORE IT RAINED ♪ ♪ TOOK US ALL THE WAY TO NEW ORLEANS ♪ AND HE GOT CAUGHT IN A BAD RAINSTORM IN BATON ROUGE.

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ ...MY HARPOON OUT OF MY ... ♪ AND HE WROTE THE FIRST VERSE IN HIS CAR-- "BUSTED FLAT IN BATON ROUGE, HEADING FOR THE TRAIN, FEELING NEARLY AS FADED AS MY JEANS."

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ WITH THEM WINDSHIELD WIPERS SLAPPIN' TIME ♪ ♪ AND BOBBY... ♪ I WAS TRYING TO CAPTURE A FEELING THAT I HAD FROM A FILM THAT HAD REALLY MOVED ME.

[PEOPLE SPEAKING ITALIAN] KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ FREEDOM'S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE ♪ NARRATOR: THE FILM WAS "LA STRADA," BY THE ITALIAN MASTER FEDERICO FELLINI, IN WHICH THE HERO ABANDONS THE WOMAN HE LOVES AFTER A LONG AND TEMPESTUOUS JOURNEY.

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ ...BOBBY SANG THE BLUES ♪ AND, AT THE END OF THE FILM, ANTHONY QUINN IS GETTING DRUNK IN A BAR... AND HE GOES OUT BY THE BEACH.

♪ ...AND BOBBY McGEE ♪ AND HE'S LOOKING UP, ON HIS KNEES, LOOKING UP AT THE STARS AND JUST WEEPING, YOU KNOW?

AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET.

♪ ...ENOUGH FOR ME ♪ ♪ GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME AND BOBBY McGEE ♪ SO I OWE IT TO FELLINI.

HA HA!

♪ NARRATOR: ROGER MILLER WOULD BE THE FIRST TO RECORD THE SONG.

OTHERS CAME OUT WITH THEIR OWN VERSIONS.

THEN, IN 1970, THE BLUES AND ROCK SINGER JANIS JOPLIN RECORDED IT.

FRED FOSTER HAD A CHANCE TO HEAR IT BEFORE IT WAS RELEASED.

JOPLIN: ♪ FREEDOM'S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR NOTHIN' LEFT TO LOSE ♪ ♪ NOTHIN', THAT'S ALL THAT BOBBY LEFT ME, YEAH ♪ ♪ BUT FEELIN' GOOD WAS EASY, LORD ♪ ♪ WHEN HE SANG THE BLUES ♪ ♪ HEY, FEELIN' GOOD WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME ♪ ♪ MM-HMM ♪ ♪ GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME AND MY BOBBY McGEE ♪ ♪ LA DA DA LA DA DA DA... ♪ THEN SHE GOT TO THE MIDDLE PART OF "BOBBY McGEE," AND I JUST LOST IT.

I JUST STARTED CRYING.

JOPLIN: ♪ ...BOBBY McGEE, YEAH ♪ I COULDN'T HELP IT.

JOPLIN: ♪ LA DA DA LA DA DA DA LA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA ♪ ♪ LA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA ♪ ♪ HEY, MY BOBBY, MY BOBBY McGEE, YEAH ♪ THAT'S NOT A RECORD.

THAT'S AN EXPERIENCE.

JOPLIN: ♪ LA DA DA LA DA DA DA LA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA ♪ AND I CALLED KRIS AND TOLD HIM.

I SAID, "DON'T BE ALONE WHEN YOU HEAR THIS."

♪ ...BOBBY McGEE, YEAH ♪ ♪ WELL, I CALL HIM MY LOVER, CALL HIM MY MAN... ♪ NARRATOR: JOPLIN'S SINGLE, RELEASED POSTHUMOUSLY--SHE HAD DIED FROM A DRUG OVERDOSE-- BECAME THE NUMBER-ONE RECORD IN THE COUNTRY.

JOPLIN: ♪ LA LA LA LA... ♪ NARRATOR: OUT OF GRATITUDE FOR PROVIDING HIM WITH THE TITLE OF HIS FIRST BIG HIT, KRISTOFFERSON INSISTED THAT FRED FOSTER SHARE HALF OF THE WRITING CREDIT.

JOPLIN: ♪ HEY, HEY, HEY, BOBBY McGEE, YEAH ♪ THE ENEMY IN VIETNAM HAS SUDDENLY ESCALATED THE FIGHTING WITH A SHELLING OF 102 MAJOR TARGETS LAST NIGHT AND 4 GROUND ASSAULTS ON AMERICAN BASES TODAY.

AMERICAN LOSSES WERE PLACED AT 12 KILLED AND 68 WOUNDED.

GOOD EVENING.

TODAY THE TWO AMERICANS WHO LANDED AND WALKED ON THE MOON, NEIL ARMSTRONG AND BUZZ ALDRIN, IN THEIR "EAGLE" LUNAR MODULE HAVE SUCCEEDED.

AND SO, IT'S ALL OVER, EXCEPT FOR THE MASSIVE CLEANUP JOB THAT REMAINS.

THE WOODSTOCK MUSIC AND ART FAIR, HAVING DONE ITS THING, QUIETLY FOLDS ITS TENT AND STEALS AWAY.

HELLO.

I'M JOHNNY CASH.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] [PLAYING "BIG RIVER"] NARRATOR: BY THE SUMMER OF 1969, JOHNNY CASH HAD REACHED A LEVEL OF STARDOM VIRTUALLY UNEQUALED BY ANY PREVIOUS COUNTRY MUSIC ARTIST.

HIS LIVE PERFORMANCES NOW WERE PLAYED BEFORE HUGE AUDIENCES-- 20,000 PEOPLE AT NEW YORK'S MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AND AN APPEARANCE IN DETROIT THAT GROSSED $93,000, NEARLY TWICE THE PREVIOUS RECORD FOR A SINGLE COUNTRY CONCERT.

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO CASH, JUNE HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO A SON, JOHN CARTER CASH.

CASH: ♪ LA DA LA DA LA DA LA, YEAH ♪ ["RING OF FIRE" PLAYING] NARRATOR: NOW HE HAD HIS OWN WEEKLY NETWORK TELEVISION SHOW ON ABC, WHICH CASH INSISTED BE TAPED AT THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM.

ONLY A FEW YEARS EARLIER, HIGH ON DRUGS, HE HAD KNOCKED OUT ALL OF THE FOOTLIGHTS ON THE STAGE, AND THE RYMAN HAD TOLD HIM NEVER TO COME BACK.

♪ ...COMIN' DOWN THAT RAILROAD TRACK ♪ NARRATOR: HIS GUESTS RANGED ACROSS THE NATION'S MUSICAL AND CULTURAL DIVIDES--FROM COUNTRY LEGENDS LIKE EDDY ARNOLD TO MOTOWN'S STEVIE WONDER, FROM ROCK STAR ERIC CLAPTON TO A LONG LIST OF RISING FOLK ARTISTS CASH THOUGHT MORE PEOPLE SHOULD HEAR-- INCLUDING JAMES TAYLOR, ODETTA, AND JONI MITCHELL.

WHEN NETWORK EXECUTIVES BALKED AT HAVING PETE SEEGER ON THE SHOW BECAUSE OF HIS LEFTWING POLITICS, CASH BROUGHT HIM ON, ANYWAY.

ROGER MILLER CAME ON AND HAD SOME FUN WITH ONE OF CASH'S SIGNATURE SONGS.

♪ I KEEP MY PANTS UP WITH A PIECE OF TWINE ♪ ♪ I KEEP MY EYES WIDE OPEN ALL THE TIME ♪ HA HA HA!

♪ I KEEP THE ENDS OUT FOR THE TIE THAT BINDS ♪ ♪ PLEASE SAY YOU'RE MINE ♪ ♪ AND PULL THE TWINE ♪ [APPLAUSE] NARRATOR: CASH INSTITUTED A REGULAR SEGMENT ON HIS PROGRAM IN WHICH HE EXPLORED WHAT HE CONSIDERED FORGOTTEN SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY, INCLUDING PRISONERS AND NATIVE AMERICANS, AND OVER THE OBJECTIONS OF THE NETWORK, HE INCLUDED A GOSPEL SONG IN EVERY SHOW, JUST AS HE HAD PROMISED HIS MOTHER.

[APPLAUSE] [TRUMPET PLAYING "BLUE YODEL NO.

9"] ONE NIGHT, HE AND LOUIS ARMSTRONG PLAYED "BLUE YODEL NO.

9."

IT WAS THE SAME TUNE ARMSTRONG AND CASH'S IDOL JIMMIE RODGERS HAD RECORDED BACK IN 1930.

♪ THEN THE POLICE CAME BY ♪ ♪ HE TOOK ME RIGHT BY THE ARM ♪ ♪ YEAH.

[APPLAUSE] ♪ THE WARDEN LED A PRISONER ♪ ♪ DOWN THE HALLWAY TO HIS DOOM ♪ ♪ I STOOD UP TO SAY GOOD-BYE ♪ ♪ LIKE ALL THE REST... ♪ NARRATOR: JUST BEFORE HIS APPEARANCE, MERLE HAGGARD TOLD CASH HE HAD BEEN ONE OF THE INMATES AT THE FIRST SAN QUENTIN CONCERT BUT CONFESSED THAT HE HAD BEEN KEEPING HIS PRISON RECORD SECRET FROM HIS FANS AND THE PRESS.

♪ DO MY REQUEST ♪ ♪ LET HIM SING ME BACK HOME ♪ ♪ WITH A SONG I USED TO HEAR... ♪ HAGGARD: HE SAID, "WHY DON'T YOU LET ME TELL THE PEOPLE WHERE YOU'VE BEEN?"

I SAID, "WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO THAT, CASH?"

HE SAID, "YOU LET ME TELL THE PEOPLE WHERE YOU'VE BEEN," HE SAID, "THEM GODDAMN, DIRTY MAGAZINES WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO TOUCH IT."

HAGGARD AND JOHNNY CASH: ♪ TURN BACK THE YEARS ♪ ♪ SING ME BACK HOME... ♪ I THOUGHT ABOUT IT.

I THOUGHT, "WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE HONESTY."

HE TOLD THE FOLKS THAT NIGHT ON NETWORK TELEVISION.

HE SAID, "WHEN THIS GUY AND I FIRST MET, HE WAS IN THE AUDIENCE," AND HE TOLD THEM WHERE HE WAS TALKING ABOUT, AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE NEVER BEEN SORRY.

♪ SING ME BACK HOME BEFORE I DIE ♪ [APPLAUSE] [BOB DYLAN AND JOHNNY CASH'S "ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS" PLAYING] NARRATOR: MEANWHILE, BOB DYLAN HAD RETURNED TO TOWN TO RECORD YET ANOTHER ALBUM, "NASHVILLE SKYLINE," TO BE FILLED WITH SONGS THAT HAD EVEN MORE OF A COUNTRY FLAVOR.

♪ THE SIDEWALK AND THE SIGN ♪ ♪ AND I'M ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS ♪ ♪ AND A THOUSAND MILES BEHIND ♪ ♪ AND EVERYTHING I'M SAYIN'... ♪ NARRATOR: DYLAN INVITED JOHNNY CASH TO STOP BY THE RECORDING STUDIO, AND THE TWO SPENT TIME HAVING FUN AND LAYING DOWN SOME SONGS TOGETHER.

I KNOW IT.

♪ WE'RE JUST ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS ♪ ♪ AND A THOUSAND MILES BEHIND ♪ ISN'T THAT RIGHT?

NARRATOR: CASH THEN PERSUADED DYLAN TO MAKE A RARE TELEVISION APPEARANCE BY COMING ON HIS SHOW.

[APPLAUSE] [PLAYING "GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY"] THAT THE RIGHT...

SOUNDS GREAT.

♪ IF YOU'RE TRAVELIN' ♪ ♪ IN THE NORTH COUNTRY FAIR ♪ ♪ WHERE THE WINDS HIT HEAVY ♪ ♪ ON THE BORDER LINE ♪ ♪ REMEMBER ME ♪ ♪ TO ONE WHO LIVES THERE ♪ ♪ FOR SHE ONCE WAS ♪ ♪ A TRUE LOVE OF MINE ♪ ♪ SEE FOR ME THAT HER HAIR'S HANGIN' LONG ♪ ♪ IT CURLS AND FALLS ♪ ♪ ALL DOWN HER BREAST ♪ ♪ SEE FOR ME THAT HER HAIR'S... ♪ ROSANNE CASH: AND THEN BOB WAS ON DAD'S TELEVISION SHOW.

THOSE TWO YOUNG MEN SITTING SIDE BY SIDE PLAYING "GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY," DAD SAID LATER, HE SAID, "I DIDN'T REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THAT WAS."

HE SAID, "ALL I DID WAS SIT THERE AND STRUM SOME G CHORDS."

YEAH.

FROM G CHORDS, MIGHTY REVOLUTIONS COME BECAUSE THOSE OF US OF MY GENERATION WHO SAW THAT UTTERLY CHANGED.

♪ IF YOU'RE TRAVELIN' IN THE NORTH COUNTRY FAIR ♪ ROSANNE CASH: MY OWN HUSBAND SAW THAT ON TV, AND HE SAID IT OPENED THE DOOR TO HIS LOVE OF COUNTRY MUSIC.

IT OPENED TO EVERYTHING.

IT OPENED TO MERLE HAGGARD, OPENED TO THE LOUVIN BROTHERS.

♪ TO ONE WHO LIVES THERE ♪ HE ALREADY KNEW DYLAN, BUT THIS, YOU KNOW, DYLAN AND DAD TOGETHER, THAT WAS-- IT WAS AN EXPLOSION.

I REMEMBER GOING TO SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY AND FEELING LIKE I WAS THE COOLEST 13-YEAR-OLD IN THE WORLD.

MY DAD AND BOB DYLAN HAD JUST SANG TOGETHER THE NIGHT BEFORE ON NATIONAL TELEVISION, AND NOBODY COULD TOUCH ME.

DYLAN: ♪ TRUE LOVE OF MINE ♪ ♪ TRUE LOVE OF MINE ♪ ♪ TRUE LOVE OF MINE ♪ [APPLAUSE] [KRIS KRISTOFFERSON'S "HELP ME MAKE IT THOUGH THE NIGHT" PLAYING] ♪ TAKE THE RIBBON FROM YOUR HAIR ♪ ♪ SHAKE IT LOOSE AND LET IT FALL ♪ ♪ LAYIN' SOFT AGAINST MY SKIN... ♪ NELSON: KRIS KRISTOFFERSON IS PROBABLY THE BEST SONGWRITER.

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ ...SHADOWS ON THE WALL ♪ YOU CAN JUST GO RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD AND COMPARE KRIS WITH ANYBODY-- GERSHWIN OR ANYBODY ELSE.

GATLIN: I THINK HE'S THE GREATEST LYRICIST IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, AND PEOPLE SAY, "JOHNNY MERCER," AND JOHNNY MERCER WAS GREAT.

♪ MY HUCKLEBERRY FRIEND ♪ JOHNNY MERCER, GREAT, IS GREAT, BUT, LET ME TELL YOU, "SEE HIM WASTED ON THE SIDEWALK IN HIS JACKET AND HIS JEANS, "WEARING YESTERDAY'S MISFORTUNE LIKE A SMILE.

"ONCE HE HAD A FUTURE FULL OF MONEY, LOVE, AND DREAMS, "WHICH HE SPENT LIKE THEY WERE GOING OUT OF STYLE, "BUT HE KEEPS RIGHT ON BELIEVING "FOR THE BETTER OR THE WORSE, SEARCHING-- "KEEPS RIGHT ON BELIEVING, FOR THE BETTER OR THE WORSE, "SEARCHING FOR THE SHRINE HE'S NEVER FOUND.

"NEVER KNOWING IF BELIEVING WAS A BLESSING OR A CURSE, IF THE GOING UP WAS WORTH THE COMING DOWN."

♪ HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT ♪ NARRATOR: NASHVILLE WAS NOW A SONGWRITING CAPITAL, AND KRIS KRISTOFFERSON WAS ONE OF THE CITY'S HOTTEST SONGWRITERS, HAVING ELEVATED WHAT WAS POSSIBLE TO SAY IN A COUNTRY SONG.

OTHER ARTISTS WERE EAGER TO RECORD WHAT HE HAD WRITTEN, THOUGH HE WAS STILL UNSURE ABOUT HIS OWN SINGING VOICE.

SAMMI SMITH: ♪ YESTERDAY IS DEAD AND GONE ♪ ♪ AND TOMORROW'S OUTSIDE... ♪ NARRATOR: IN 1970, SAMMI SMITH RELEASED KRISTOFFERSON'S "HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT."

IT WAS ONE OF SEVERAL OF HIS SONGS THAT DEALT DIRECTLY, THOUGH POETICALLY, WITH SEXUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN, MORE DIRECTLY THAN SOME PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY WERE ACCUSTOMED TO.

SMITH: ♪ ...DEVIL TAKE TOMORROW ♪ ♪ LORD, TONIGHT I NEED A FRIEND ♪ SMITH: UNTIL KRIS, IT WAS LIKE, "HOLD MY HAND, DARLING," OR, "MAY I KISS YOU ON YOUR CHEEK?"

KRISTOFFERSON JUST WENT RIGHT TO THE CORE OF IT.

"PUT YOUR WARM AND TENDER BODY CLOSE TO MINE," HE SANG, YOU KNOW, AND HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS SINGING ABOUT, AND AMERICA KNEW WHAT HE WAS SINGING ABOUT.

NARRATOR: HE HAD MORE HITS WITH SONGS LIKE "FOR THE GOOD TIMES," ABOUT A MAN AND A WOMAN MAKING LOVE ONE LAST TIME AS THEY BREAK UP AND "LOVING HER WAS EASIER (THAN ANYTHING I'LL EVER DO AGAIN)," ABOUT THE SWEET MEMORY OF A LOST LOVE.

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ I HAVE SEEN THE MORNING BURNING GOLDEN ♪ ♪ ON THE MOUNTAIN IN THE SKIES ♪ ♪ ♪ ACHING WITH THE FEELING OF THE FREEDOM ♪ ♪ OF AN EAGLE WHEN SHE FLIES ♪ ♪ PRIDE: I'M IN THE BUSINESS OF SELLING LYRICS, FEELINGS, AND EMOTIONS.

LYRICS, SEE, I SING LYRICS.

SEE, THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG WITH A LOT OF OTHER MUSIC.

THEY GOT THE LYRICS, BUT YOU DON'T NEVER HEAR THEM.

NOW WATCH THIS.

♪ I HAVE SEEN THE MORNING BURNING GOLDEN ♪ ♪ ON THE MOUNTAIN IN THE SKY ♪ ♪ ACHING WITH THE FEELING OF THE FREEDOM ♪ ♪ OF AN EAGLE WHEN SHE FLIES ♪ ♪ TURNING ON THE WORLD THE WAY SHE SMILED ♪ ♪ UPON MY SOUL AS I LAY DYING ♪ ♪ HEALING AS THE COLORS IN THE SUNSHINE ♪ ♪ AND THE SHADOWS OF HER EYE ♪ ♪ WAKING IN THE MORNING TO THE FEELING ♪ ♪ OF HER FINGERS ON MY SKIN, TALKING OF TOMORROW ♪ NOW WATCH THIS LINE.

♪ TALKING OF TOMORROW AND THE MONEY ♪ ♪ LOVE, AND TIME WE HAD TO-- ♪ COULD HAVE JUST SAID... ♪ TALKING OF TOMORROW AND THE MONEY WE HAD TO SPEND ♪ ♪ TALKING OF TOMORROW AND THE MONEY ♪ ♪ LOVE, AND TIME WE HAD TO SPEND ♪ ♪ 'CAUSE LOVING HER WAS EASIER ♪ ♪ THAN ANYTHING I'LL EVER DO AGAIN ♪ AREN'T THOSE FINE LYRICS?

I DIDN'T WRITE THEM.

NARRATOR: THE KRIS KRISTOFFERSON SONG THAT CAUGHT JOHNNY CASH'S ATTENTION HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH LOVE.

INSTEAD, IT PAINTED A DESPAIRING PICTURE OF A LONELY MAN WAKING UP ON A SUNDAY MORNING HUNGOVER FROM SATURDAY NIGHT AND HIS FEELINGS OF ISOLATION AS HE WALKS THE STREETS OF A PEACEFUL TOWN ON THE SABBATH.

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ WELL, I WOKE UP SUNDAY MORNING ♪ ♪ WITH NO WAY TO HOLD MY HEAD THAT DIDN'T HURT ♪ ♪ ♪ AND THE BEER I HAD FOR BREAKFAST WASN'T BAD ♪ ♪ SO I HAD ONE MORE FOR DESSERT ♪ I WAS DESCRIBING WHAT I WAS GOING THROUGH AT THE TIME.

♪ THEN I FUMBLED THROUGH MY CLOSET FOR MY CLOTHES ♪ ♪ AND FOUND MY CLEANEST DIRTY SHIRT ♪ ♪ WELL, I WOKE UP SUNDAY MORNING ♪ ♪ WITH NO WAY TO HOLD MY HEAD THAT DIDN'T HURT ♪ ♪ AND THE BEER I HAD FOR BREAKFAST WASN'T BAD ♪ ♪ SO I HAD ONE MORE FOR DESSERT ♪ AND THAT WAS TRUE, TOO.

♪ THEN I FUMBLED THROUGH MY CLOSET FOR MY CLOTHES ♪ ♪ AND FOUND MY CLEANEST DIRTY SHIRT ♪ AND I'M WEARING IT RIGHT NOW.

"AND I WASHED MY FACE AND COMBED MY HAIR AND STUMBLED DOWN THE STAIRS TO MEET THE DAY."

♪ 'CAUSE THERE'S SOMETHING IN A SUNDAY... ♪ IT WAS A-- ♪ MAKES A BODY FEEL ALONE... ♪ IT WAS A BLESSING.

♪ AND THERE'S NOTHING SHORT OF DYIN' ♪ ♪ HALF AS LONESOME AS THE SOUND ♪ ♪ ON THE SLEEPIN' CITY SIDEWALKS ♪ ♪ SUNDAY MORNING COMIN' DOWN ♪ CROWELL: YOU STEP INTO THIS EMOTIONALLY CHARGED SCENE OF SORROW AND WOE AND A STRANGE KIND OF HOPEFULNESS AT THE SAME TIME.

GATLIN: YOU CAN SEE THAT OLD BOY STUMBLING THROUGH THERE, AND HE'S HUNGOVER, AND HE'S SMOKED A BUNCH OF DOPE, AND HE STAYED UP TOO LATE, AND HE'S DEPRESSED, OR HE'S LOST HIS JOB, OR HIS WOMAN'S LEFT OR SOMETHING, AND HE STUMBLES THROUGH THAT-- "AND FAR AWAY, I HEARD A LONELY BELL A-RINGING..." KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ FAR AWAY, A LONELY BELL WAS RINGIN'... ♪ "AND IT ECHOED THROUGH THE CANYON LIKE THE DISAPPEARING DREAMS OF YESTERDAY"?

HEY, ALL THOSE WORDS IN THE DICTIONARY, BUT NOBODY ELSE BEFORE KRIS KNEW WHAT DAMN ORDER THEY CAME IN.

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ ECHOED THROUGH THE CANYONS ♪ ♪ LIKE THE DISAPPEARING DREAMS OF YESTERDAY... ♪ NARRATOR: WHEN JOHNNY CASH HEARD "SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN," HE SAID LATER, HE FELT AS IF HE'D WRITTEN IT HIMSELF.

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ WISHIN', LORD, THAT I WAS STONED... ♪ NARRATOR: "THE LINES OF THE SONG STARTED RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD," HE REMEMBERED, "AND I REALIZED I COULD IDENTIFY WITH EVERY ONE OF THEM."

CASH DECIDED TO PERFORM "SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN" ON HIS TELEVISION SHOW.

ROSANNE CASH: THERE WAS A LINE, "WISHIN', LORD, THAT I WAS STONED" IN "SUNDAY MORNING."

THE NETWORK DID NOT WANT DAD TO SING, "WISHIN' I WAS STONED," ON NETWORK TELEVISION, AND HE ARGUED WITH THEM ABOUT IT, AND THEY PUT THE FOOT DOWN-- "YOU JUST CAN'T DO THAT."

WELL, KRIS WAS IN THE AUDIENCE THAT NIGHT, AND DAD JUST COULDN'T IN GOOD CONSCIENCE CHANGE THAT WORD WITH THE SONGWRITER SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE.

♪ I'M WISHIN', LORD, THAT I WAS STONED... ♪ WHEN HE WAS PERFORMING IT, HE SANG, "WISHING, LORD, THAT I WAS STONED," LITTLE EMPHASIS ON "STONED."

KRIS WAS VERY HAPPY.

THE NETWORK WAS NOT.

KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ AND THERE'S NOTHIN' SHORT OF DYIN'... ♪ NARRATOR: LATER, CASH WOULD ASK THE MAN WHO HAD WRITTEN THOSE WORDS, THE SHY EX-JANITOR WHO THOUGHT HE DIDN'T HAVE A GOOD VOICE, TO COME ON HIS SHOW.

KRISTOFFERSON: JOHN WAS ALWAYS ENCOURAGING ME.

HE WAS ALWAYS ON MY SIDE, AND HE PUT ME ON HIS SHOW, TOO.

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I WAS EVER IN FRONT OF PEOPLE DOING THAT.

♪ DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO... ♪ I NEVER HAD TO WORK FOR A LIVING AFTER THAT.

♪ MM MM MM ♪ ♪ DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO... ♪ ♪ I AM A LINEMAN FOR THE COUNTY ♪ ♪ AND I DRIVE THE MAIN ROAD ♪ ♪ SEARCHIN' IN THE SUN FOR ANOTHER OVERLOAD... ♪ NARRATOR: AT THE SAME TIME THAT "THE JOHNNY CASH SHOW" WAS BEING TAPED AT THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM, TWO OTHER COUNTRY MUSIC PROGRAMS WERE APPEARING ON NETWORK TELEVISION.

♪ AND THE WICHITA LINEMAN ♪ ♪ IS STILL ON THE LINE... ♪ NARRATOR: ONE ORIGINATED IN LOS ANGELES, HOSTED BY GUITARIST AND SINGER GLEN CAMPBELL, WHO HAD BEEN A SOUGHT-AFTER SESSION MUSICIAN BEFORE HE BROKE OUT ON HIS OWN WITH POP HITS LIKE "GENTLE ON MY MIND," "BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX," AND "WICHITA LINEMAN."

ANNOUNCER: WELCOME TO "HEE HAW."

I'M A-PICKIN'... AND I'M A GRINNIN' NARRATOR: THE OTHER SHOW WAS BEING TAPED AT CBS' NASHVILLE AFFILIATE.

ITS HOSTS WERE BUCK OWENS FROM BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, AND A MUSICAL VIRTUOSO FROM VIRGINIA NAMED ROY CLARK, BUT AS WORD ABOUT THE SHOW SPREAD ACROSS NASHVILLE, PEOPLE STARTED TO WORRY.

ANNOUNCER: AND TODAY THEY'RE MAKING THEIR ANNUAL TELEPHONE CALL.

WENDELL: THERE WAS A LOT OF TALK ABOUT, "OH, LORD, I HOPE NOT.

I HOPE IT'S NOT WHAT WE HEAR."

IS GRANDPA THERE?

YEP.

I'M HERE.

THAT'S AN IMAGE WE TRY TO LIVE DOWN, AND THEY'RE GONNA PLAY IT UP.

CLARK: THEY TRIED TO PAINT A PICTURE THAT EVERYBODY IN COUNTRY MUSIC, THEY WERE BAREFOOTED, AND THEY WORE BIB OVERALLS, AND THE MOST OF US RAISED UP AND SAID, "LOOK.

I HAVE TWO CUSTOM-MADE TUXEDOS, "BUT I'M NOT ASHAMED TO SAY THAT I DID GROW UP IN BIB OVERALLS, AND PROBABLY YOU DID, TOO."

IT SHOULD HAVE A LITTLE MORE CLASS, BUT BEING THIRD CLASS IS BETTER THAN BEING NO CLASS.

I SWEAR, I BEEN READIN' SO MUCH ABOUT THE EVILS OF DRINKIN', I'M A-GETTIN' READY TO GIVE IT UP.

GIVE UP DRINKIN'?

NO, READIN'.

McCOY: WHAT MADE IT WORK WAS, "OK. WE CAN LAUGH AT OURSELF," AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE DOING-- WE WERE LAUGHING AT OURSELF-- BUT WHEN THEY DID THE MUSIC, IT WAS SERIOUS.

WE HAD THIS CORNBALL OVER HERE, BUT WITH IT, WE HAD THIS LEGITIMATE LOOK AT COUNTRY MUSIC.

[PLAYING "BACK UP AND PUSH"] NARRATOR: "HEE HAW" WAS AN IMMEDIATE HIT WITH AUDIENCES ACROSS THE NATION.

BESIDES ITS CORNPONE HUMOR, IT PROVIDED AN EXTRAORDINARY SHOWCASE FOR COUNTRY MUSIC, HELPING TO REVIVE SOME OLD CAREERS, PROVIDING EXPOSURE FOR NEW ARTISTS, AND MAKING MONEY FOR EVERYBODY.

♪ GIDDENS: MY GRANDMOTHER, MY BLACK GRANDMOTHER, WHO LIVED OUT IN THE COUNTRY, SHE HAD BLUES AND JAZZ RECORDS, YOU KNOW, IN A NICE CABINET, AND I REMEMBER THAT BECAUSE I LIVED WITH THEM WHEN I WAS A KID, BUT DON'T GET IN FRONT OF HER "HEE HAW" EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT.

♪ MATTEA: "HEE HAW" WAS A RITUAL IN OUR HOUSE, AND THAT WAS WHAT YOU DID ON A SATURDAY.

EVEN IF YOU WERE HAVING A COOKOUT, THE TV GOT BROUGHT OUTSIDE, THE LITTLE, TINY ONE.

IT PLUGGED IN, THE ANTENNA WENT UP, AND YOU WATCHED "HEE HAW," AND IT WAS JUST--IT WAS GREAT.

THE MUSIC WAS GREAT.

IT WAS CORNY, BUT WE LOVED IT, AND WHEN I MOVED TO NASHVILLE, MY UNCLE--MY UNCLE PAPPY, WHO LIVED ON THE FARM-- WOULD SAY, "NOW, I KEEP LOOKING FOR YOU ON 'HEE HAW,' HONEY.

I KEEP LOOKING FOR YOU."

I'M LIKE, "UNCLE PAPPY, I'M A TOUR GUIDE AT THE HALL OF FAME.

I'M NOT GOING TO BE ON 'HEE HAW.'"

HE'S LIKE, "I KEEP LOOKING FOR YOU," AND WHEN I FINALLY GOT TO DO "HEE HAW"... MY HOMETOWN-- CROSS LANES, WEST VIRGINIA.

AND I GOT TO SALUTE MY HOMETOWN, IT WAS AN ICONIC MOMENT THAT RIPPLED THROUGH MY FAMILY, AND HE WAS LIKE, "SEE?

I TOLD YOU."

♪ NARRATOR: "HEE HAW" WOULD BE BROADCAST FOR 25 YEARS-- 3 YEARS WITH CBS AND THE REST AS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SYNDICATED SHOWS IN TELEVISION HISTORY.

♪ [APPLAUSE] [JOHNNY WRIGHT'S "HELLO, VIETNAM" PLAYING] WRIGHT: ♪ KISS ME GOOD-BYE AND WRITE ME WHILE I'M GONE ♪ ♪ GOOD-BYE, MY SWEETHEART, HELLO, VIETNAM ♪ ♪ AMERICA HAS HEARD THE BUGLE CALL ♪ ♪ AND YOU KNOW IT INVOLVES US ONE AND ALL... ♪ MALONE: I THINK HISTORICALLY, COUNTRY MUSIC HAS BEEN APOLITICAL, BUT WHEN THEY DID VENTURE INTO POLITICS, I THINK THE BEST DESCRIPTION WOULD BE POPULISM, MUSIC THAT WAS SUSPICIOUS OF BANKS AND CORPORATIONS OR OF SO-CALLED EXPERTS, INTELLECTUALS, BUT THE REAL UPSURGE OF A POLITICAL CONSERVATISM CAME IN THE 1960s NOT SO MUCH AS A DEFENSE OF THE VIETNAM WAR, BUT AS PROTEST AGAINST THE PROTESTORS.

WRIGHT: ♪ KISS ME GOOD-BYE... ♪ NARRATOR: THE SOLDIERS SERVING IN VIETNAM DISPROPORTIONATELY CAME FROM COUNTRY MUSIC'S CORE AUDIENCE-- WORKING-CLASS FAMILIES.

65% OF ALL RECORDS SOLD AT MILITARY BASES WERE COUNTRY MUSIC, AND MOST OF THE SONGS DEALT LESS WITH THE POLITICS OF THE WAR THAN WITH ITS HUMAN COST.

LORETTA LYNN'S "DEAR UNCLE SAM" WAS TOLD BY A WIFE SAYING THAT SHE NEEDED HER HUSBAND JUST AS MUCH AS THE NATION DID.

MEL TILLIS WROTE "RUBY, DON'T TAKE YOUR LOVE TO TOWN" FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A DISABLED VETERAN CONFINED TO HIS BED AT HOME WHILE HIS YOUNG WIFE PREPARES TO GO OUT FOR THE NIGHT.

TWO OF COUNTRY SINGER JAN HOWARD'S THREE SONS ENLISTED.

AFTER JIMMY, HER OLDEST, ARRIVED IN VIETNAM, SHE RECORDED "MY SON," WHICH RECOUNTED SOME OF HER FONDEST MEMORIES OF HIS CHILDHOOD AND HER CONCERN FOR HIS SAFETY.

HOWARD: ♪ IT SEEMS ONLY YESTERDAY THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ♪ ♪ ON YOUR MIND WAS WHETHER YOU'D MAKE THE BASEBALL TEAM ♪ ♪ OR GET THE NEW SCHOOL JACKET LIKE ALL THE OTHER KIDS HAD ♪ ♪ AND I REMEMBER HOW YOUR EYES LIGHTED UP ♪ ♪ WHEN YOU GOT YOUR FIRST ROD AND REEL ♪ ♪ FOR THAT BIG FISHING TRIP, JUST YOU AND YOUR DAD ♪ NARRATOR: SHE SENT IT TO JIMMY BUT NEVER HEARD BACK FROM HIM.

HE HAD LISTENED TO IT, BUT BEFORE HE HAD A CHANCE TO WRITE HIS MOTHER BACK, HE WAS KILLED WHEN HIS ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER HIT A LAND MINE SOUTH OF DANANG.

HOWARD'S MIDDLE SON SURVIVED HIS TOUR OF DUTY, BUT HER YOUNGEST, STILL NOT OLD ENOUGH TO ENLIST, WAS SO TRAUMATIZED BY HIS BIG BROTHER'S DEATH, HE HAD A MENTAL BREAKDOWN AND COMMITTED SUICIDE.

HOWARD: SO THE VIETNAM WAR TOOK TWO.

IT WAS A HORRIBLE WAR AND... ♪ IN THOSE DAYS, IT SEEMED ♪ ♪ THE HOUSE WAS ALWAYS FILLED WITH LAUGHTER, JOY... ♪ HORRIBLE TIME, HORRIBLE TIME.

♪ THEY WERE SUCH GOOD BOYS... ♪ MY DOORBELL RANG, AND IT WAS THIS GUY STANDING THERE.

HE SAID, "MS. HOWARD, WE'RE MARCHING IN MEMPHIS IN PROTEST OF THE VIETNAM WAR."

I SAID, "REALLY?"

HE SAID, "AND WE FIGURED, IN VIEW OF WHAT HAPPENED..." I SAID, "YEAH, MY SON'S DEATH."

HE SAID, "WELL, WE THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN US."

I SAID, "ONE OF THE REASONS HE DIED WAS SO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT.

"IN THIS COUNTRY, YOU HAVE A RIGHT.

GO RIGHT AHEAD AND DEMONSTRATE.

HAVE AT IT."

I SAID, " NO.

I WON'T BE JOINING YOU," I SAID, "BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHAT.

"IF YOU EVER RING MY DOORBELL AGAIN, I WILL BLOW YOUR DAMN HEAD OFF WITH A .357 MAGNUM."

♪ NARRATOR: ON NOVEMBER 15, 1969, EARL SCRUGGS JOINED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS CONVERGING ON WASHINGTON, D.C., TO CALL FOR AN END TO THE VIETNAM WAR.

HE AND LESTER FLATT HAD ALREADY BROKEN UP OVER MUSICAL DISAGREEMENTS THAT REFLECTED SOME OF THE TENSIONS WITHIN AMERICAN SOCIETY.

SCRUGGS, INFLUENCED BY HIS SONS, ADDED BOB DYLAN SONGS AND OTHER CONTEMPORARY MATERIAL TO THEIR REPERTOIRE.

FLATT HAD INSISTED ON STICKING WITH TRADITIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC.

GARY SCRUGGS: MY FATHER AND MY BROTHER, ME, AND CHARLIE DANIELS CAME HERE FROM NASHVILLE BECAUSE WE THOUGHT THAT BY COMING HERE, WE COULD REPRESENT OURSELVES AND NASHVILLE AND ALL PEACE-LOVING PEOPLE.

[PLAYING "FOGGY MOUNTAIN BREAKDOWN"] RANDY SCRUGGS: DAD, MY BROTHER GARY, AND MYSELF AND CHARLIE DANIELS PERFORMED AT THE MALL IN WASHINGTON.

THERE WASN'T ANY OTHER ARTIST FROM NASHVILLE.

DAD DID IT WITH NO RESERVATIONS AT ALL.

HE FELT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

IN WASHINGTON, THE PAPERS SAID THERE WERE OVER A MILLION PEOPLE.

IN NASHVILLE, THEY WROTE THAT THERE WAS SOMEWHERE OVER 200,000, AND IT WAS LIKE COMING BACK AND READING THAT, YOU'RE GOING LIKE, "WOW.

"YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON."

♪ NARRATOR: AT THE SAME TIME AS THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON, A SONG BY MERLE HAGGARD BECAME THE NUMBER-ONE COUNTRY SONG IN AMERICA AND CROSSED OVER TO THE POP CHARTS.

HAGGARD: ♪ WE DON'T SMOKE MARIJUANA IN MUSKOGEE ♪ ♪ WE DON'T TAKE OUR TRIPS ON LSD ♪ ♪ WE DON'T BURN OUR DRAFT CARDS DOWN ON MAIN STREET ♪ ♪ 'CAUSE WE LIKE LIVIN' RIGHT AND BEING FREE ♪ MALONE: IT'S HARD TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY ABOUT "OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE."

HE AND HIS BOYS WERE JUST DRIVING THROUGH THE COUNTRY WHEN THEY DROVE THROUGH OKLAHOMA, WHICH WAS THE BIRTHPLACE OF HIS PARENTS.

THEY SAW THE CITY SIGN FOR MUSKOGEE.

SOMEBODY ON THE BUS SAID, "BOY, I BET THEY DON'T SMOKE MARIJUANA IN MUSKOGEE," AND THEY STARTED WRITING A SONG ABOUT IT JUST AS SORT OF A JOKE.

BENSON: WE LOVED MERLE HAGGARD 'CAUSE WHAT A GREAT SONGWRITER, GREAT SINGER.

ALL OF A SUDDEN HE COMES OUT WITH "OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE," 1969, AND WE'RE GOING, "WAIT A MINUTE.

WAIT.

WHAT?"

YOU KNOW, OH, MAN, HERE IT IS-- REDNECKS, HIPPIES; ANTI-VIETNAM, PRO-VIETNAM; "AMERICA: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT," OR "AMERICA, WE THINK YOU NEED TO CHANGE"-- AND HERE WAS MERLE HAGGARD, WHO WE LOVED, AND, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?"

NOT ONLY THAT, "WE DON'T SMOKE MARIJUANA IN MUSKOGEE."

EVERYBODY IN COUNTRY MUSIC KNEW THAT MERLE SMOKED MARIJUANA, BUT THE AUDIENCE DIDN'T.

MALONE: THEY SORT OF CONVERTED THE SONG INTO A TRIBUTE TO SMALL-TOWN AMERICAN LIFE AND TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO PAID THEIR TAXES AND DEFENDED THEIR GOVERNMENT AND FOUGHT IN THE WARS AND THAT SORT OF THING, AND TO MERLE'S GREAT SURPRISE, THE SONG WAS A HUGE HIT.

HAGGARD: ♪ BOOTS ARE STILL IN STYLE FOR MANLY FOOTWEAR ♪ ♪ BEADS AND ROMAN SANDALS WON'T BE SEEN ♪ ♪ AND FOOTBALL'S STILL THE ROUGHEST THING ON CAMPUS ♪ ♪ AND THE KIDS HERE STILL RESPECT THE COLLEGE DEAN ♪ AND I DON'T THINK WE REALIZED THE IMPACT OF THE MANY DIFFERENT MESSAGES THAT IT HAD.

THE MAIN MESSAGE, I THINK, IS, "I'M PROUD TO BE SOMETHING"-- "I'M PROUD TO BE BLACK."

"I'M PROUD TO BE WHITE."

I'M PROUD TO BE AN OKIE"-- AND THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT IDENTIFY WITH THAT.

NARRATOR: "OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE" WOULD BE HAGGARD'S BIGGEST HIT, THE RALLYING CRY OF THE SO-CALLED SILENT MAJORITY WHO SUPPORTED THE WAR IN VIETNAM.

WHETHER HE INTENDED TO OR NOT, MERLE HAGGARD NOW FOUND HIMSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM THAT WAS TEARING HIS COUNTRY APART.

[JOHNNY CASH'S "MAN IN BLACK" PLAYING] JOHNNY CASH: ♪ WELL, YOU WONDER WHY I ALWAYS DRESS IN BLACK ♪ ♪ WHY YOU NEVER SEE BRIGHT COLORS ON MY BACK ♪ ♪ AND WHY DOES MY APPEARANCE SEEM TO HAVE A SOMBER TONE?

♪ ♪ WELL, THERE'S A REASON FOR THE THINGS THAT I HAVE ON ♪ ♪ I WEAR THE BLACK FOR THE POOR AND THE BEATEN DOWN ♪ ♪ LIVIN' IN THE HOPELESS... ♪ IT'S VERY EASY TO STAND ON THE MARGINS AND, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THROW CABBAGES, BUT NOT SO EASY TO STAND IN THE MIDDLE AND UNITE THE WAY HE DID.

♪ I WEAR THE BLACK FOR THOSE WHO'VE NEVER READ... ♪ NARRATOR: AS THE 1970s BEGAN, JOHNNY CASH'S RECORDS PLAYED CONSTANTLY ON COUNTRY RADIO, BUT HE WAS ALSO A HERO TO MANY MEMBERS OF THE COUNTERCULTURE.

HE WOULD SOMETIMES FLASH A PEACE SIGN DURING A CONCERT BUT REFUSED TO PUBLICLY CRITICIZE PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON.

HE AND JUNE ALSO TRIED TO HELP JAN HOWARD AFTER SHE LOST HER SONS BY BRINGING HOWARD WITH THEM ON TOUR.

HE WENT TO PLAY FOR THE TROOPS IN VIETNAM WHILE BEING VOCAL ABOUT HIS OPPOSITION TO THE WAR IN VIETNAM.

THAT WAS HIM IN A NUTSHELL.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ EACH WEEK, WE LOSE 100 FINE, YOUNG MEN... ♪ ROSANNE CASH: HE COULD HOLD TWO OPPOSING THOUGHTS AT THE SAME TIME AND BELIEVE IN BOTH OF THEM WITH THE SAME DEGREE OF PASSION AND POWER.

♪ NARRATOR: PRESIDENT NIXON INVITED HIM TO PERFORM AT THE WHITE HOUSE, AND THOUGH MANY OF HIS YOUNGER FANS OBJECTED, CASH SAID HE WAS HONORED TO GO.

THEN HE LEARNED THAT THE PRESIDENT WANTED HIM TO SING GUY DRAKE'S SONG, "WELFARE CADILLAC," WHICH WAS POPULAR ON COUNTRY RADIO AT THE TIME BUT DISPARAGED POOR PEOPLE WHO RELIED ON PUBLIC ASSISTANCE TO SURVIVE.

♪ ROSANNE CASH: HE WENT TO THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE TO PERFORM YET REFUSED TO PERFORM "WELFARE CADILLAC," EVEN THOUGH THE PRESIDENT HAD REQUESTED IT.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ THE OLD MAN TURNED OFF THE RADIO ♪ ♪ SAID, " IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE THEY'VE ALL GONE WILD"... ♪ ROSANNE CASH: INSTEAD, HE SANG ONE OF HIS OWN SONGS.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ WELL, MAN, COULD IT BE THAT THE GIRLS AND BOYS ♪ ♪ ARE TRYIN' TO BE HEARD ABOVE YOUR NOISE?

♪ ♪ AND THE LONELY VOICE OF YOUTH CRIES, "WHAT IS TRUTH?"

♪ NARRATOR: THE SONG WAS "WHAT IS TRUTH," A FULL-THROATED DEFENSE OF THOSE WHO CHALLENGED THE STATUS QUO, FROM THE MUSIC THEY DANCED TO AND THE LENGTH OF THEIR HAIR TO QUESTIONS ABOUT WAR AND THE NEED TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST INJUSTICE.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ YOU BETTER HELP THAT VOICE OF YOUTH ♪ ♪ FIND WHAT IS TRUTH ♪ ♪ AND THE LONELY VOICE OF YOUTH CRIES ♪ ♪ "WHAT IS TRUTH?"

♪ NELSON: ♪ WHEN THE EVENING SUN GOES DOWN ♪ ♪ YOU WILL FIND ME ♪ ♪ HANGIN' ROUND ♪ ♪ THE NIGHTLIFE AIN'T NO GOOD LIFE ♪ ♪ BUT IT'S MY LIFE... ♪ NARRATOR: WILLIE NELSON AND NASHVILLE NEVER REALLY HIT IT OFF.

MUSIC CITY DIDN'T KNOW QUITE WHAT TO DO WITH HIM.

NELSON: ♪ DREAMING... ♪ NARRATOR: HIS MUSIC WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO PIGEONHOLE, INFLUENCED AS MUCH BY JAZZ GUITARIST DJANGO REINHARDT AS IT WAS BY HIS OTHER HERO ERNEST TUBB, AND HIS VOCAL PHRASING WAS UNLIKE ANYBODY ELSE'S.

♪ WELL, LISTEN TO THE BLUES THEY'RE PLAYIN'... ♪ THIS DIDN'T SOUND ANYTHING LIKE NASHVILLE, AND WILLIE DIDN'T WANT IT TO.

McDILL: IF YOU LISTEN TO HIM SING, IT'S SORT OF-- HE SORT OF HAS A JAZZ APPROACH TO HIS SINGING AND HIS PLAYING.

HE'S OBVIOUSLY INFLUENCED BY A LOT MORE PEOPLE THAN WHAT HE MIGHT HAVE HEARD ON "THE GRAND OLE OPRY" GROWING UP.

♪ LIFE IS JUST ANOTHER SCENE... ♪ JOHNNY GIMBLE HAD ONCE SAID THERE WAS ONLY TWO SONGS EVER WRITTEN-- "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER" AND THE BLUES.

BANDS THAT I LIKED A LOT, COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYERS PLAY JAZZ-- BOB WILLS AND THE TEXAS PLAYBOYS, A WHOLE LOT OF JAZZ MUSICIANS THERE-- SO A LOT OF THE GREAT COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYERS COULD ALSO PLAY GREAT JAZZ.

♪ I'M CRAZY... ♪ FOSTER: PEOPLE HADN'T CAUGHT UP WITH HIM.

♪ CRAZY FOR FEELIN' SO LONELY... ♪ FOSTER: I SAID, "WILLIE, "THEY'RE GONNA CATCH UP SOMEDAY."

♪ I'M CRAZY... ♪ "SOONER OR LATER, THEY'RE GONNA--THEY'LL DIG YOU.

"THEY'LL KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

RIGHT NOW, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING."

OH, I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS THAT BAD.

I WAS HAVING FUN BEING REJECTED.

HA HA HA!

YOU KNOW, THEY LIKED MY SONGS, BUT THEY DIDN'T CARE FOR MY SINGING AND PHRASING, A LITTLE CRAZY, SO TO SPEAK.

♪ I'M CRAZY FOR... ♪ NARRATOR: SOME OF THE DOZENS OF SONGS HE HAD WRITTEN, LIKE "CRAZY," WERE ENORMOUS HITS FOR OTHER PEOPLE, INCLUDING PATSY CLINE, BUT HIS OWN CAREER AS A SINGER SEEMED HOPELESSLY STUCK.

AT HIS DEBUT AS A MEMBER OF THE GRAND OLE OPRY, THE ANNOUNCER INTRODUCED HIM AS WOODY NELSON, AND HE QUIT AFTER A YEAR.

NELSON: ♪ WELL, HELLO THERE ♪ ♪ MY, IT'S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME... ♪ NARRATOR: CHET ATKINS, HIS PRODUCER AT RCA, STRUGGLED TO COME UP WITH ALBUM IDEAS THAT WOULD SELL.

NOTHING SEEMED TO WORK.

HE HAD RECORDED 14 ALBUMS.

NONE HAD SOLD WELL.

NELSON: ♪ IT'S BEEN SO LONG NOW ♪ ♪ AND IT SEEMS NOW ♪ ♪ THAT IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY ♪ I WAS PROBABLY STUBBORN, YOU KNOW--HA HA HA!-- AND NOT REALLY WANTING TO DO ANYTHING ANYBODY WANTED ME TO DO, BUT THEY WEREN'T ALL WRONG.

HA HA HA!

♪ HOW'S YOUR NEW LOVE?

♪ NARRATOR: LATE ONE NIGHT AT TOOTSIE'S ORCHID LOUNGE, HE WALKED OUT ONTO BROADWAY AND LAID DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.

NELSON: ♪ I HEARD YOU TOLD HIM... ♪ WHEN I LAY DOWN IN THE ROAD AND TRIED TO GET RUN OVER, WELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED UP UNTIL THEN.

I JUST WOKE UP A-LAYIN' ON THE HIGHWAY.

HA HA HA!

WELL, I HAD A LITTLE BIT TO DRINK, AND I DECIDED, YOU KNOW, I'D GO OUT AND LAY DOWN ON THE HIGHWAY.

IT WAS RIGHT THERE ON BROADWAY IN NASHVILLE.

I'M SURPRISED I'M STILL HERE.

♪ IT'S BEEN ROUGH AND ROCKY TRAVELIN'... ♪ NARRATOR: WITH HIS SONGWRITING ROYALTIES, NELSON MANAGED TO BUY A FARM OUTSIDE OF NASHVILLE AND TRIED FOR A WHILE TO CONCENTRATE SOLELY ON HIS WRITING, BUT HIS TRUE LOVE WAS PERFORMING HIS MUSIC IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, SO HE AND HIS BAND WERE SOON BACK OUT ON THE ROAD.

ONE TOUR TOOK THEM 15,000 MILES IN JUST 18 DAYS.

ON ANOTHER, THEY DROVE FROM A CONCERT IN CONNECTICUT TO THEIR NEXT ONE IN CALIFORNIA.

HIS FAVORITE PERFORMANCES WERE ALWAYS IN HIS NATIVE TEXAS.

"WE WERE STARS IN TEXAS," HE SAID.

"IN NASHVILLE, I WAS LOOKED UPON AS A LOSER SINGER."

NELSON: ♪ GUESS NASHVILLE WAS THE ROUGHEST... ♪ I'D GO BACK TO TEXAS AND PLAY ALL THOSE BEER JOINTS THAT I GREW UP IN AND WOULDN'T HAVE TO CHANGE A THING, AND THEY ALL LIKED WHAT I DID.

I KNEW THAT WHAT I WAS DOING, I COULD DO IT FOREVER WHETHER I, YOU KNOW, PLEASED EVERYBODY IN THAT NASHVILLE OR NOT, AND SO I KEPT DOING WHAT I WANTED TO DO.

NARRATOR: WHEN HIS FARMHOUSE BURNED DOWN AND ALL HE WAS ABLE TO SAVE WAS HIS FAVORITE GUITAR TRIGGER AND A GUITAR CASE FILLED WITH HIS MARIJUANA, WILLIE NELSON DECIDED HE HAD HAD ENOUGH.

HE MOVED BACK HOME TO TEXAS AND STARTED OVER.

NELSON: ♪ ...I'M FINALLY STANDIN' UPRIGHT... ♪ HALL: I KNEW WILLIE IN NASHVILLE WHEN HE HAD, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE, BLACK SUIT AND A BLACK TIE, THE B-FLAT BOOTS, WE CALLED 'EM.

YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY WAS DOING WHATEVER WE WERE TOLD TO DO, I GUESS, AND WILLIE WENT BACK TO TEXAS AND SAID, "TO HELL WITH IT.

I'M JUST GOING TO BE WILLIE NELSON," TAUGHT EVERYBODY A LESSON, YOU KNOW?

NELSON: ♪ SAME ABOUT THEM ALL ♪ ♪ WE RECEIVED OUR EDUCATION ♪ ♪ IN THE CITIES OF THE NATION, ME AND PAUL ♪ ♪ [JACQUELINE SCHWAB'S "HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING" PLAYING] NARRATOR: EARLY ONE SUNDAY MORNING AFTER DRIVING BACK FROM A CONCERT WITH CONNIE SMITH, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON ENDED UP AT THE EVANGEL TEMPLE JUST OUTSIDE OF NASHVILLE.

GATLIN: THEY'D BEEN OUT THE NIGHT BEFORE DOING A CONCERT, AND KRIS WAS NOT IN GREAT SHAPE THAT MORNING.

ACTUALLY, WE TALKED ALL NIGHT BECAUSE MY GOAL WAS TO GET HIM TO GO TO CHURCH WITH ME.

HE HADN'T BEEN IN CHURCH IN 20 YEARS, AND I WANTED HIM TO GO TO CHURCH WITH ME.

NARRATOR: THE EVANGEL TEMPLE-- WHICH COUNTED JOHNNY CASH, JUNE CARTER, LARRY GATLIN, AND CONNIE SMITH AMONG ITS MEMBERS-- WAS PRESIDED OVER BY THE REVEREND JIMMIE RODGERS SNOW, SON OF COUNTRY STAR HANK SNOW.

KRISTOFFERSON HAD NOT BEEN RAISED IN THE EVANGELICAL TRADITION AND FELT A LITTLE OUT OF HIS ELEMENT, BUT THEN REVEREND SNOW BEGAN TO PREACH.

[KRIS KRISTOFFERSON'S "WHY ME?"

PLAYING] KRISTOFFERSON: I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW HE PHRASED IT, BUT SOMETHING LIKE, IF YOU FELT LIKE YOU NEEDED TO BE SAVED TO COME DOWN TO THE FRONT OF THE CHURCH.

I REMEMBER THINKING, "THAT'LL BE THE DAY"... KRISTOFFERSON: ♪ WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE ♪ ♪ TO DESERVE EVEN ONE ♪ ♪ OF THE PLEASURES... ♪ AND THE NEXT THING I KNEW, I FOUND MYSELF GETTING UP AND WALKING DOWN WITH A FEW OTHER PEOPLE TO, IT TURNED OUT, KNEEL DOWN, AND HE ASKED ME WHEN I WAS THERE, HE SAID, "ARE YOU READY TO ACCEPT THIS?"

♪ MAYBE, LORD... ♪ I WAS WEEPING.

IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANYTHING I'D GONE THROUGH BEFORE, AND THEN THE WORDS TO THE SONG CAME TO ME SHORTLY AFTER.

IT WAS STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART.

♪ LORD, HELP ME, JESUS ♪ ♪ I'VE WASTED IT, SO HELP ME, JESUS... ♪ NARRATOR: THAT NIGHT, KRISTOFFERSON SAT DOWN AND WROTE "WHY ME?"

HIS RECORDING OF IT, WITH LARRY GATLIN SINGING HARMONY, WOULD BECOME HIS BIGGEST HIT AS A SOLO ARTIST.

♪ SO HELP ME, JESUS ♪ ♪ MY SOUL'S IN YOUR HAND ♪ ♪ LORD, HELP ME, JESUS ♪ ♪ I'VE WASTED IT, SO HELP ME, JESUS... ♪ IT'S STILL KIND OF A MYSTERY TO ME, BUT IT... ♪ I CLOSE THE SHOW WITH IT NOW.

I SING IT EVERY NIGHT I SING, SO-- ♪ YOUR HAND... ♪ [HELICOPTER] NARRATOR: IN THE SUMMER OF 1971, AMERICAN COMBAT TROOPS WERE BEING WITHDRAWN FROM VIETNAM, BUT THE DIVIDES AT HOME WERE AS GREAT AS EVER.

[NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND'S "NASHVILLE BLUES" PLAYING] THAT SAME SUMMER, A GROUP OF LONG-HAIRED MUSICIANS FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BEGAN SETTING UP IN THE WOODLAND STUDIOS IN EAST NASHVILLE ACROSS THE CUMBERLAND RIVER FROM MUSIC ROW.

IT WAS THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND.

♪ THEIR VERSION OF JERRY JEFF WALKER'S SONG "MR. BOJANGLES," HAD BEEN A TOP 10 POP HIT, BUT THEY WERE STILL SEARCHING FOR THEIR OWN SOUND.

McEUEN: WE WERE NOT A COUNTRY BAND.

I WAS THE BANJO PLAYER.

WE PLAYED A BLUEGRASS-SOUNDING KIND OF MUSIC, BUT IT WASN'T BLUEGRASS.

WE PLAYED JUG BAND MUSIC.

WE PLAYED SOME FOLK-ROCK MUSIC.

♪ NARRATOR: THEY DECIDED TO CUT A RECORD WITH JOHN McEUEN'S BANJO-PLAYING HERO EARL SCRUGGS.

WITH HIS HELP, THEY STARTED RECRUITING OTHER LEGENDS IN COUNTRY AND BLUEGRASS MUSIC TO JOIN THEM-- MERLE TRAVIS, DOC WATSON, JIMMY MARTIN, AND VASSAR CLEMENTS.

MAYBELLE CARTER: ♪ THERE'S A BRIGHT ♪ ♪ AND A SUNNY SIDE, TOO... ♪ NARRATOR: MAYBELLE CARTER AGREED TO TAKE PART, AS WELL.

SHE HAD RECENTLY BEEN TOURING WITH SOME OF HER GRANDCHILDREN AND HAD NO PREJUDICES AGAINST YOUNG PEOPLE'S MUSICAL TASTES.

MAYBELLE CARTER: ♪ KEEP ON THE SUNNY SIDE... ♪ CARLENE CARTER: SHE SAYS ONE DAY WHEN WE WERE PRACTICING, GRANDMA SAYS, "I REALLY LIKE THAT SONG "ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE, SWEET JESUS."

I THINK WE SHOULD LEARN IT," SO ME AND MY COUSIN DAVID AND LAURIE ARE CRACKING UP LAUGHING.

SHE SAID, "WELL, I THINK IT'S A GOOD, LITTLE GOSPEL SONG."

HA HA HA!

WE SAID, "GRANDMA, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT SONG'S ABOUT?"

SHE'S GOING, "IT'S A GOSPEL SONG."

NARRATOR: BUT THE KING OF COUNTRY MUSIC, ROY ACUFF, PROVED HARDER TO GET.

HE TOLD A REPORTER DOING AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE NEWCOMERS, "I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE YOUNG BOYS OR OLD MEN.

"IF I EVER SAW THEM AGAIN WITHOUT THEIR HAIR, I'D NEVER KNOW THEM."

THAT DIDN'T SOUND TOO POSITIVE.

[NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND'S "SOLDIER'S JOY" PLAYING] NARRATOR: ONCE THE SESSIONS BEGAN, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THE WEST COAST HIPPIES WEREN'T INTERESTED IN HAVING THE COUNTRY AND BLUEGRASS ARTISTS ACCOMPANY THEM.

THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND WANTED TO BACK UP THE LEGENDS.

♪ HANNA: WE SET UP IN A BIG STUDIO IN A CIRCLE, REALLY, FACING EACH OTHER.

IT WAS SO WARM AND SO IMMEDIATE.

I THINK THE IDEA WAS TO TRY TO RE-CREATE A LIVING ROOM OR A BACK PORCH.

♪ McEUEN: FOR US, IT WAS LIKE GOING BACK TO 1928 AND MAKING EARLY RECORDS.

WE WANTED TO MAKE AN OLD RECORD.

♪ NARRATOR: THEY KEPT AT IT FOR 6 DAYS, PERFORMING ONE SONG AFTER ANOTHER-- HALF A DOZEN CARTER FAMILY STANDARDS, LIKE "KEEP ON THE SUNNY SIDE" AND "WILDWOOD FLOWER;" A FEW OF MERLE TRAVIS' HITS; BANJO TUNES WRITTEN BY EARL SCRUGGS; AND OTHER INSTRUMENTALS THAT ALLOWED THE COLLECTION OF TALENTED MUSICIANS TO SHINE.

♪ EVERYONE INVOLVED FELT A SPECIAL MAGIC IN THE STUDIO.

McEUEN: WHEN THE VIETNAM WAR WAS RAGING AND MARCHES WERE GOING ON AND CHURCHES WERE BEING BURNED, IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS TURMOIL, IT CAME TOGETHER IN THE STUDIO.

[STUDIO CHATTER] NARRATOR: ON THE LAST DAY, ROY ACUFF HIMSELF SHOWED UP AND ASKED TO HEAR A LITTLE OF WHAT THEY HAD RECORDED.

HANNA: HE SAID SOMETHING LIKE, "HOW WOULD YOU BOYS DESCRIBE THIS MUSIC?"

AND WE'RE GOING, "WELL, IT'S MOUNTAIN MUSIC," OR, YOU KNOW, "IT'S KIND OF BLUEGRASS," OR, "IT'S GOT KIND OF AN APPALACHIAN VIBE," AND HE SAID, "IT AIN'T NOTHING BUT COUNTRY."

NARRATOR: THEN ACUFF THEN LED THEM THROUGH SOME OF THE SONGS HE HAD MADE FAMOUS FROM THE STAGE OF THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM BACK IN THE 1940s.

ACUFF: NOW, WHENEVER YOU DECIDE THAT YOU'RE GONNA RECORD A NUMBER, PUT EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT INTO IT.

DON'T SAY, "OH, WE'LL TAKE IT OVER AND DO IT AGAIN," BECAUSE EVERY TIME YOU GO THROUGH IT, YOU LOSE JUST A LITTLE SOMETHING, ESPECIALLY A MAN WITH VOICE, SO LET'S DO IT THE FIRST TIME, AND TO HELL WITH THE REST OF IT.

[NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND 'S "WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY" PLAYING] ♪ WHO DID YOU SAY IT WAS, BROTHER?

♪ ♪ WHO WAS IT FELL BY THE WAY?

♪ ♪ WHEN WHISKEY AND BLOOD RUN TOGETHER ♪ ♪ DID YOU HEAR ANYONE PRAY?

♪ ♪ I DIDN'T HEAR NOBODY PRAY, DEAR BROTHER ♪ ♪ I DIDN'T HEAR NOBODY PRAY ♪ ♪ I HEARD THE CRASH ON THE HIGHWAY ♪ ♪ BUT I DIDN'T HEAR NOBODY PRAY ♪ NARRATOR: FOR THE ALBUM'S CLIMAX, THEY CHOSE ANOTHER CARTER FAMILY SONG, WHICH WOULD BECOME THE NAME OF THE ALBUM.

MAN: "CIRCLE?"

OK. NARRATOR: EVERYONE JOINED IN.

["WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?"

PLAYING] ♪ MAYBELLE CARTER: ♪ I WAS STANDIN' BY MY WINDOW ♪ ♪ ON ONE COLD AND CLOUDY DAY ♪ ♪ WHEN I SAW THE HEARSE COME ROLLIN ' ♪ ♪ FOR TO CARRY MY MOTHER AWAY ♪ ALL: ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?

♪ ♪ BY AND BY, LORD, BY AND BY ♪ ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITIN' ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY... ♪ ♪ ♪ HANNA: TO GET IN THIS RECORDING STUDIO AND MAKE A RECORD WITH FOLKS THAT KIND OF BRIDGED THAT CULTURAL GAP AND THAT GENERATION GAP, THAT WAS SIGNIFICANT.

WE HEARD STORIES LATER WHERE, YOU KNOW, A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE SAID THAT HE AND HIS DAD WERE KIND OF ESTRANGED, AND THEY SAT DOWN AND BONDED ON THAT "CIRCLE" ALBUM.

ALL: ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?

♪ ♪ BY AND BY, LORD, BY AND BY... ♪ NARRATOR: RELEASED AS A TRIPLE-DISC ALBUM, "WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?"

GOT LITTLE PLAY ON COUNTRY RADIO... ALL: ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY... ♪ NARRATOR: BUT "ROLLING STONE" MAGAZINE PRAISED IT.

SOME PROGRESSIVE FM STATIONS STARTED FEATURING IT, AND ESPECIALLY ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES AROUND THE NATION, IT CAUGHT ON, SPREAD BY WORD OF MOUTH.

♪ ULTIMATELY, IT WOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC ALBUMS IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY.

ACUFF: ♪ I WILL FOLLOW CLOSE BEHIND HER ♪ ♪ TRY TO HOLD ON AND BE BRAVE... ♪ McEUEN: I THINK THE SONG "WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?"

SHOWS HOPE.

IT SHOWS A BETTER FUTURE MAY BE AHEAD.

THINGS MAY BE BAD, BUT THEY'LL GET BETTER.

"UNDERTAKER, PLEASE DRIVE SLOW.

THAT'S MY MAMA GOING, BUT SHE'LL BE OK." ALL: ♪ BY AND BY, LORD, BY AND BY ♪ ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITIN' ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY ♪ [WILLIE NELSON'S "ME AND PAUL" PLAYING] ♪ IT'S BEEN ROUGH AND ROCKY TRAVELING ♪ ♪ BUT I'M FINALLY STANDING UPRIGHT ON THE GROUND ♪ ♪ ♪ AFTER TAKING SEVERAL READINGS ♪ ♪ I'M SURPRISED TO FIND MY MIND'S STILL FAIRLY SOUND ♪ ♪ ♪ I GUESS NASHVILLE WAS THE ROUGHEST ♪ ♪ BUT I KNOW I'VE SAID THE SAME ABOUT THEM ALL ♪ ♪ ♪ WE RECEIVED OUR EDUCATION IN THE CITIES OF THE NATION ♪ ♪ ME AND PAUL ♪ ♪ ♪ ALMOST BUSTED IN LAREDO ♪ ♪ BUT FOR REASONS THAT I'D RATHER NOT DISCLOSE ♪ ♪ ♪ BUT IF YOU'RE STAYING... ♪ NARRATOR: NEXT TIME ON "COUNTRY MUSIC," DOLLY PARTON MAKES IT BIG.

BRENDA LEE: DOLLY WANTED TO BE EVERYWHERE, AND THAT'S WHAT SHE DID.

NARRATOR: THE STORMY MARRIAGE OF GEORGE JONES AND TAMMY WYNETTE... BILL ANDERSON: I THINK PEOPLE SAW THEIR OWN LIVES IN THESE SONGS.

NARRATOR: AND WAYLON AND WILLIE BECOME OUTLAWS.

WILLIE NELSON: THEY WERE WILLING TO FORGIVE US SOME OF OUR-- HEH!--MISGIVINGS, AS LONG AS THE MUSIC WAS GOOD.

NARRATOR: WHEN "COUNTRY MUSIC" CONTINUES.

WAYLON JENNINGS: ♪ ...LOVES HIM IN SPITE OF HIS WAYS SHE DON'T UNDERSTAND ♪ TO EXPERIENCE MORE OF COUNTRY MUSIC, VISIT PBS.ORG FOR HISTORICAL TIMELINES, BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE, AND MUSIC PLAYLISTS.

"COUNTRY MUSIC" AND OTHER FILMS FROM KEN BURNS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE PBS VIDEO APP.

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♪ ME AND PAUL ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ON A PACKAGE SHOW IN BUFFALO ♪ ♪ WITH US AND KITTY WELLS AND CHARLIE PRIDE ♪ ♪ ♪ THE SHOW WAS LONG, AND WE'RE JUST SITTING THERE ♪ ♪ AND WE'D COME TO PLAY AND NOT JUST FOR THE RIDE ♪ ♪ ♪ WELL, WE DRANK A LOT OF WHISKEY ♪ ♪ SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE WENT ON THAT NIGHT AT ALL ♪ ♪ ♪ BUT I DON'T THINK THEY EVEN MISSED US ♪ ♪ I GUESS BUFFALO AIN'T GEARED FOR ME AND PAUL ♪ ♪ ♪ WELL, IT'S BEEN ROUGH AND ROCKY TRAVELING ♪ ♪ BUT I'M FINALLY STANDING UPRIGHT ON THE GROUND ♪ ♪ ♪ AFTER TAKING SEVERAL READINGS ♪ ♪ I'M SURPRISED TO FIND MY MIND'S STILL FAIRLY SOUND ♪ ♪ ♪ I GUESS NASHVILLE WAS THE ROUGHEST ♪ ♪ BUT I KNOW I'VE SAID THE SAME ABOUT THEM ALL ♪ ♪ ♪ WE RECEIVED OUR EDUCATION IN THE CITIES OF THE NATION ♪ ♪ ME AND PAUL ♪ ♪