The Carter Family, Roy Acuff and the Sons of the Pioneers belong to a select group of the earliest and most successful country recording artists. Pioneers spotlights them all doing such signature songs as Keep On the Sunny Side, Wabash Cannonball and Tumbling Tumbleweeds, alongside the influential blue-grass bands of Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs. And when Grandpa Jones stomps through Good Old Mountain Dew, you won't be able to sit down.
Roy AcuffSelf (archive footage)
Eddy ArnoldSelf (archive footage)
Lester FlattSelf (archive footage)
Grandpa JonesSelf (archive footage)
Bill MonroeSelf (archive footage)
George MorganSelf (archive footage)
Ray PriceSelf (archive footage)
Tex RitterSelf (archive footage)
Earl ScruggsSelf (archive footage)
Carl SmithSelf (archive footage)
A look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren, and a host of others hold court.
Southern indie rockers Lucero hit the road in this documentary, which shows the Memphis, Tennessee band on tour and in the studio. In addition to candid interviews with band members Ben Nichols, Roy Berry, John Stubblefield and Brian Venable, the video features footage of the band on tour with The North Mississippi All-Stars, in the studio for the recording of "Tennessee" and performing live at the Memphis in May Music Festival.
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
Long, long ago, a record didn't just reach the No. 1 spot - it resided there, sometimes for months. Songs That Topped the Charts captures the biggest country hits, many of which also became significant pop singles. Check out Leroy Van Dyke's Walk On By (19 weeks at No. 1); Stonewall Jackson's Waterloo; and the Browns' The Three Bells, a country and pop chart-topper. They don't cut 'em like that anymore.
The intersecting stories of twenty-four characters—from country star to wannabe to reporter to waitress—connect to the music business in Nashville, Tennessee.
Filmed and Recorded Live at Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, on September 14, 2015, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Friends - Circlin' Back: Celebrating 50 Years captures a group of longtime road warriors who've yet to lose their grit, joined onstage by John Prine, Sam Bush, Vince Gill, Jerry Jeff Walker, Alison Krauss, Rodney Crowell, Byron House, and Jerry Douglas. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (and early Dirt Band member) Jackson Browne joined in, along with longtime member Jimmy Ibbotson, while a sold-out crowd sings along in the background. From country classics to deep cuts, the tracklist finds bandmates Jeff Hanna (guitars/vocals), Jimmie Fadden (drums/harmonica/vocals), Bob Carpenter (keyboards/accordion/vocals) and John McEuen (banjo/fiddle/guitar/mandolin) swapping harmonies, trading solos, and shining new light on a catalog of vital, vibrant music.
Fifty years later, and he's still rattlin' the Devil's cage. Charlie Louvin can walk through a crowded mall and not attract attention. But it shouldn't be that way; the humble 83-year-old musician in the cowboy hat and jeans is a true American hero. To start, 50 years ago he and his brother recorded "Satan is Real," an album that shook up the music business. And the life he lived thereafter was pretty radical, too, from his military service to his country to his 61-year marriage to his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry. On Friday, December 3, 2010 at the fooBAR in Nashville, we caught Charlie Louvin on stage, making music for his fans, celebrating the anniversary of that famous album. And we filmed the night for history's sake. This is the tribute he so richly deserves.
In March 2005, Neil Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Four days before he was scheduled for a lifesaving operation, he headed to Nashville, where he wrote and recorded the country folk album Prairie Wind with old friends and family members. After the successful operation and recovery period, he returned to Nashville that August to play at the famed Ryman Auditorium, once again gathering together friends and family for this special performance.
The Eagles performed live for the first time in April 1994 after a fourteen-year-long hiatus. Their reunion album’s name was in reference to Don Henley’s quote after the band’s breakup in 1980, when he commented that they would only play together again “when Hell freezes over”. Recorded at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California for an MTV special, the live sessions produced eleven tracks for the album, including a new acoustic version of “Hotel California”.
'Country: Portraits of an American Sound' is a documentary film that explores the history and culture of country music through the lens of photography, which has portrayed the ideals, lifestyle and personalities of country music artists for over 80 years. The film features imagery and commentary from Grand Ole Opry photographer Les Leverett, the late celebrity photographer Leigh Wiener, documentary photographer Henry Horenstein, iconic music photographers Henry Diltz and Raeanne Rubenstein, and contemporary photographers David McClister and Michael Wilson. Over a dozen country music artists also appear, including Rosanne Cash, Roy Clark, Merle Haggard, Lyle Lovett, Charley Pride, LeAnn Rimes, Kenny Rogers, Tanya Tucker, The Band Perry and Keith Urban. The film weaves iconic images, historical footage and over 25 country music hits into a dynamic look at this uniquely American sound.
Biography of Loretta Lynn, a country and western singer that came from poverty to fame.
Recorded Live at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama in October 2021. Stars of the music world performed to honor American Patriot Lee Greenwood and provided special recognition for veterans. Featuring performances by Big & Rich, Crystal Gayle, Dustin Lynch, Gavin DeGraw, Home Free, Jamey Johnson, Lee Brice, Oak Ridge Boys, and others.
Five bands all have their sights set on stardom as they take the stage in the first theatrical film of the Bang Dream series.
Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the country band from Texas called the Dixie Chicks and how one tiny comment against President Bush dropped their number one hit off the charts and caused fans to hate them, destroy their CD’s, and protest at their concerts. A film about freedom of speech gone out of control and the three girls lives that were forever changed by a small anti-Bush comment
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.
The legendary Willie Nelson is in fantastic form on this 1990 Austin City Limits performance. The DVD includes his classic songs, Whiskey River, On The Road Again, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain and Always On My Mind. The DVD also features a couple of duets with Shelby Lynne. This DVD includes performances that have not been available until now.
The story of the American music dynasty, the Carters and Cashes, and their decades-long influence on popular music.
Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.
On the evening of August 12, 1978, Waylon Jennings and The Waylons performed on the concert stage of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. The master recordings of this concert were never released and had been locked in the vaults of RCA Records, long forgotten since 1978. The songs embodied in this performance capture Waylon Jennings and his band at the height of the country music "Outlaw" period, ample evidence of the extraordinary and individualistic writing and singing talents of Waylon Jennings. Now presented for the first time in its entirety, exactly as it was recorded on August 12, 1978.
A singer determined to make it in country-western music lets nothing stand in his way, including stealing. The girl who loves him and a female preacher try to straighten him out and help him make it legitimately.