This Monday, celebrated documentary filmmaker Ken Burns stopped by Knoxville to promote his newest film, “Country Music”.
Known for his groundbreaking documentaries on the Civil War, Lewis and Clark, World War II and baseball, Ken Burns has now set his sights on telling the story of a uniquely American form of art: Country music.
The eight-part, 16-hour documentary series focuses on the origins of country music and how it has impacted America. The film, which was directed by Burns, written by Dayton Duncan, and produced by Julie Dunfrey, features interviews with country legends such as Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard and Garth Brooks.
Seeing as how many country music legends hail from East Tennessee, Burns and his team made a trip across the area to promote the trip, stopping in Bristol, Sevierville and Knoxville.
Monday, Burns stopped by WDVX in downtown Knoxville for a special press event before taking his road trip to Maryville for an event open to the public. The press event featured a special preview of “Country Music” along with a discussion featuring Burns, Duncan, Dunfrey and special guest Ketch Secor, front man of Old Crow Medicine Show.
“I ask this question in every single town we stop in in East Tennessee: What is in the water that produced so much history and talent in country music here?” Burns said.
The film focuses not only on the history of country music as an art form, but also on the many people that helped make it legendary. While it features many stories about strong, empowered women fighting for women’s rights, Burns and Duncan said that the film began production before the “Me Too” movement.
“All of our films, by the time they come out, there are certain things that are highlighted that people will think were in reference to things happening in this moment. Strong women have been prevalent throughout the history of country music.” Duncan said.
“There’s so many things in the film that speak exactly to this moment, not because we designed it that way, but because that’s how history works.” Burns added.
Earlier in the event, Burns quoted Mark Twain as saying that history doesn’t quite repeat itself — but that it does rhyme. Burns added to this idea while discussing historical documentaries, which remain popular today.
“We don’t ever think about it when we are making the film, but when we lift our heads up when it is done, we are flabbergasted about how much films about prohibition, the Dust Bowl, country music or Vietnam are ‘rhyming’ in the present moment,” Burns said.
The film features interviews with around 80 different people prevalent in the country music industry, 20 of them having passed away since their interview.
“We’re particularly sad about these people who we worked with and got to know, such as Merle Haggard, but we’re also happy that we got to meet them and help them tell their story,” said Burns.
Special guest Ketch Secor, the youngest person to be interviewed for the documentary, commented on the production’s emotional qualities.
“I felt so emotional about the whole process,” Secor said. “Getting to experience the film, having lived parts of it, and also knowing my life as a country musician has overlapped with so many miraculous lives is amazing.”
“Country Music” is set to premiere on Sep. 15 on East Tennessee PBS.
