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] ["MULE SKINNER BLUES" BY DOLLY PARTON PLAYS] PARTON: ♪ WELL, GOOD MORNING ♪ ♪ CAPTAIN ♪ ♪ GOOD MORNING TO YOU, SIR ♪ ♪ HEY, HEY ♪ ♪ YEAH... ♪ MAN: IF YOU LOOK AT IT OVER THE LAST 90 YEARS NOW, THAT IT'S BEEN BEING RECORDED, IT WOULDN'T BE ONE THING.

IT WOULDN'T BE ANY-- ANYWHERE CLOSE TO ONE THING.

IT'S BEEN A MILLION DIFFERENT THINGS IN A MILLION DIFFERENT WAYS.

AND THAT'S, TO ME, THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.

YOU'RE GOING TO PLAY IT DIFFERENTLY.

YOUR HEART'S GOING TO MAKE IT COME OUT OF YOU IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN IT IS ME.

THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF IT.

PARTON: ♪ WELL, I'M A LADY MULE SKINNER ♪ [APPLAUSE] ♪ FROM DOWN OLD TENNESSEE WAY ♪ ♪ HEY, HEY ♪ ♪ I COME FROM TENNESSEE ♪ ♪ AND I CAN MAKE ANY MULE LISTEN ♪ ♪ OR I WON'T ACCEPT YOUR PAY ♪ ♪ HEY, HEY ♪ ♪ I WON'T TAKE YOUR PAY ♪ ♪ YODEL-A-HEE... ♪ I DON'T THINK I WOULD ENJOY COUNTRY MUSIC IF IT STAYED THE SAME.

IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO.

PARTON: ♪ ...A-HEE ♪ ♪ HEE-HEE ♪ ♪ HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE ♪ ♪ MULE SKINNER BLUES ♪ [WHISTLES] HYAH!

HYAH... ["ON THE ROAD AGAIN" BY WILLIE NELSON PLAYS] NELSON: ♪ ON THE ROAD AGAIN, JUST CAN'T WAIT... ♪ NARRATOR: IN THE EARLY 1980s, THE MAINSTREAM APPEAL OF THE SMOOTH COUNTRYPOLITAN SOUND, ALONG WITH A SPATE OF POPULAR HOLLYWOOD MOVIES, HAD HELPED IGNITE A BOOM IN COUNTRY MUSIC.

BUT BY 1984, ACTUAL SALES OF COUNTRY MUSIC RECORDS HAD DECREASED BY MORE THAN 27%.

"THOSE GOOD TIMES ARE GONE," THE "NEW YORK TIMES" DECLARED, "AND THEY WON'T BE COMING BACK."

NO SOONER HAD THE DIP IN COMMERCIAL SUCCESS BEEN NOTICED AND MOURNED THAN IT BEGAN REVERSING ITSELF.

TWO NEW CABLE NETWORKS DEDICATED EXCLUSIVELY TO COUNTRY MUSIC BROUGHT INTERVIEWS AND STORIES ABOUT A NEW GENERATION OF STARS TO FANS ACROSS THE NATION, USING MUSIC VIDEOS TO PROMOTE THEIR NEW SONGS.

IN THE LAST HALF OF THE 1980s, SALES WOULD DOUBLE AND NEVER LOOK BACK.

BUT WITHIN THE BROAD EMBRACE OF ITS EXTENDED FAMILY, THE AGE-OLD QUESTION OF WHAT IS AND WHAT ISN'T COUNTRY MUSIC WOULD ONLY INTENSIFY.

COULD A MUSIC OF EVERYDAY PEOPLE, DESCRIBED AS 3 CHORDS AND THE TRUTH, SURVIVE THE CHANGES OF THE LATE 20th CENTURY WITH ITS SOUL AND ITS SIMPLICITY INTACT?

WOULD ITS STARS AND THE MUSIC ITSELF LOSE THEIR WAY, OR WOULD THEY HEED THE OLD SAYING "DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR RAISIN'"?

MAN: "DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR RAISIN'" IS A TERM I ASSOCIATE WITH THE SOUTH.

IT'S THE KIND OF ADVICE THAT PARENTS WOULD GIVE THEIR CHILDREN.

"BUT AS YOU GO INTO THE WORLD, "DON'T FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM.

"DON'T GET SO UPPITY THAT YOU FORGET US AND YOU FORGET THE VALUES THAT YOU WERE TAUGHT BACK HOME."

AND I THINK FOR COUNTRY MUSIC, IT'S JUST A REMINDER TO THE MUSIC IN GENERAL, "DON'T FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM."

NARRATOR: TWO TALENTED BLUEGRASS PICKERS WOULD HELP LEAD COUNTRY'S REVIVAL.

ONE WOULD ADD DRUMS AND ELECTRIC GUITARS TO THE TRADITIONAL STRING BAND AND SOMEHOW MAKE THE FATHER OF BLUEGRASS HAPPY WITH THE RESULT.

THE OTHER, A GIFTED GUITARIST WITH HIS OWN HIGH LONESOME VOICE, WOULD BRING A SWEET AUTHENTICITY TO THE MUSIC THAT ENDEARED HIM TO OLD AND NEW FANS ALIKE.

A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER FROM THE BACKWOODS OF KENTUCKY WOULD STRUGGLE TO TRANSCEND THEIR COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP, MESMERIZING AUDIENCES WITH THEIR ASTONISHING HARMONIES.

A SPIRITED COWGIRL FROM OKLAHOMA, WITH A POWERFUL, UNMISTAKABLE VOICE WOULD COME TO SPEAK FOR WOMEN EVERYWHERE WHILE IN CALIFORNIA, A YOUNG SINGER-SONGWRITER WOULD PROUDLY DECLARE HIMSELF A HILLBILLY AS HE WALKED THE STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD.

AND IN NASHVILLE, ANOTHER SINGER-SONGWRITER WOULD EMERGE FROM AN INTIMATE CAFÉ THAT SPECIALIZED IN GIVING UNKNOWNS A FAIR HEARING TO BECOME COUNTRY MUSIC'S BEST-SELLING ARTIST.

HEY!

PARTON: WE ARE ALL RELATED WHEN IT COMES TO COUNTRY MUSIC AND TO COUNTRY SONGS.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE LIKE BLOOD KIN.

YOU KNOW, ANYBODY THAT LOVES COUNTRY MUSIC, THEY'RE RELATED TO YOU.

YOU'VE GOT THAT IN COMMON.

RICKY SKAGGS: ♪ YOU'RE A COUNTRY BABY ♪ ♪ THAT'S PLAIN TO SEE ♪ ♪ DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR RAISIN' ♪ ♪ STAY DOWN TO EARTH WITH ME ♪ ["I STILL MISS SOMEONE" BY JOHNNY CASH PLAYS] JOHNNY CASH: GET TO HAVE A SMOKE WITH A.P.

I NEVER GOT TO HAVE A SMOKE WITH A.P.

BEFORE.

HE DIED IN 1960, AND I NEVER GOT TO KNOW HIM.

NOT REALLY.

I NEVER GOT TO HAVE A SMOKE WITH HIM.

CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?

YES, MA'AM.

IT IS BEAUTIFUL... NARRATOR: BY THE MID-1980s, JOHNNY CASH WAS ABOUT TO START HIS FOURTH DECADE IN COUNTRY MUSIC.

TO MANY PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD, HE WAS COUNTRY MUSIC, BUT HIS SOLO RECORDS WERE NO LONGER SELLING.

ONLY TWO SINGLES HAD REACHED THE TOP 10 IN MORE THAN A DECADE.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ SOMEWHERE, AND I STILL... ♪ NARRATOR: MANY OF HIS RECENT ALBUMS FAILED TO CHART AT ALL.

IN 1986, COLUMBIA RECORDS ABRUPTLY DROPPED CASH FROM ITS ROSTER.

HE HAD BEEN WITH THE LABEL SINCE 1958.

NO ONE, INCLUDING CASH, SAW IT COMING.

MAN: IT WAS LIKE SOMEBODY HAD DROPPED AN ATOM BOMB IN NASHVILLE.

THE GUY THAT RAN COLUMBIA AT THE TIME, RICK BLACKBURN, EVERYBODY THOUGHT THAT HE WAS THE DEVIL.

BECAUSE JOHNNY CASH WAS MORE THAN AN ARTIST.

HE WAS A WAY OF LIFE FOR AMERICA.

MAN: IT WAS REGRETTABLE AND REPREHENSIBLE THAT HE WAS JUST KIND OF SUMMARILY, DISRESPECTFULLY DISMISSED AND CAST ASIDE BY A LABEL THAT HAD MADE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WITH JOHNNY CASH'S MUSIC.

THE FACT THAT COLUMBIA RECORDS WOULD DROP JOHNNY CASH WAS AN INSULT TO ANYBODY WHO HAD EVER LISTENED TO MUSIC.

["I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU DON'T WANT ME" BY ROSANNE CASH PLAYS] NARRATOR: MEANWHILE, CASH'S ELDEST DAUGHTER, ROSANNE, WAS CARVING OUT HER OWN CAREER IN COUNTRY MUSIC.

SHE CARRIED PAINFUL MEMORIES OF HER FATHER'S NEGLECT IN THE 1960s, WHEN HE WAS STRUNG OUT ON DRUGS AND NEVER AT HOME.

ROSANNE CASH: ♪ I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU DON'T WANT ME... ♪ NARRATOR: BUT SHE ALSO SHARED HIS DEEP LOVE OF MUSIC AND HIS FIERCE INDIVIDUALISM.

ROSANNE CASH: IT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO ME THAT I DO IT ON MY OWN.

EVEN THOUGHT OF CHANGING MY NAME, AND MY DAD DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.

HE KNEW I WAS CONSIDERING THAT.

AND THEN WHEN I DIDN'T, HE SAID, "I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU KEPT YOUR NAME," YOU KNOW?

"I'M SO PROUD OF OUR NAME.

I'M SO HAPPY YOU DIDN'T GIVE IT UP."

AND I REALIZE THAT WOULD HAVE HURT HIM TERRIBLY.

NARRATOR: SHE AND HER HUSBAND, RODNEY CROWELL, WHO WAS ALSO HER PRODUCER, HAD MOVED FROM LOS ANGELES TO NASHVILLE, WHERE SHE HAD TROUBLE FITTING IN.

ROSANNE CASH: WHEN I MOVED TO NASHVILLE, I HAD PURPLE HAIR.

I WAS A LITTLE BIT STREETWISE, URBAN GIRL, STRAIGHT FROM LOS ANGELES, AND, YOU KNOW, BRAZEN.

JUST CAME ON THE SCENE, LIKE, "WELL, HERE I AM," AND, "THIS IS GREAT."

AND I REALLY PUT PEOPLE OFF.

NARRATOR: BUT HER SONG "I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU DON'T WANT ME" WENT TO NUMBER ONE AND WON A GRAMMY.

ROSANNE CASH: ♪ I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU DON'T WANT ME... ♪ ♪ I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU... ♪ MAN: SHE WAS SELLING RECORDS.

AND THE PEOPLE WERE GETTING HER MUSIC.

AND THAT WILL ENDEAR YOU TO THE ESTABLISHMENT PRETTY QUICK BECAUSE IT ADDS TO THE BOTTOM LINE.

SO YOU'D BE SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH RESPECT YOU GET WHEN YOUR RECORDS ARE SELLING.

AND YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED HOW LITTLE YOU GET WHEN THEY'RE NOT.

["TENNESSEE FLAT TOP BOX" BY ROSANNE CASH PLAYS] NARRATOR: ROSANNE CASH'S NEWEST ALBUM WENT GOLD AND PRODUCED 4 CONSECUTIVE NUMBER ONE SINGLES, INCLUDING "TENNESSEE FLAT TOP BOX," A SONG HER FATHER HAD FIRST RECORDED IN 1961.

ROSANNE CASH: ♪ ...A LITTLE DARK-HAIRED BOY ♪ ♪ WHO PLAYED THE TENNESSEE FLAT TOP BOX... ♪ I FELT KIND OF GUILTY THAT MY CAREER WAS REALLY--I WAS GETTING-- HAVING A LOT OF NUMBER ONE RECORDS AND GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION AT THE SAME TIME MY DAD WAS DROPPED FROM COLUMBIA AND HE WAS REALLY FLOUNDERING.

I FELT BAD FOR HIM BECAUSE HE PUT A LOT OF STOCK IN BEING JOHNNY CASH.

AND TO NOT HAVE THAT, HE WAS A LITTLE DISCONCERTED AND AT SEA AND DEPRESSED.

["MY LONG JOURNEY HOME" BY THE MONROE BROTHERS PLAYS] MONROE BROTHERS: ♪ DARK AND A-RAININ' ♪ ♪ AND I GOT TO GO HOME ♪ ♪ GOT TO GO HOME, OH, WE GOT TO GO HOME ♪ ♪ DARK AND A-RAININ' ♪ ♪ AND I GOT TO GO HOME ♪ ♪ I'M ON MY LONG JOURNEY HOME ♪ IN ALL THINGS COUNTRY MUSIC, WE SEE A RESPONSE.

HOW FAR ARE THEY GOING TO TAKE COUNTRY MUSIC?

WELL, IT'LL COME BACK AROUND AGAIN.

IT'S ALWAYS REMINDING ITSELF WHO IT IS.

AND THE OLD GHOSTS ARE ALWAYS RISING UP AND REFUSING TO BE CAST ASIDE.

MONROE BROTHERS: ♪ GOT TO GO HOME ♪ ♪ OH, WE GOT TO GO HOME ♪ ♪ IT'S DARK AND A-RAININ', AND I GOT TO GO HOME ♪ ♪ I'M ON MY LONG JOURNEY HOME ♪ THERE IS A TENSION, ALWAYS.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S HOW BIG CAN YOU MAKE YOUR AUDIENCE, YOU KNOW, AND HOW PURE YOU CAN KEEP YOUR HEART.

I THINK THE WAY COUNTRY MUSIC WAS PUFFED UP AND SO HUNG UP ON ITSELF AND ITS SOUND AND ITS CITY AND ITS IMAGE, AND ALL THAT, YOU KNOW?

I THINK MAYBE IT WAS A LITTLE PRIDEFUL, AND WE NEED TO HAVE A HEART CHECK.

["HIGHWAY 40 BLUES" BY RICKY SKAGGS PLAYS] NARRATOR: RICKY SKAGGS WAS FROM EASTERN KENTUCKY.

A PRODIGY ON THE MANDOLIN, HE HAD PLAYED FOR BILL MONROE AT AGE 6, APPEARED ON THE FLATT AND SCRUGGS TELEVISION SHOW WHEN HE WAS 7; AND AS A TEENAGER JOINED RALPH STANLEY AND THE CLINCH MOUNTAIN BOYS.

NO ONE HAD MORE IMPECCABLE BLUEGRASS CREDENTIALS THAN HE DID.

SKAGGS: ♪ SQUANDERED YOUTH IN SEARCH OF TRUTH ♪ ♪ BUT IN THE END, I HAD TO LOSE, GOT THE HIGHWAY 40 BLUES... ♪ NARRATOR: BUT IN THE LATE 1970s, SKAGGS HAD MOVED TO LOS ANGELES TO BE PART OF EMMYLOU HARRIS' HOT BAND, INFUSING HER MUSIC WITH A TINGE OF BLUEGRASS, AND EXPERIMENTING WITH A SOUND THAT COMBINED THE ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS OF A STRING BAND WITH SOMETHING MORE ELECTRIC, MORE HONKY TONK.

IT WAS TRADITIONAL, AND IT WAS BRAND-NEW.

SKAGGS: WELL, THE BLUEGRASS PURISTS WERE, THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE ELECTRIC PART.

THEY REALLY DIDN'T.

AND IT WAS SO COUNTRY.

I MEAN, IT WAS BARNYARD.

YOU COULD SMELL IT.

IT WAS SO COUNTRY.

NARRATOR: SKAGGS ENJOYED NOTHING BETTER THAN TAKING A SONG THAT ONE OF HIS BLUEGRASS HEROES HAD WRITTEN AND RECORDED A GENERATION EARLIER AND INJECTING IT WITH SOMETHING FRESH.

[STRUMMING MANDOLIN] SKAGGS: ♪ WELL, I GOT A GAL THAT'S SWEET TO ME ♪ ♪ SHE JUST AIN'T WHAT SHE USED TO BE ♪ ♪ JUST A LITTLE HIGH HEADED ♪ ♪ THAT'S PLAIN TO SEE ♪ ♪ DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR RAISIN' ♪ ♪ STAY DOWN TO EARTH WITH ME ♪ THAT IS JUST A BAD SONG!

THAT IS SO BAD.

I LOVE THAT SONG.

THAT WAS A FLATT AND SCRUGGS SONG THAT EARL JUST ATE THE BANJO UP ON.

I FELT LIKE THAT SONG COULD BE A SLAMMING KIND OF COUNTRY SONG.

♪ OH, WELL, I GOT A GAL THAT'S SWEET TO ME ♪ ♪ AND SHE JUST AIN'T WHAT SHE USED TO BE ♪ ♪ SHE'S JUST A LITTLE HIGH HEADED ♪ ♪ THAT'S PLAIN TO SEE ♪ ♪ DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR RAISIN' ♪ ♪ STAY DOWN TO EARTH WITH ME ♪ ♪ "NOW, LOOKIE HERE, GAL," THEN SHE HIGH-HATTED ME ♪ ♪ I AIN'T FORGOT WHAT YOU USED TO BE... ♪ SKAGGS, VOICE-OVER: YOU KNOW, THE SCRIPTURES TELL US, YOU KNOW, BE HUMBLE.

YOU KNOW, GOD DOESN'T EXALT PRIDE, BUDDY.

HE EXALTS HUMILITY.

♪ STAY DOWN TO EARTH WITH ME ♪ ♪ ["UNCLE PEN" BY RICKY SKAGGS PLAYS] NARRATOR: DURING THE MID-1980s, SKAGGS RELEASED A STEADY STRING OF TOP HITS, INCLUDING A REMAKE OF A SONG HIS MENTOR, BILL MONROE, HAD WRITTEN BACK IN 1950 ABOUT MONROE'S MENTOR, UNCLE PEN.

MONROE'S VERSION HAD NEVER CHARTED; SKAGGS' JUMPED TO NUMBER ONE.

SKAGGS: ♪ UNCLE PEN PLAYED THE FIDDLE, LORD, HOW IT RANG ♪ ♪ YOU COULD HEAR IT TALK, YOU COULD HEAR IT SING... ♪ SKAGGS: "UNCLE PEN" WAS THE FIRST SOLO BLUEGRASS SONG TO EVER REACH NUMBER ONE.

SO I WAS AT THE OPRY ONE NIGHT, AND MR. MONROE COME UP TO ME, AND HE SAID, "UH, RICKY, UH, BOY, UH, I JUST GOT A POWERFUL CHECK ON THAT SONG 'UNCLE PEN,' THAT SONG YOU PUT OUT."

AND HE SAID, "I'M TELLING YOU, IT WAS A POWERFUL CHECK NOW."

HE SAID, "I PAID ALL MY LAND TAXES," AND HE SAID, "I GOT SOME LEFT OVER."

AND, UH, "YOU CAN RECORD ALL MY SONGS IF YOU WANT TO."

UNCLE PEN?

NARRATOR: MONROE EVEN AGREED TO APPEAR IN A MUSIC VIDEO FOR SKAGGS' SONG "COUNTRY BOY," PRETENDING TO BE UNCLE PEN PAYING A VISIT TO HIS NEPHEW IN NEW YORK CITY.

BUT I DIDN'T KNOW YOU'D SINK TO THIS.

SON, YOU'RE GETTING WAY ABOVE YOUR RAISIN' IS WHAT'S GOING ON.

AND IT'S A SAD SIGHT.

WELL, UNCLE PEN, I'LL SHOW YOU.

SKAGGS, VOICE-OVER: HE PLAYED THE ROLE SO GREAT.

AND WHEN HE CHEWED ME OUT IN THAT LAWYER'S ROOM FOR BEING ALL DRESSED UP AND KIND OF GOT ABOVE MY RAISIN', YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT, HE DID IT SO PERFECT.

♪ I MAY LOOK LIKE A CITY SLICKER ♪ ♪ SHININ' UP THROUGH ME SHOES ♪ ♪ UNDERNEATH I'M JUST A COTTON PICKER ♪ ♪ PICKIN' OUT A MESS OF BLUES... ♪ SKAGGS, VOICE-OVER: IT HAD ALL THE ELEMENTS OF FUN.

IT HAD BREAK DANCING.

IT HAD ED KOCH EATING A BAGEL, SINGING "I'M JUST A COUNTRY BOY AT HEART."

SKAGGS: ♪ I'M JUST A COUNTRY BOY ♪ ♪ COUNTRY BOY AT HEART ♪ ♪ SKAGGS: WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK, UNCLE PEN?

MONROE: I GUESS YOU'RE STILL A COUNTRY BOY.

["AMARILLO BY MORNING" BY GEORGE STRAIT PLAYS] NARRATOR: BUT THERE WERE OTHER YOUNG ARTISTS WHO WERE ALSO RECONNECTING COUNTRY MUSIC WITH ITS ROOTS AND HAVING GREAT SUCCESS.

GEORGE STRAIT WAS RAISED ON A RANCH NEAR HIS BIRTHPLACE OF POTEET, TEXAS.

HIS MUSIC HAD AN OLD-FASHIONED DANCE HALL FEEL TO IT, ANCHORED BY HIS SMOOTH, EASY VOICE AND NO-FRILLS APPROACH.

♪ AMARILLO BY MORNING ♪ ♪ UP FROM SAN ANTONE ♪ ♪ EVERYTHING THAT I GOT ♪ ♪ IS JUST WHAT I'VE GOT ON... ♪ GARTH BROOKS: I WAS GOING TO THE STORE WITH MY DAD, AND I REMEMBER COMING OUT OF TURTLE CREEK, UP THERE WHERE I WAS GOING TO TAKE A LEFT BY THE BLUE CHURCH, HEADING NORTH TO SNYDER'S IGA.

AND DAD HAD THIS RADIO ON, KIND OF A.M. AND THIS LADY SAID, "HERE'S A NEW KID FROM TEXAS, AND I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE HIS SOUND."

AND IT WAS GEORGE STRAIT.

STRAIT: ♪ THEY TOOK MY SADDLE IN HOUSTON ♪ ♪ BROKE MY LEG IN SANTA FE... ♪ BROOKS: AND IT WAS THAT DAY, I LOOKED AND SAID, "THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO BE."

STRAIT: ♪ LOST MY WIFE AND A GIRLFRIEND ♪ ♪ SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY ♪ ♪ BUT I'LL BE LOOKIN' FOR 8 ♪ ♪ WHEN THEY PULL THAT GATE ♪ ♪ AND I HOPE THAT JUDGE AIN'T BLIND ♪ ♪ AMARILLO BY MORNING ♪ ♪ AMARILLO'S ON MY MIND... ♪ NARRATOR: STRAIT'S FIRST ALBUM SOLD A MILLION COPIES.

SO DID EVERY OTHER ALBUM HE RELEASED FOR THE REST OF THE CENTURY.

HE WOULD ULTIMATELY RECORD 60 NUMBER ONE SINGLES-- MORE THAN ANY OTHER ARTIST IN ANY MUSICAL CATEGORY.

[APPLAUSE] ["DIGGIN' UP BONES" BY RANDY TRAVIS PLAYS] RANDY TRAVIS: ♪ LAST NIGHT I DUG YOUR PICTURE ♪ ♪ OUT FROM OUR OLD DRESSER DRAWER ♪ ♪ SET IT ON THE TABLE ♪ ♪ I READ SOME OLD LOVE LETTERS... ♪ NARRATOR: IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, RANDY TRAVIS BARELY SURVIVED A TROUBLED YOUTH-- DRUGS, ALCOHOL, SCRAPES WITH THE POLICE.

THEN "LIB" HATCHER, THE MANAGER OF A LOCAL CLUB WHERE HE WAS SINGING, INTERVENED AND PROMISED AUTHORITIES SHE WOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR KEEPING HIM OUT OF TROUBLE.

HATCHER BROUGHT HIM TO NASHVILLE, WHERE PRODUCERS ADMIRED HIS DEEP BARITONE VOICE, BUT THOUGHT IT HAD TOO MUCH TWANG IN IT AND UNIFORMLY TURNED HIM DOWN.

FINALLY, IN 1986, ONE LABEL RELENTED, AND TO EVERYONE'S SURPRISE, HIS DEBUT ALBUM ENDED UP SELLING 3 MILLION COPIES.

TRAVIS: ♪ ...BETTER LEFT ALONE ♪ ♪ I'M RESURRECTING MEMORIES OF A LOVE THAT'S DEAD AND GONE ♪ ♪ YEAH, TONIGHT I'M SITTIN' ALONE, DIGGIN' UP BONES ♪ WOMAN: HE WAS THE FIRST GUY TO SORT OF GO RIGHT BACK TO THIS HEART OF THINGS, AND UNAPOLOGETICALLY WITH GREAT SONGS, JUST GREAT SONGS AND A GREAT VOICE AND THE SIMPLICITY OF THAT.

TRAVIS: ♪ ...THAT I BOUGHT YOU TO WEAR... ♪ I JUST REMEMBER THE KIND OF WHIPLASH FEELING WHEN HE CAME ALONG, THAT KIND OF LIKE, EVERYBODY WAS LIKE, "THAT GUY."

TRAVIS: ♪ ...I'M SITTIN' ALONE, DIGGIN' UP BONES ♪ [SONG ENDS] [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] ["DADDY" BY REBA McENTIRE PLAYS] McENTIRE: ♪ MY DADDY IS A RANCHER ♪ ♪ HE'S WRANGLED CATTLE DANG NEAR ALL HIS LIFE... ♪ MY ACCENT HAS BEEN WITH ME FOREVER.

BECAUSE THE WAY I TALK AND THE WAY I SING, I CAN'T CROSS OVER THAT MUCH.

UM, IT'S A BIG OLD BAR THAT COMES UP.

THE BARRIERS DO COME UP.

NARRATOR: REBA McENTIRE GREW UP ON AN 8,000-ACRE CATTLE RANCH NEAR KIOWA, OKLAHOMA.

HER FATHER, A 3-TIME WORLD-CHAMPION CALF ROPER, TAUGHT HIS 4 CHILDREN TO WORK HARD AND LOVE HORSES.

HER MOTHER TAUGHT THEM TO HARMONIZE AND LOVE MUSIC.

BY HIGH SCHOOL, REBA WAS PERFORMING WITH A BROTHER AND SISTER AS THE SINGING McENTIRES, AND COMPETING IN RODEOS AS A BARREL RACER.

♪ O, SAY, DOES THAT STAR-SPANGLED BANNER ♪ ♪ YET WAVE... ♪ NARRATOR: WHEN SHE SANG THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AT THE NATIONAL FINALS RODEO IN 1974, HER VOICE PROMPTED AN INVITATION TO NASHVILLE, WHERE SHE SIGNED A RECORDING CONTRACT AND RELEASED SEVERAL ALBUMS.

BUT AS THE YEARS WENT BY, SHE GREW DISSATISFIED WITH THE WAY HER LABEL TRIED TO MOLD HER INTO A COUNTRYPOLITAN-STYLE ARTIST.

OF COURSE, ME BEING A STRONG-WILLED THIRD CHILD OUT OF 4 KIDS AND A REDHEAD, AND I HAD MY OWN OPINION OF HOW THINGS WOULD BE DONE.

["SOMEBODY SHOULD LEAVE" BY REBA McENTIRE PLAYS] NARRATOR: IN 1984, A NEW LABEL FINALLY LISTENED TO HER.

McENTIRE: AND I SAID I WOULD REALLY LIKE THINGS MORE COUNTRY.

I DON'T WANT ORCHESTRA AND VIOLINS.

I WANT A STEEL GUITAR AND A FIDDLE.

McENTIRE: ♪ SOMEBODY SHOULD LEAVE ♪ ♪ BUT WE HATE TO GIVE IN... ♪ McENTIRE: I WANTED THE HELP TO BRING COUNTRY MUSIC BACK TO MORE TRADITIONAL.

SO THAT WAS, BOY, THAT WAS REALLY SOMETHING THAT I LOVED-- GEORGE STRAIT, RICKY SKAGGS, RANDY TRAVIS.

THAT STARTED ME HAVING MORE CONTROL OF THE SONGS THAT I RECORDED.

NARRATOR: JUST AS LORETTA LYNN HAD DONE IN THE 1960s, MANY OF McENTIRE'S HITS TOUCHED ON ISSUES WOMEN ALL OVER AMERICA WERE FACING: DEALING WITH A TROUBLED MARRIAGE IN "SOMEBODY SHOULD LEAVE" OR DECIDING TO FINISH THEIR EDUCATION AFTER STARTING A FAMILY IN "IS THERE LIFE OUT THERE."

McENTIRE: ♪ SHE MARRIED WHEN SHE WAS 20 ♪ ♪ SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS READY ♪ ♪ NOW SHE'S NOT SO SURE... ♪ McENTIRE: I WOULD BE DOING THAT SONG ONSTAGE, AND WOMEN WOULD STAND UP IN THE AUDIENCE, HOLD UP THEIR DIPLOMA.

THEY'D WRITE ME LETTERS SAYING, "I DIDN'T GET TO GO TO COLLEGE.

"I DIDN'T GET MY HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.

"AND SO WHEN THE KIDS GOT OUT OF THE HOUSE, I WENT BACK AND GOT MY GED."

AND THEY SAID, "THAT SONG INSPIRED ME."

["SWEET DREAMS" BY REBA McENTIRE PLAYS] [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] NARRATOR: ONE NIGHT AFTER A CONCERT IN SAN DIEGO, 8 MEMBERS OF McENTIRE'S BAND PERISHED IN AN AIRPLANE ACCIDENT-- THE BIGGEST TRAGEDY FOR THE CLOSE-KNIT COUNTRY MUSIC FAMILY SINCE PATSY CLINE WAS KILLED IN A PLANE CRASH IN 1963, AFTER A CONCERT IN WHICH CLINE HAD INTRODUCED A NEW SONG OF HERS, "SWEET DREAMS."

McENTIRE: ♪ ...WHY CAN'T I FORGET... ♪ "SWEET DREAMS" WAS THE LAST SONG I SANG IN, UM, SAN DIEGO IN MARCH OF '91, WHEN THE PLANE CRASH HAPPENED.

THAT WAS THE LAST SONG I GOT TO SING WITH THAT BAND.

NARRATOR: REBA McENTIRE WOULD GO ON TO FORM HER OWN ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY; BE THE FIRST ARTIST TO BE CHOSEN THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION'S FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR 4 YEARS IN ROW; APPEAR IN MOVIES, TELEVISION SHOWS, AND ON BROADWAY, AND BECOME THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FEMALE COUNTRY ARTIST OF HER ERA.

McENTIRE: IT'S WOMEN STANDING UP FOR THEMSELVES IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE, ANY JOB YOU HAVE.

WOMEN HAVE TO WORK TWICE AS HARD, SOMETIMES 3 TIMES AS HARD, AND THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS IN LIFE.

AND YOU DO IT.

YOU DO IT WITH A SMILE, BUT YOU WIN.

["GRANDPA" BY THE JUDDS PLAYS] NAOMI JUDD: REBA WAS DISCOVERED SINGING THE "STAR-SPANGLED BANNER" AT RODEOS.

GEORGE WAS A REAL COWBOY DOWN IN SAN MARCOS, TEXAS.

WE WERE REAL.

WE DIDN'T NEED A FOCUS GROUP OR A MARKETING MEETING AND ANY OF THAT-- ANY OF THAT KIND OF STUFF.

AND PEOPLE WERE HUNGRY FOR THAT.

THE JUDDS: ♪ GRANDPA ♪ ♪ TELL ME 'BOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS ♪ ♪ SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE ♪ ♪ THIS WORLD'S GONE CRAZY ♪ ♪ GRANDPA ♪ ♪ TAKE ME BACK TO YESTERDAY... ♪ NARRATOR: NAOMI JUDD WAS A DIVORCED MOTHER OF TWO STRONG-WILLED DAUGHTERS, WYNONNA AND ASHLEY, LIVING IN LOS ANGELES, WHEN SHE DECIDED TO MOVE BACK TO HER NATIVE KENTUCKY IN 1976.

NAOMI JUDD: WYNONNA WAS 12, ASHLEY WAS 8.

AND I HAD TAKEN THEM BACK HOME TO A MOUNTAINTOP IN KENTUCKY TO EXPOSE THEM TO THEIR ANCESTRY.

I WANTED TO REALLY SORT OF PLUG THE KIDS INTO THEIR INCREDIBLY RICH EIGHTH-GENERATION KENTUCKY HERITAGE.

SO WE LIVED ON A MOUNTAINTOP, MORRILL, KENTUCKY.

VERY ISOLATED.

THE JUDDS: ♪ TELL ME 'BOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS... ♪ WYNONNA JUDD: WE LIVED IN A HOME THAT A WOMAN RENTED TO US FOR A $100 A MONTH, BUT IT HAD HANDMADE QUILTS ON THE BED; IT HAD...BLACKBERRY BUSHES IN THE BACK AND APPLE TREES.

IT WAS A PARADISE, YET WE HAD NOTHING.

WE CUT OUR OWN HAIR; WE GREW A GARDEN.

MY MOTHER MADE EVERYTHING FROM SCRATCH.

IF WE DIDN'T MAKE IT OR GROW IT, WE DIDN'T HAVE IT.

I MEAN, IT WAS SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE.

NO TV, NO TELEPHONE.

IT WAS ALL ABOUT CREATIVITY AND SPENDING TIME IN THE QUIET OF THE WILDERNESS.

NAOMI JUDD: IT WAS IN THAT SPLENDID SOLITUDE THAT I HANDED THE 12-YEAR-OLD NEMESIS-- UM, I HANDED WYNONNA A PLASTIC STRING GUITAR, AND VOILA!

THE TRUTH IS, I WASN'T INTO MUSIC.

I WAS NOT INTO EVEN BEING A SINGER.

I JUST WAS BORED OUT OF MY MIND LIVING ON A MOUNTAINTOP WITH A, YOU KNOW, SINGLE PARENT AND A SISTER WHO WOULDN'T LEAVE ME THE HECK ALONE.

AND I THINK THE GUITAR BECAME MY FRIEND BECAUSE I WAS JUST SO LONESOME.

THE JUDDS: ♪ ...LOVERS REALLY FALL IN LOVE TO STAY?

♪ ♪ STAND BESIDE EACH OTHER COME WHAT MAY?

♪ ♪ WAS A PROMISE REALLY SOMETHING PEOPLE KEPT ♪ ♪ NOT JUST SOMETHING THEY WOULD SAY... ♪ NARRATOR: WHILE WYNONNA PRACTICED HER GUITAR, NAOMI STUDIED NURSING, AND THE TWO OF THEM MANAGED TO EASE SOME OF THEIR MOTHER-DAUGHTER TENSIONS BY LEARNING TO HARMONIZE TOGETHER.

WYNONNA JUDD: I WOULD LEARN A SONG AND, ALL OF A SUDDEN, SHE'D BE RIGHT BEHIND ME, HUMMING OR SINGING ALONG.

AND I'D BE, LIKE, "OK." AND THEN IT BECAME A THING.

PEOPLE STARTED ASKING US TO SING AT FAMILY GATHERINGS, AND THE NEXT THING I KNOW...

THE JUDDS: ♪ TELL ME 'BOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS ♪ NAOMI JUDD: WE WERE STUDYING THE DELMORE BROTHERS, AND THEY HAD THE MOST TEMPESTUOUS RELATIONSHIP.

AND IT OCCURRED TO ME, IF YOU LOOK AT THE WORD "KINDRED," IT'S "DREAD OF KIN."

HMM!

HA HA!

AND LORD KNOWS, THERE ARE MANY TIMES WYNONNA AND I COULDN'T TALK TO EACH OTHER, BUT WE COULD SING TOGETHER.

SO, YEAH, SHE STARTED TO HARMONIZE WITH ME, AND THAT'S WHEN I STARTED TO REALIZE, "OK.

HERE WE GO."

["WHY NOT ME" BY THE JUDDS PLAYS] NARRATOR: THEY MOVED TO NASHVILLE, WHERE THEY APPEARED ON A LOCAL TELEVISION SHOW AT 5:30 EACH MORNING, BEFORE NAOMI WENT TO WORK AT A HOSPITAL AND WYNONNA WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL.

NAOMI SPENT HER DAYS OFF KNOCKING ON EVERY DOOR ON MUSIC ROW, TRYING TO GET AN AUDITION WITH A RECORD LABEL.

THE JUDDS: ♪ WHY NOT ME... ♪ NARRATOR: FINALLY, THROUGH THE HELP OF THE FAMILY OF A PATIENT NAOMI HAD NURSED BACK TO HEALTH, THE JUDDS MANAGED TO GET AN APPOINTMENT WITH JOE GALANTE, THE HEAD OF RCA RECORDS IN NASHVILLE.

THE JUDDS: ♪ WHY NOT ME ON A RAINY DAY... ♪ AND WYNONNA AND I HAD HAD A HUGE FIGHT.

OF COURSE!

AND WE WEREN'T SPEAKING.

SO WE GO INTO THIS ROOM, AND... WYNONNA JUDD: IT FELT VERY MUCH LIKE GOING TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE.

AND YET I KNEW THAT THESE WERE MEN WHO HAD A BUSINESS THAT COULD HELP US MUSICALLY.

I WAS USED TO SINGING.

I JUST WASN'T USED TO BEING IN A BOARDROOM FULL OF MEN.

AND I FELT VERY, UM...

I GUESS THE WORD IS "GUILTY."

I FELT GUILTY THAT I HAD PUT HER IN THAT SITUATION.

I MEAN, SHE WAS ONLY LIKE 17 1/2 YEARS OLD.

AND SHE WAS TERRIFIED.

I MEAN, LIKE TERRIFIED IN A BAD WAY, JUST FROZEN, AND I LOOKED AT HER, AND I SAID, "OK.

HERE YOU GO, KIDDO.

"WE'RE BACK ON THAT MOUNTAINTOP.

"AND THERE'S A STORM ROLLING IN, AND WE'RE SITTING ON THE PORCH.

LET'S JUST SING."

THE JUDDS: ♪ WHY NOT ME?

♪ AND THEY CAME IN, AND WY HAD BRACES.

NAOMI WAS STUNNING, AS ALWAYS.

AND THEY OPENED UP THEIR MOUTHS, AND IT WAS... WE ALL JUST KIND OF WENT, "OH, MY GOD."

♪ YOU HAD TO SEE IF THE WORLD WAS ROUND ♪ ♪ IT'S TIME THAT YOU LEARNED HOW GOOD SETTLING ♪ ♪ DOWN COULD BE ♪ ♪ WHY NOT ME... ♪ NARRATOR: THEIR FIRST ALBUM, RELEASED IN 1984, HIT THE TOP OF THE CHARTS.

THEY WOULD BECOME THE MOST DOMINANT COUNTRY MUSIC DUO FOR THE REST OF THE 1980s.

♪ WHY NOT ME WHEN THE NIGHTS GET COLD... ♪ WYNONNA JUDD: THAT SONG BECAME OUR ANTHEM, ACTUALLY.

"WHY NOT ME" WAS, MY MOM WOULD SAY, SHE WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, "WE WAKE UP EVERY DAY, AND WE JUST LOOK UP AND SAY, 'WHY NOT ME?'"

I'LL NEVER FORGET HER SAYING THAT BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTED US TO MAKE IT.

WE WERE MOTHER-DAUGHTER; THEY KNEW OUR STORY.

AND THEY KNEW THAT WE HAD NOTHING, AND THEY WANTED TO SEE US MAKE IT.

WE WERE THE UNDERDOG.

AND "WHY NOT ME" BECAME OUR ANTHEM.

♪ ...BABY, WHY NOT ME... ♪ ♪ LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA LA ♪ ♪ LA LA ♪ ♪ OH!

♪ ♪ BABY, WHY NOT ME?

♪ [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] ["FOREVER AND EVER AMEN" BY RANDY TRAVIS PLAYS] NARRATOR: NAOMI AND WYNONNA JUDD, REBA McENTIRE, RANDY TRAVIS, GEORGE STRAIT, AND RICKY SKAGGS WERE ALL PART OF A GROUP THAT CAME TO BE CALLED THE NEO-TRADITIONALISTS.

MALONE: THE NEO-TRADITIONALISTS, I THINK THERE WAS JUST A GENERAL FEELING AMONG MANY PEOPLE THAT SOMETHING NEEDED TO BE DONE TO REVITALIZE COUNTRY MUSIC AND MOVE IT AWAY FROM WHAT SEEMED TO BE JUST AN ALL-OUT, UNENDING FUSION WITH POP MUSIC.

SECOR: THE NEW TRADITIONALISTS WERE THERE BECAUSE COUNTRY HAD NOW GONE SO FAR INTO POP MUSIC AND WAS SO CONSUMED WITH MAKING A BUCK THAT WE HAD FORGOTTEN WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO CRY IN OUR BEER.

I MEAN, WE HAD FORGOTTEN WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO GO HONKY TONKING.

TRAVIS: ♪ ...FOREVER AND EVER ♪ ♪ FOREVER AND EVER ♪ ♪ AMEN ♪ ["SEND ME THE PILLOW YOU DREAM ON" BY HANK LOCKLIN PLAY] YOAKAM: MY EARLIEST MEMORY, PROBABLY AT 3, 4 YEARS OLD, WAS WEDGED IN THAT GREAT KIND OF WOMB-LIKE SQUISH THAT YOU'LL GET BETWEEN YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR AUNT.

AND WE WERE SINGING AT THE RECORD PLAYER, NOT WITH IT, BUT DIRECTIONALLY AT IT.

LOCKLIN: ♪ SEND ME THE PILLOW THAT YOU DREAM ON... ♪ AND IT WAS "SEND ME THE PILLOW THAT YOU DREAM ON."

AND WE, LITERALLY, I, AS A KID, YOU KNOW, I JUST-- IT WAS JUST WITH ABANDON I SANG WITH THEM.

WE WERE HOLLERING.

IT WAS... ♪ SEND ME THE PILLOW THAT YOU DREAM ON ♪ ♪ SO, DARLING, I CAN DREAM ON IT, TOO ♪ THAT'S MY FIRST MEMORY.

[SONG ENDS] NARRATOR: DWIGHT YOAKAM WAS BORN IN PIKEVILLE, KENTUCKY, IN 1956.

HIS EARLIEST MUSICAL INFLUENCES WERE HIS MOTHER'S COLLECTION OF COUNTRY MUSIC RECORDS AND THE HYMNS HIS FAMILY SANG EACH WEEK AT THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, A DENOMINATION THAT ENCOURAGED A CAPPELLA GOSPEL SINGING, READINGS FROM THE BIBLE, AND TOTAL ABSTINENCE FROM ALCOHOL.

HE STARTED PLAYING GUITAR AT AGE 6.

YOAKAM: I'D SIT ON A FRONT PORCH SWING AT MY GRANDPARENTS' HOUSE IN FLOYD COUNTY, KENTUCKY, IN THAT HOLLER.

I WAS SINGING THE SONG, "MY BUCKET'S GOT A HOLE IN IT."

♪ WELL, MY BUCKET'S GOT A HOLE IN IT ♪ ♪ YEAH, MY BUCKET'S GOT A HOLE IN IT ♪ ♪ HEY, MY BUCKET'S GOT A HOLE IN IT ♪ ♪ I CAN'T BUY NO BEER ♪ 10 YEARS OLD, AND I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHAT IT WAS ABOUT.

"I CAN'T BUY NO BEER."

MY MOTHER CAME OUT FROM THE BACK OF THE HOUSE OUT ON THAT PORCH, AND SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SHE SAID, "I DON'T-- I DON'T BELIEVE YOU NEED TO BE SINGING THAT."

AND I SAID, "WHAT?

WELL, IT'S ..." 'CAUSE IT HAD BEER.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS A GUY DRINKING BEER.

AND ABOUT THAT TIME, WE HEARD ACROSS THE HOLLER, ABOUT TWO ACRES DOWN, THERE WAS--IT WAS AN OLDER COUPLE, THE HUNLEYS.

I HEARD HER VOICE COME ACROSS AS MY MOTHER HAD SCOLDED ME ABOUT THIS.

SHE SAID, "THAT WAS GOOD.

DO IT AGAIN."

HARRIS: ♪ TOGETHER AGAIN ♪ NARRATOR: IN HIGH SCHOOL, YOAKAM WAS ACTIVE IN THEATER AND FORMED A ROCKABILLY BAND CALLED DWIGHT AND THE GREASERS.

INSPIRED BY THE EARLY RECORDS THAT EMMYLOU HARRIS WAS RECORDING, HE MOVED TO LOS ANGELES.

YOAKAM: THE BEACON THAT I NAVIGATED TOWARD WAS EMMYLOU HARRIS.

YOAKAM: I WOULD NOT HAVE BECOME THE ARTIST I BECAME WITHOUT HER FIRST TWO ALBUMS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE DIRECT TISSUE CONNECTION, MUSICALLY, TO BUCK OWENS AND MERLE HAGGARD FOR MY GENERATION.

I'VE OFTEN SAID, "I WAS BORN IN KENTUCKY, I WAS RAISED IN OHIO, BUT I GREW UP IN CALIFORNIA."

♪ HAVE YOU EVER BEEN DOWN KENTUCKY WAY, SAY SOUTH OF... ♪ NARRATOR: HE WORKED AS A SHORT-ORDER COOK, DROVE DELIVERY TRUCKS, AND FORMED DWIGHT YOAKAM AND KENTUCKY BOURBON, A BAR BAND THAT PLAYED REGULARLY AT THE PALOMINO NIGHTCLUB IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD.

HE PREFERRED HARD-CORE HONKY TONK TUNES AND THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND THAT WAS POPULAR IN THE 1960s.

BUT IT WAS THE EARLY 1980s, AND THEY WERE CONSTANTLY TOLD TO PERFORM MORE POPULAR MAINSTREAM SONGS.

THEY REFUSED.

WHEN THEY WERE FIRED, THE BAND CHANGED ITS NAME TO DWIGHT YOAKAM AND THE BABYLONIAN COWBOYS.

YOAKAM: ♪ 'CAUSE THEY'D LEARNED READIN', RIGHTIN'... ♪ NARRATOR: THEY FOUND WORK WITHIN L.A.'s POST-PUNK ROCK SCENE, OPENING FOR GROUPS LIKE THE BLASTERS, GUN CLUB, AND LOS LOBOS.

THE HIP AUDIENCES WENT WILD FOR YOAKAM AND HIS MUSIC-- SONGS HE'D WRITTEN HIMSELF, AS WELL AS ONE THAT JOHNNY HORTON HAD RELEASED BACK IN 1956, THE YEAR DWIGHT WAS BORN.

["HONKY TONK MAN" BY DWIGHT YOAKAM PLAYS] ♪ WELL, I'M A HONKY TONK MAN ♪ ♪ AND I CAN'T SEEM TO STOP... ♪ I HAD BEGUN TO DO "HONKY TONK MAN."

AND I STARTED DOING IT WITH THE BAND, AND THE AUDIENCE RESPONDED VERY IMMEDIATELY TO IT.

♪ ...SINGING, "HEY, HEY, MAMA, CAN YOUR DADDY COME HOME?"

♪ I THINK IN DECEMBER OF 1985, WE WENT IN AND RECORDED IT.

AND IT LAUNCHED WHAT I WAS ABOUT TO DO FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS OF MY LIFE.

HE BROUGHT STYLE BACK; HE BROUGHT ABSOLUTE SWAGGER, A ROCK AND ROLL SWAGGER, WITH ABSOLUTE HARD-HITTING COUNTRY MUSIC.

♪ I'M A HONKY TONK MAN... ♪ STUART: HE KIND OF KICKED IT AND RESTARTED IT.

YOAKAM: ♪ ...CAN'T SEEM TO STOP ♪ ♪ I LOVE TO GIVE THE GIRLS A WHIRL ♪ ♪ TO THE MUSIC OF AN OLD JUKEBOX ♪ ♪ BUT WHEN MY MONEY'S ALL GONE ♪ ♪ ON THE TELEPHONE, SINGIN' ♪ ♪ "HEY, HEY, MAMA, CAN YOUR DADDY COME HOME?"

♪ NARRATOR: YOAKAM'S FIRST ALBUM, RELEASED IN 1986, ALSO INCLUDED A SONG OF HIS OWN, WITH THE LINE, "GUITARS, CADILLACS, AND HILLBILLY MUSIC."

HIS LABEL TOLD HIM TO DROP THE "HILLBILLY" REFERENCE.

YOAKAM: ♪ NOW, IT'S GUITARS ♪ ♪ CADILLACS ♪ ♪ AND HILLBILLY MUSIC ♪ ♪ LONELY, LONELY STREETS I CALL HOME... ♪ WARNER MUSIC-NASHVILLE, WAS NOT PREPARED TO HAVE US RELEASE A SONG WITH THE TERM "HILLBILLY MUSIC" IN IT.

THEY WERE ASHAMED OF THE TERM "HILLBILLY."

THEY THOUGHT IT WAS DEROGATORY.

AND I SAID, "OH, NO.

THAT'S SOMETHING I'M PROUD OF."

I AM PROUD OF IT BECAUSE MY-- I WATCHED-- I WATCHED MY OWN FAMILY SUBMITTED TO RIDICULE AND BEING CALLED HILLBILLIES.

BUT, GENERATIONALLY, I DIDN'T HAVE THE SAME OPEN WOUND.

AND SO I WAS ABLE TO BE PROUD OF WHAT THAT MUSICAL LEGACY WAS ABOUT.

♪ ...THERE AIN'T NO GLAMOUR IN THIS TINSELED LAND ♪ ♪ OF LOST AND WASTED LIVES ♪ ♪ AND PAINFUL SCARS ARE ALL ♪ ♪ THAT'S LEFT OF ME... ♪ NARRATOR: YOAKAM STUCK TO HIS GUNS.

WHEN THE ALBUM SOLD MORE THAN TWO MILLION RECORDS, HIS LABEL HAD NO PROBLEM AT ALL WITH THE TITLE OF HIS NEXT ALBUM: "HILLBILLY DELUXE."

BUT YOAKAM'S OUTSPOKENNESS PUT HIM AT ODDS WITH SOME INDUSTRY INSIDERS IN NASHVILLE.

HE HAD USED A STRING OF PROFANITIES WHEN REPORTERS ASKED HIM ABOUT JOHNNY CASH BEING DROPPED BY HIS LABEL, AND HIS OPINIONS ABOUT MUSIC ROW'S SMOOTH COUNTRYPOLITAN SOUND WERE EQUALLY HARSH.

DARIUS RUCKER: DWIGHT YOAKAM WAS A BIG INFLUENCE ON ME.

HE AIN'T AFRAID TO BE OLD-SCHOOL DIRT COUNTRY ALL THE TIME.

HE AIN'T AFRAID TO SING ABOUT ANY SUBJECT HE WANTS TO SING ABOUT.

AND IT CHANGED THE WAY I HEARD MUSIC.

I SAID TO MYSELF, I SAID, "I'M GOING TO MAKE A COUNTRY RECORD SOMEDAY.

I WANT TO DO THIS."

NARRATOR: IN 1988, BUCK OWENS, WHO HAD ALSO CHAFED AT WHAT HE CONSIDERED NASHVILLE'S SLIGHTS TOWARD COUNTRY ARTISTS FROM CALIFORNIA, ASKED HIS YOUNG FRIEND TO PERFORM WITH HIM AT THE CMA AWARDS.

YOAKAM: AND HE CALLED ME UP AND SAID, "DWIGHT, "I'VE GOT THIS SONG THAT WE NEED TO GO SING ON THE CMA AWARDS.

"IT'S CALLED 'STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD.'

IT'S A GOOD ONE."

WELL, HE SENT A CASSETTE DOWN TO ME.

AND I STARTED PLAYING IT IN THE CAR.

I THOUGHT, "THEY'RE GOING TO TAR AND FEATHER US.

THEY'RE GOING TO RUN US OUT OF TOWN ON A RAIL."

NARRATOR: OWENS HAD RECORDED THE SONG IN 1972 WITH LITTLE SUCCESS.

♪ YOU DON'T KNOW ME, BUT YOU DON'T LIKE ME ♪ ♪ YOU SAY YOU CARE LESS HOW I FEEL... ♪ SO WE WENT DOWN THERE AGAINST MY BETTER JUDGMENT, BUT BUCK WAS, AS USUAL, BUCK WAS RIGHT.

♪ ...STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD ♪ ♪ YOU DON'T KNOW ME, BUT YOU DON'T LIKE ME ♪ ♪ YOU SAY YOU CARE LESS HOW I FEEL ♪ ♪ HOW MANY OF YOU... ♪ YOAKAM: THE LARGER THEME, WHICH ADDRESSES THE DISPLACED FROM ANYWHERE, YOU KNOW, WHICH-- BELIES TIME AND PLACE, BUT HAS TO DO WITH THE UNIVERSAL THAT WE ALL FEEL GOING BACK TO THOSE THAT CAME ON THE "MAYFLOWER" TO NOW BEING "LESS THAN."

♪ ...FIND ANYWHERE ELSE ♪ ♪ HEY, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE NOBODY ♪ ♪ I JUST WANT A CHANCE TO BE MYSELF ♪ ♪ I'VE SPENT A THOUSAND MILES OF THUMBIN' ♪ ♪ YES, I'VE WORN BLISTERS ON MY HEELS ♪ ♪ TRYING TO FIND ME SOMETHING BETTER ♪ ♪ HERE ON THE STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD ♪ ♪ HEY, YOU DON'T KNOW ME, BUT YOU DON'T LIKE ME ♪ YOAKAM: AND THAT'S WHAT "THE STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD" WAS ABOUT.

AND I REALIZED IN THAT MOMENT, IT'LL BE CHEERED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE THE OUTCASTS, THE OUTSIDERS IN EVERY CULTURE.

AND WHEN PETE ANDERSON AND I DECIDED TO RECORD OUR VERSION OF IT HERE THAT BUCK CAME AND SANG ON, WE ADDED FLACO JIMENEZ PLAYING THE TEX-MEX CALIFORNIA BORDER CULTURE ACCORDION... BECAUSE I THOUGHT, "WOW!"

THAT'S ALSO PART OF DISPLACED GROUPS OF DISPARATE PEOPLE, FROM THE WHITE OKIES FROM THE DUST BOWL TO THE MIGRANT WORKERS OF THOSE SAME FIELDS AROUND BAKERSFIELD BY THE SIXTIES, SEVENTIES, AND EIGHTIES.

OWENS: ♪ THEN I THANKED HIM AS I WAS LEAVIN'... ♪ NARRATOR: WHEN IT WAS RELEASED, THE DWIGHT YOAKAM/BUCK OWENS DUET GAVE OWENS HIS FIRST NUMBER ONE SINGLE IN 16 YEARS.

"DWIGHT YOAKAM," HE SAID, "SHOULD'VE BEEN ONE OF MY SONS."

OWENS AND YOAKAM: ♪ BUT HOW MANY OF YOU THAT SIT AND JUDGE ME ♪ ♪ EVER WALKED THE STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD?

♪ ["I'M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY" BY HANK WILLIAMS PLAYS] WILLIAMS: ♪ HEAR THAT LONESOME WHIPPOORWILL ♪ ♪ HE SOUNDS TOO BLUE TO FLY... ♪ MAN: EVERYBODY HAS AN ETHNIC HERITAGE OF SOME SORT.

IT'S MORE INTEGRATED THAN WE THINK.

BUT WE HAVE A HUMAN HERITAGE THAT'S MUCH MORE FUNDAMENTAL AND GREATER.

WILLIAMS: ♪ I'M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY... ♪ MAN: THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE A PART OF THE LANDSCAPE OF HUMAN LIFE THAT WE ALL DEAL WITH-- THE JOY OF BIRTH; THE SORROW OF DEATH; A BROKEN HEART; JEALOUSY... GREED; ENVY; ANGER.

ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE WHAT MUSIC, BECAUSE IT IS THE ART OF THE INVISIBLE, IT GETS INSIDE OF THAT, AND IT DOES NOT GET INSIDE OF IT LESS FOR YOU THAN IT DOES FOR ME.

I THINK A LOT OF OUR MUSIC IS THE SAME.

IF YOU JUST DEAL WITH THE CHURCH MUSIC, "I LET GOD DOWN.

I NEED TO GO DO THIS TO FIND REDEMPTION."

SO, WHAT ELSE ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?

"MAN, LOOK WHAT I DID TO MY OLD LADY.

"OH, BOY, LOOK AT MY, LOOK AT MY OLD LADY, WHAT SHE DID TO ME.

DAMN!"

NOW, IT'S COMING OUT IN DIFFERENT FORMS.

BUT THE ROOT OF IT IS THAT.

AND IF YOU CAN TELL THOSE STORIES THAT WAY, THEN YOU ARE PATSY CLINE.

WILLIAMS: ♪ DID YOU EVER SEE A ROBIN WEEP... ♪ MARSALIS: YEAH, HANK WILLIAMS.

HE HAD THAT THING.

YOU HEAR IT.

IT'S LIKE, "OK." AND WHEN HE STARTS... ♪ DO DEE DE LOO DO DEE DO DEE ♪ YOU HEAR THAT CRY AND THAT-- THAT YEARNING IN IT.

WILLIAMS: ♪ I'M SO LONESOME, I COULD CRY ♪ THERE'S A TRUTH IN THE MUSIC.

AND IT'S TOO BAD THAT WE, AS A CULTURE, HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT TRUTH.

THAT'S THE SHAME OF IT, AND NOT LETTING THAT TRUTH BE OUR TRUTH.

WILLIAMS: ♪ ...LIGHTS UP A PURPLE SKY ♪ ♪ AND AS I WONDER ♪ ♪ WHERE YOU ARE ♪ ♪ I'M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY ♪ ["GUITAR TOWN" BY STEVE EARLE PLAYS] EARLE: ♪ HEY, PRETTY BABY, ARE YOU READY FOR ME?

♪ ♪ YEAH, IT'S A GOOD ROCKIN' DADDY DOWN FROM TENNESSEE... ♪ NARRATOR: REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT WAS NEW TRADITIONALISTS, OLD TRADITIONALISTS, COUNTRY ROCK, OR COUNTRYPOLITAN, ALL OF IT WAS GOOD FOR MUSIC CITY.

EARLE: ♪ THERE'S A POLICE TRAP UP AHEAD, SELMA TOWN... ♪ NARRATOR: THE FINANCIAL RESURGENCE ALSO MADE ROOM FOR OTHER ARTISTS WHO WERE HARDER TO CATEGORIZE.

NANCI GRIFFITH HAD BEEN A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER BEFORE MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF WITH PLAINTIVE BALLADS AND SONGS SHE DESCRIBED AS "FOLKABILLY."

LYLE LOVETT, A SINGER-SONGWRITER FROM TEXAS, CAME OUT WITH ALBUMS TINGED WITH EVERYTHING FROM FOLK TO HONKY TONK, GOSPEL TO RHYTHM AND BLUES.

IN ALBERTA, CANADA, k.d.

lang ADOPTED A PERSONA AS A PUNK REINCARNATION OF PATSY CLINE.

AS A REBELLIOUS TEENAGER, STEVE EARLE DROPPED OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL AND CLAIMED TOWNES VAN ZANDT AS HIS SONGWRITING MENTOR AND ROLE MODEL.

HE STRUGGLED FOR 10 YEARS TO GET KNOWN, UNTIL 1986, WHEN HE EMERGED WITH A SOUND SOMEWHERE BETWEEN COUNTRY AND EARLY ROCK.

♪ HEY, PRETTY BABY, DON'T YOU KNOW IT AIN'T MY FAULT?

♪ ♪ I LOVE TO HEAR THE STEEL BELTS HUMMIN' ON THE ASPHALT ♪ ♪ WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT IN A TRUCK STOP ♪ ♪ STUMBLE IN A RESTAURANT WONDERIN' WHY I DON'T STOP ♪ ♪ WELL, I GOTTA KEEP ROCKIN'... ♪ MATTEA: I MEAN, WE KIND OF ALL THINK OF IT AS A GOLDEN AGE IN COUNTRY MUSIC, WHERE EVERYBODY WAS WELCOME.

YOU HEARD NANCI GRIFFITH ON THE RADIO.

YOU HEARD STEVE EARLE'S VOICE ON THE RADIO.

YOU HEARD LYLE LOVETT.

MY PICTURE OF IT IN MY MIND IS THESE BIG DOORS OPENING UP, IT'S LIKE, THIS OPENING, WHERE INSTEAD OF BEING, LIKE, THE GATEKEEPERS WHO WERE JUST LETTING A FEW PEOPLE IN, SUDDENLY EVERYBODY WAS WELCOME.

I MEAN, WE WERE COUNTRY MUSIC.

WE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GOING TO LAST FOR SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.

["COME FROM THE HEART" BY KATHY MATTEA PLAYS] MATTEA: ♪ WHEN I WAS A YOUNG GIRL ♪ ♪ MY DADDY TOLD ME... ♪ NARRATOR: GROWING UP IN WEST VIRGINIA, KATHY MATTEA ORIGINALLY SANG FOLK MUSIC AND BLUEGRASS.

HER TASTES BROADENED WHEN SHE TOOK A JOB AS A TOUR GUIDE AT THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME AND BROADENED AGAIN WHEN SHE STARTED EARNING EXTRA MONEY SINGING ON DEMO TAPES FOR SONGWRITERS PITCHING THEIR TUNES ON MUSIC ROW.

MATTEA: ♪ YOU GOT TO SING ♪ BACKUP SINGERS: ♪ SING, OOH... ♪ ♪ LIKE YOU DON'T NEED THE MONEY ♪ ♪ LOVE ♪ ♪ LOVE, OOH... ♪ ♪ LIKE YOU'LL NEVER GET HURT... ♪ NARRATOR: ALONG THE WAY, MATTEA GOT A RECORDING CONTRACT AND ENDED UP WITH THE INDEPENDENT PRODUCER ALLEN REYNOLDS.

MAN: I ACTUALLY DECIDED I WOULD SELL MY STUDIO, AND THEN BEFORE I MANAGED TO DO THAT, I MET KATHY MATTEA.

AND, UH, I REALLY LIKED HER.

I LIKED HER MIND, AND I LIKED HER TALENT.

AND I GOT TO WORKING WITH HER, AND IT ENDED UP BEING VERY NOURISHING FOR ME.

HER ROOTS WERE MORE FOLK MUSIC, BUT SHE WANTED TO BE A COUNTRY SINGER.

SHE WAS VERY CLEAR ABOUT THAT.

SHE DIDN'T WANT TO STRADDLE THE FENCE AND BE COUNTRY-POP OR THAT KIND OF THING.

SHE WANTED TO PRESENT HERSELF AS A COUNTRY SINGER.

ALLEN REYNOLDS WOULD LOOK AT ME AND SAY, "IT'S THE SONG, PAL.

"IT'S THE SONG.

"IT'S NOT ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES.

"IT'S A GOOD SONG, SUNG HONESTLY, AND WELL-FRAMED.

"DON'T EVER FORGET IT.

"WHEN THEY START TELLING YOU IT'S ABOUT ALL THIS OTHER STUFF, YOU JUST COME BACK TO THAT, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE OK." MATTEA: ♪ LIKE YOU'LL NEVER GET HURT... ♪ ♪ YOU'VE GOT TO DANCE, DANCE, DANCE ♪ ♪ LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHIN' ♪ ♪ IT'S GOT TO COME FROM THE HEART ♪ ♪ IF YOU WANT IT TO WORK ♪ ♪ YOU'VE GOT TO SING... ♪ WOMAN: MY FIRST OBSESSION WITH COUNTRY MUSIC WAS IN THE NINETIES.

IT WAS REBA AND MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER AND KATHY MATTEA.

I LOVE STRONG WOMEN TELLING STORIES.

AND I THINK IN COUNTRY MUSIC, ESPECIALLY AT THAT TIME, THAT'S WHERE YOU-- IF YOU WANTED TO LOOK FOR, LIKE, SUPER STRONG WOMEN, TELLING REALLY AMAZING STORIES, YOU WENT TO COUNTRY.

NARRATOR: EARLY IN HER CAREER, MATTEA HAD PERFORMED REGULARLY AT A NEWLY OPENED DINNER-AND-MUSIC VENUE CALLED THE BLUEBIRD CAFÉ.

ITS FOUNDER WAS AMY KURLAND, THE DAUGHTER OF ONE OF THE LEADING SESSION MUSICIANS IN NASHVILLE'S RECORDING STUDIOS.

WOMAN: I HAVE TO CONFESS, I OPENED THE BLUEBIRD CAFÉ BECAUSE I WAS DATING A GUITAR PLAYER.

I WANTED TO BE IN THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS, AND HE SAID, "IF YOU'LL PUT IN A STAGE, ME AND ALL MY BUDDIES WILL PLAY THERE FOR YOU."

I WAS JUST TRYING TO KEEP MY BOYFRIEND HAPPY.

HA HA!

NARRATOR: SOON, THE MUSIC BECAME MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE MENU.

KURLAND HELD AUDITIONS FOR ASPIRING SONGWRITERS, THEN ADDED A SPECIAL WRITERS IN THE ROUND IN WHICH THEY SAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AUDIENCE RATHER THAN ON A STAGE, AND EXCHANGED STORIES AND NEW SONGS.

AMY KURLAND: AROUND NASHVILLE, SOMETIMES A SONGWRITER WILL WRITE A GREAT SONG, TAKE IT OUT TO THEIR PUBLISHER OR RECORD LABEL AND BE TOLD, "YEAH, GREAT SONG, BUT THAT'S A BLUEBIRD SONG."

IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S TOO LONG; IT'S TOO SERIOUS; IT'S TOO MEANINGFUL; IT'S NOT GONNA FLY, SO TO SPEAK, ON THE RADIO.

["WHERE'VE YOU BEEN" BY JON VEZNER PLAYS] NARRATOR: IN 1988, A SONGWRITER FROM MINNESOTA NAMED JON VEZNER TOOK THE STAGE AT THE BLUEBIRD.

VEZNER: ♪ CLAIRE HAD ALL BUT GIVEN UP ♪ ♪ WHEN SHE AND EDWIN FELL IN LOVE... ♪ NARRATOR: HE AND HIS FRIEND DON HENRY HAD WRITTEN A SONG INSPIRED BY AN EVENT IN VEZNER'S LIFE, AND HE DECIDED TO SING IT THAT NIGHT IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE.

VEZNER: ♪ WHERE'VE YOU BEEN... ♪ NARRATOR: KATHY MATTEA WAS NOW MARRIED TO VEZNER, AND SHE KNEW THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG.

IT DESCRIBES HIS GRANDPARENTS' LIFELONG LOVE, FROM THEIR COURTSHIP TO THEIR MARRIAGE TO THEIR FINAL MOMENT TOGETHER.

HIS GRANDMOTHER HAD BEEN HOSPITALIZED, SUFFERING FROM DEMENTIA, UNABLE TO RECOGNIZE VISITORS AND NOT TALKING WITH ANYONE.

THEN JON WHEELED HIS GRANDFATHER INTO HER ROOM.

MATTEA: AND SHE JUST KEPT LOOKING AT HIM AND LOOKING AT HIM.

AND SHE SAID, "WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?"

AND THAT WAS THE LAST THING SHE SAID.

SHE DIED DAYS AFTER THAT.

AND HE WRITES THIS STORY INTO A SONG.

VEZNER: ♪ HE ASKED HER FOR HER HAND FOR LIFE ♪ ♪ AND SHE BECAME A SALESMAN'S WIFE... ♪ NARRATOR: RECORDING LABELS AND ARTISTS THROUGHOUT NASHVILLE TOLD VEZNER WHAT A POWERFUL SONG IT WAS, BUT EVERYONE HAD TURNED IT DOWN.

MATTEA: THAT NIGHT AT THE BLUEBIRD WHEN HE PLAYED IT, I GOT TO SEE, COLLECTIVELY, THE UNIVERSAL POIGNANCY OF THAT SONG.

VEZNER: ♪ "WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?"

♪ MATTEA: YOU COULD HEAR AUDIBLE SOBS ALL OVER THE ROOM.

PEOPLE WERE, LIKE, DUMBSTRUCK.

THEY DIDN'T EVEN CLAP AT THE END OF IT.

YOU KNOW, THE POIGNANCY OF BEING ABLE TO BE BROUGHT BACK BY THE LOVE YOU HAVE FOR SOMEONE, IT REACHES DEEP IN US.

MATTEA: ♪ THEY'D NEVER SPENT A NIGHT APART ♪ ♪ FOR 60 YEARS, SHE HEARD HIM SNORE... ♪ MATTEA, VOICE-OVER: AND I-- I JUST BECAME OBSESSED WITH RECORDING IT BECAUSE I FELT THAT IT NEEDED TO BE HEARD.

♪ IN THE HOSPITAL... ♪ REYNOLDS: AND SHE KNEW HOW SHE WANTED TO RECORD IT.

WE WEREN'T THINKING ABOUT IT AS A SINGLE, AND OF ALL THINGS, RADIO BEGAN TO CALL FOR THAT AS A SINGLE, AND, UH--AND IT WAS A STRONG ENOUGH CALL THAT THE RECORD LABEL SAID, "LET'S TRY IT."

AND, UH, THEN IT WON SONG OF THE YEAR.

IT GOT A GRAMMY.

IT GOT A NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION AWARD.

IT WON ALL THESE AWARDS, AND PEOPLE LOVED IT.

♪ CLAIRE SOON LOST HER MEMORY ♪ ♪ FORGOT THE NAMES OF FAMILY ♪ ♪ SHE NEVER SPOKE A WORD AGAIN ♪ ♪ THEN ONE DAY, THEY WHEELED HIM IN ♪ ♪ HE HELD HER HAND AND STROKED HER HAIR ♪ ♪ AND IN A FRAGILE VOICE, SHE SAID ♪ ♪ "WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?"

♪ ♪ "I'VE LOOKED FOR YOU FOREVER AND A DAY" ♪ ♪ "WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?"

♪ ♪ "I'M JUST NOT MYSELF WHEN YOU'RE AWAY" ♪ ♪ "NO, I'M JUST NOT MYSELF WHEN YOU'RE AWAY" ♪ ["LET ME LOVE YOU TONIGHT" BY PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE PLAYS] ♪ DARK CLOUDS ARE BLOWING IN THE WIND ♪ ♪ HE'S CROSSING YOUR MIND AGAIN ♪ ♪ YOU'VE GOT THAT SAD, SAD FEELING ♪ ♪ FROM A BROKEN HEART... ♪ GILL, VOICE-OVER: I DON'T KNOW, WHETHER YOU WRITE THE SONG OR THE SONG WRITES YOU.

THE LANGUAGE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR LONGER THAN ANY OF US, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S JUST OUR JOB TO PICK PIECES OF LANGUAGE UP THAT MOVE US AND TIE THEM TOGETHER.

♪ LOVE YOU TONIGHT ♪ ♪ I'LL MAKE EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT ♪ ♪ WHEN YOU FIND OUT HOW... ♪ NARRATOR: BY 1989, VINCE GILL HAD BEEN IN NASHVILLE FOR 7 YEARS, STRUGGLING TO MAKE IT.

HE HAD STARTED OUT IN BLUEGRASS, WHERE HIS HIGH TENOR VOICE AND EXTRAORDINARY SKILL ON STRINGED INSTRUMENTS HAD MADE HIM A LOCAL STAR IN HIS HOME STATE OF OKLAHOMA.

GILL: ♪ LOVE YOU TONIGHT ♪ NARRATOR: IN LOS ANGELES, HE HAD SWITCHED GEARS TO BECOME LEAD SINGER IN THE COUNTRY-POP GROUP PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE BEFORE RODNEY CROWELL PERSUADED HIM TO JOIN HIS BAND, THE CHERRY BOMBS, AND BACK UP ROSANNE CASH.

GILL: ♪ ...LOVE YOU TONIGHT... ♪ NARRATOR: GILL SOON MOVED TO NASHVILLE TO RECORD HIS OWN ALBUMS, BUT THEY DIDN'T SELL WELL ENOUGH TO SUPPORT HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY.

HE SAT IN ON OTHER ARTISTS' SESSIONS AS A GUITARIST AND HARMONY VOCALIST, KEPT WRITING SONGS AND PLAYING THEM AT THE BLUEBIRD CAFÉ, AND, BECAUSE OF HIS EXTRAORDINARY TALENT AND EASY-GOING NATURE, BECAME WELL-LIKED WITHIN MUSIC CITY'S COUNTRY FAMILY.

GEORGE JONES AFFECTIONATELY CALLED HIM "SWEET PEA."

[CROWD CHEERING] IMPRESSED BY GILL'S GUITAR PLAYING, MARK KNOPFLER OF THE ROCK BAND DIRE STRAITS ASKED HIM TO LEAVE NASHVILLE AND JOIN THE GROUP ON A WORLD TOUR.

IT WAS THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME.

GILL: I WAS STRUGGLING TO PAY THE HOUSE NOTE AT THE TIME, AND THIS WOULD HAVE CURED EVERYTHING FOR ME FINANCIALLY, AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT EXPERIENCE.

YOU KNOW, THE MUSICIAN IN ME WANTED TO DO THAT SO BADLY BECAUSE I LOVE THE WAY HE PLAYS AND SINGS, BUT I TOLD MYSELF "IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE IN YOU, "WHO ELSE IS?

"AND I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SAY NO.

"YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO SAY NO, "BUT I HAVE TO TRY.

"I THINK I HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER FOR THIS WORLD OF COUNTRY MUSIC."

["WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME" BY VINCE GILL PLAYS] NARRATOR: WORKING WITH PRODUCER TONY BROWN, GILL CAME OUT WITH AN ALBUM THAT INCLUDED A WESTERN SWING DUET WITH FELLOW OKLAHOMAN REBA McENTIRE AND SONGS HE HAD CO-WRITTEN WITH ROSANNE CASH AND GUY CLARK.

THE ALBUM'S TITLE SONG "WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME" WAS ONE GILL HAD CO-WRITTEN WITH TIM DuBOIS.

GILL: ♪ LIFE WAS CHANGED ♪ ♪ 'CAUSE NOBODY ANSWERS ♪ ♪ WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME ♪ ♪ OH, THE LONELY SOUND... ♪ GILL: AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL I'VE EVER WANTED OUT OF MUSIC WAS TO BE MOVED.

ALL I WANTED SOMEONE TO DO WAS PLAY SOMETHING THAT JUST MAKES ME GO, "OH!"

I LOVE THE--I LOVE THE EMOTION OF MUSIC.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOMETHING THAT IT DOES TO MY DNA THAT I CAN'T EXPLAIN.

NARRATOR: THAT SAME YEAR, GILL BEGAN WORK ON ANOTHER SONG THAT WAS EVEN MORE PERSONAL.

IN HIS EARLY BLUEGRASS DAYS, GILL HAD PLAYED IN A BAND WITH RICKY SKAGGS AND HIS BEST FRIEND KEITH WHITLEY.

WHITLEY WAS A RISING COUNTRY STAR, MARRIED TO THE SINGER LORRIE MORGAN, AND MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED THE YOUNG COUPLE WOULD BE THE NEXT GEORGE JONES AND TAMMY WYNETTE.

WHITLEY: ♪ THE DEVIL, GOT DOWN... ♪ NARRATOR: BUT WHITLEY WAS AN ALCOHOLIC.

SOMETIMES, HIS WIFE TIED THEIR LEGS TOGETHER AT NIGHT SO HE COULDN'T SNEAK OFF TO DRINK SOME MORE.

WHITLEY: ♪ I'M NO STRANGER TO THE RAIN ♪ ♪ I CAN SPOT BAD WEATHER ♪ ♪ AND I'M GOOD AT FINDING SHELTER... ♪ NARRATOR: ON MAY 9, 1989, WHILE SHE WAS PERFORMING ON THE ROAD, HE WAS DISCOVERED AT HOME, DEAD FROM ALCOHOL POISONING AT AGE 33.

LIKE MANY OTHERS IN NASHVILLE, VINCE GILL WAS DEVASTATED BY THE NEWS.

["GO REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN" BY VINCE GILL PLAYS] IN HIS GRIEF, HE BEGAN WRITING A SONG, "GO REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN."

GILL: AND SO THAT FIRST VERSE OF "GO REST HIGH" WAS REALLY, UM, MORE CENTERED AROUND KEITH, YOU KNOW?

JUST WITH THE WORDS OF... [PLAYS GUITAR] "I KNOW YOUR LIFE ON EARTH WAS TROUBLED "AND ONLY YOU CAN KNOW THE PAIN, "YOU WEREN'T AFRAID TO FACE THE DEVIL YOU WERE NO STRANGER TO THE RAIN."

GILL: ♪ I KNOW YOUR LIFE ♪ ♪ ON EARTH WAS TROUBLED ♪ ♪ AND ONLY YOU ♪ ♪ COULD KNOW THE PAIN ♪ ♪ YOU WEREN'T AFRAID TO FACE THE DEVIL ♪ ♪ YOU WERE NO STRANGER TO THE RAIN ♪ AND THEN I JUST--I PUT IT DOWN.

I DIDN'T FINISH IT, AND, UM, I FELT A LITTLE UNEASY ABOUT IT FOR SOME REASON.

I DON'T KNOW WHY, AND I NEVER--I NEVER KEPT GOING, AND THEN I LOST MY BROTHER, LIKE, 4 YEARS LATER, AND I REMEMBERED, YOU KNOW, AND IT--ALL OF A SUDDEN, I REMEMBERED THAT VERSE, AND I SAID, "THAT WAS THE-- IT WAS-- MY BROTHER HAD THAT STORY."

YOU KNOW, MY BROTHER REALLY STRUGGLED IN HIS LIFE, AND I PULLED THAT OUT AND THEN WENT ON AND--AND FINISHED THAT SONG.

♪ GO REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN ♪ ♪ 'CAUSE, SON, YOUR WORK ON EARTH IS DONE ♪ ♪ GO TO HEAVEN A-SHOUTIN' ♪ ♪ LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND THE SON ♪ ♪ GO TO HEAVEN A-SHOUTIN' ♪ ♪ LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND THE SON ♪ ♪ GO REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN ♪ NARRATOR: WITH RICKY SKAGGS AND COUNTRY STAR PATTY LOVELESS SINGING HARMONY, GILL RELEASED THE SONG.

IN TIME, "GO REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN" WOULD BECOME A CLASSIC, JOINING "AMAZING GRACE" AND "WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN" AS A SONG PEOPLE REQUEST WHEN THEY'VE LOST A LOVED ONE.

♪ LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND THE SON ♪ ♪ OH, HOW WE CRIED ♪ ♪ THE DAY YOU LEFT US ♪ ♪ WE GATHERED ROUND ♪ [VOICE BREAKING] ♪ YOUR GRAVE TO GRIEVE... ♪ NARRATOR: NEARLY 25 YEARS AFTER HE FIRST STARTED WRITING IT, VINCE GILL WOULD BE ASKED TO SING IT AT GEORGE JONES' MEMORIAL SERVICE AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY HOUSE.

THAT DAY, OVERCOME BY EMOTION, HE HAD TROUBLE FINISHING IT AGAIN.

♪ YOUR SWEET VOICE SING ♪ LOVELESS: ♪ OHH ♪ BOTH: ♪ GO REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN ♪ ♪ SON, YOUR-- ♪ ♪ WORK ON EARTH ♪ ♪ IS DONE ♪ NARRATOR: PATTY LOVELESS TRIED TO HELP.

BOTH: ♪ GO TO ♪ ♪ HEAVEN A-SHOUTIN' ♪ ♪ LORD ABOVE ♪ ♪ LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND THE S-- ♪ ♪ AND THE SON ♪ ♪ ♪ NARRATOR: THE SAME NIGHT THAT JON VEZNER FIRST SANG "WHERE'VE YOU BEEN" AT THE BLUEBIRD CAFÉ, ANOTHER SINGER/SONGWRITER ALSO PERFORMED THERE.

HIS NAME WAS GARTH BROOKS.

HE HAD GROWN UP IN YUKON, OKLAHOMA, IN THE 1960s AND 1970s, THE LAST OF 6 CHILDREN.

HE WAS EXPOSED TO EVERY KIND OF MUSIC-- THE COUNTRY STARS LIKE GEORGE JONES AND MERLE HAGGARD HIS PARENTS LIKED AND THE YOUNGER ARTISTS HIS OLDER SIBLINGS LISTENED TO.

BROOKS: BANDS LIKE THE EAGLES, GUYS LIKE JAMES TAYLOR.

HERE COMES EVERYTHING FROM TOWNES VAN ZANDT TO TOM RUSH, EVERYTHING FROM JANIS JOPLIN TO EMMYLOU HARRIS.

ALABAMA: ♪ LAUGH WITH OLD HUCK FINN ♪ NARRATOR: BROOKS WENT TO OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY ON A TRACK SCHOLARSHIP, WORKED AS A BOUNCER AT A LOCAL NIGHT SPOT, AND FORMED HIS OWN BAND, LEARNING TO PLAY WHATEVER THE COLLEGE AUDIENCE WANTED-- KISS, QUEEN, AND ALABAMA.

"I PLAYED MORE ALABAMA," HE SAID, "THAN ALABAMA."

IN 1987, HE MOVED TO NASHVILLE, BEGAN MAKING THE ROUNDS AT PUBLISHERS AND RECORD LABELS, AND PLAYED AT THE BLUEBIRD WHENEVER THEY WOULD LET HIM.

KURLAND: AND HE CAME IN FOR THE AUDITION, AND HE BLEW ME AND EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE ROOM AWAY.

I DON'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE SONG RIGHT OFFHAND, BUT I DO REMEMBER THAT IT WAS ABOUT LOVING A WOMAN, PUTTING HER UP ON A PEDESTAL, AND I'M THINKING, "I WANT TO BE THAT WOMAN."

THEN HE CAME BACK AND PLAYED THE WRITERS NIGHT MAYBE A MONTH OR SO LATER, AND, UH, AGAIN, THE AUDIENCE WAS JUST BLOWN AWAY.

UM, I THINK IT'S THE FIRST TIME I EVER SAW A STANDING OVATION IN THE MIDDLE OF A SONG.

YOU KNOW, END OF THE FIRST CHORUS, AND PEOPLE WERE, LIKE, GOING CRAZY.

NARRATOR: BUT BY THE SPRING OF 1988, BROOKS HAD BEEN REJECTED BY EVERY RECORD LABEL IN MUSIC CITY.

HE WAS BACK AT THE BLUEBIRD ALONG WITH JON VEZNER.

BROOKS: ♪ SOMETIMES, LATE AT NIGHT... ♪ NARRATOR: HE BEGAN SINGING A SONG HE HAD CO-WRITTEN, "IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES."

BROOKS: ♪ IF I NEVER WAKE UP IN THE MORNING... ♪ NARRATOR: SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE WAS AN EXECUTIVE FOR CAPITOL RECORDS.

ONLY A FEW DAYS EARLIER, HE HAD PASSED ON SIGNING GARTH BROOKS, BUT SOMETHING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE AT THE BLUEBIRD THAT NIGHT CHANGED HIS MIND.

BROOKS: ♪ IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES ♪ ♪ WILL SHE KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVED HER?

♪ ♪ DID I TRY IN EVERY WAY ♪ ♪ TO SHOW HER EVERY DAY ♪ ♪ THAT SHE'S MY ONLY ONE?

♪ ♪ OH, OH... ♪ NARRATOR: WITH A MODEST ADVANCE OF $10,000, BROOKS WAS ASSIGNED TO A PRODUCER TO CREATE HIS FIRST ALBUM.

IT WAS ALLEN REYNOLDS.

THEIR INITIAL SESSION GOT OFF TO A ROCKY START.

REYNOLDS: SO THERE WAS A MOMENT WHEN HE WAS DOING-- I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT SONG, BUT IT DIDN'T SOUND-- IT SOUNDED LIKE SOMEONE ELSE.

IT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE GARTH TO ME, AND I QUESTIONED HIM ABOUT IT, AND HE SAID, "WELL, I'M TRYING TO PUT A LITTLE OF THAT GEORGE STRAIT THING IN THERE."

BROOKS: ♪ HOW MUCH I LOVED... ♪ REYNOLDS: I JUST STOPPED EVERYTHING RIGHT THEN AND SAID, "LOOK.

WE'VE ALREADY GOT A GEORGE STRAIT.

"WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER ONE, "AND WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO IS GET THE BEST GARTH BROOKS TO STEP FORWARD."

AND HE SAYS, "LOOK, MAN.

JUST BE YOURSELF."

HE SAYS, "THAT WAY, IF YOU'RE YOURSELF, "THERE'S NEVER BEEN ANYBODY ELSE LIKE YOU, "AND ANYBODY THAT COMES AFTER YOU IS "GOING TO BE CALLED A COPYCAT.

"SO JUST BE YOURSELF, AND IF IT DOESN'T WORK, "THEN YOU GO DOWN BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF, AND THAT'S WHO YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE."

NARRATOR: AT THE SAME TIME GARTH BROOKS CAME ONTO THE SCENE, ANOTHER GENERATION OF YOUNG ARTISTS WAS BEGINNING TO MAKE ITS MARK.

ALAN JACKSON, A LANKY SINGER/SONGWRITER FROM GEORGIA, WHO HAD BEEN WORKING IN THE MAILROOM AT TNN FOR 4 YEARS, FINALLY GOT TO RECORD HIS OWN ALBUM.

A FORMER CONSTRUCTION WORKER AND PART-TIME BAR SINGER FROM HOUSTON, CLINT BLACK BROKE OUT WITH HIS SONG, "KILLIN' TIME."

TRAVIS TRITT REJECTED THE PREVAILING COWBOY IMAGE AND EMBRACED A HILLBILLY LOOK AND A HONKY TONK SOUND WITH SONGS LIKE "HERE'S A QUARTER (CALL SOMEONE WHO CARES)."

HE AND HIS FRIEND MARTY STUART WENT ON WHAT THEY CALLED A "NO HATS" TOUR THAT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS.

BROOKS: ♪ I WAS THE LAST ONE... ♪ NARRATOR: BUT GARTH BROOKS WOULD SURPASS THEM ALL.

♪ I DIDN'T MEAN... ♪ NARRATOR: OUT ON THE ROAD, HE COULD HOLD AN AUDIENCE SPELLBOUND WITH HIS SOULFUL BALLADS, BUT HE ABSOLUTELY TORE THEM UP WITH HIS ROCKING SONGS.

HE APPLIED WHAT HE HAD LEARNED PLAYING IN COLLEGE BARS AND IN WATCHING THE ROCK BANDS HE HAD IDOLIZED GROWING UP.

♪ THE WHISKEY DROWNS ♪ ♪ AND THE BEER CHASES MY BLUES AWAY ♪ TRISHA YEARWOOD: HE DIDN'T WALK OUT THERE AND STAND IN ONE SPOT.

BROOKS: ♪ NOT BIG ON SOCIAL GRACES... ♪ THERE'S NOTHING POP ABOUT GARTH BROOKS.

HE'S JUST--HIS SHOW IS POP, BUT HIS MUSIC IS "COUNTRIER" THAN I'LL EVER BE.

BROOKS: ♪ IN LOW PLACES ♪ EVERYBODY!

♪ I GOT FRIENDS IN LOW ♪ AUDIENCE: ♪ PLACES ♪ ♪ WHERE THE WHISKEY DROWNS AND THE BEER... ♪ RUCKER: "FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES," THAT'S WHAT KIND OF SONG YOU WANT TO WRITE.

YOU WANT TO WRITE A BIG DRINKING SONG LIKE THAT, WHERE--WHERE EVERYBODY'S IN THE BAR SINGING IT AT THE SAME TIME.

EVEN PEOPLE THAT DON'T KNOW IT, BY THE SECOND CHORUS, THEY KNOW IT.

AUDIENCE: ♪ LOW PLACES ♪ BROOKS: YEEEAAAAH!

♪ I GOT FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES ♪ ♪ THINK I'LL SLIP ON DOWN TO THE OASIS ♪ ♪ OH, I GOT FRIENDS ♪ ♪ IN LOW PLACES ♪ ♪ OH, I'VE GOT FRIENDS ♪ ♪ IN LOW PLACES ♪ [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] NARRATOR: PROPELLED BY THE ASTONISHING POPULARITY OF "FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES," BROOKS' SECOND ALBUM SOLD 700,000 COPIES IN JUST 10 DAYS AND REACHED NUMBER 4 ON THE POP CHARTS.

IT WOULD SOON BECOME THE FIRST COUNTRY ALBUM TO HIT 5 MILLION IN SALES.

HIS THIRD ALBUM WOULD DEBUT AT NUMBER ONE ON THE POP CHARTS, ANOTHER FIRST FOR A COUNTRY ARTIST, AND SELL MORE THAN 8 MILLION COPIES.

REYNOLDS: AND HE DID THIS WITHOUT EVER ONCE ALLOWING HIS RECORD LABEL TO PROMOTE HIS RECORDS ACROSS INTO OTHER MARKETS, LIKE THE POP MARKET AND ALL THAT.

HE FELT LIKE HIS LOYALTY WAS TO COUNTRY RADIO, AND HIS ATTITUDE WAS, "LET THEM COME TO US," YOU KNOW?

"LET'S BE SO GOOD AT WHAT WE DO THAT THEY COME TO US."

MATTEA: AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, IT WAS LIKE THIS GUY IS SELLING OUT THE STADIUMS AND DOING SPECIALS, LIKE, BLOWING THE TOPS OFF RECORD SALES ACROSS THE BOARD, AND HE'S ONE OF US.

NARRATOR: IN 1993, BROOKS ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD BE DOING A CONCERT AT TEXAS STADIUM.

ALL 65,675 SEATS WERE SOLD OUT WITHIN 92 MINUTES... HELLO, TEXAS!

BEATING A PREVIOUS RECORD HELD BY PAUL McCARTNEY.

A SECOND SHOW WAS ADDED AND SOLD OUT IN THE SAME TIME.

SO DID A THIRD.

ANGERED WHEN HE HEARD ABOUT THE EXTRAVAGANT PRICES BEING CHARGED BY SCALPERS, BROOKS ANNOUNCED A FOURTH CONCERT WITH FREE TICKETS.

THE 4 CONCERTS WERE LIKE NOTHING ANY COUNTRY STAR HAD EVER DELIVERED.

BROOKS: LET'S GET ON IT AND RAISE SOME HELL!

NARRATOR: IN FRONT OF THE MASSIVE CROWD, PREPARING FOR THE BIGGEST STUNT HE HAD EVER ATTEMPTED, HE REMEMBERED THE FIRST QUEEN CONCERT HE ATTENDED WHEN HE WAS 17.

BROOKS: ♪ LIFE IS NOT TRIED, IT IS MERELY SURVIVED ♪ BROOKS, VOICE-OVER: I'M STANDING ON MY CHAIR, AND ALL I WANT THAT WHOLE NIGHT IS FOR FREDDIE MERCURY TO LOOK AT ME FOR 3 SECONDS, SO I CAN GO... [WHISPERS] "THANK YOU, DUDE.

THANK YOU.

"IT'S WHAT I LISTEN TO BEFORE I PLAY FOOTBALL.

"IT'S WHAT I LISTEN TO WHEN I'M DOWN.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU."

AND IT WAS FUNNY.

YOU START TO GET TO DO THIS FOR A LIVING, YOU'RE THE GUY THAT GETS TO DO IT FOR A LIVING, AND NOW ALL I DO IS SCAN THE AUDIENCE EVERY NIGHT FOR THAT 3 SECONDS TO GO, "THANK YOU.

"THANK YOU.

COOLEST GIG EVER.

THANK YOU."

PRETTY COOL.

BROOKS: YEAH!

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] NARRATOR: STARTING IN 1991, "BILLBOARD" MAGAZINE HAD INSTITUTED A NEW WAY OF GAUGING A RECORD'S SUCCESS.

INSTEAD OF TAKING A TELEPHONE POLL OF RECORD STORE CLERKS, IT NOW RELIED ON SOUNDSCAN, WHICH USED BARCODES TO KEEP TRACK OF ACTUAL SALES.

WHAT THE NEW SYSTEM PROVED WAS THAT GARTH BROOKS AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES WERE DOING EVEN BETTER THAN ANYONE HAD IMAGINED.

YEARWOOD: IF YOU WERE MAKING COUNTRY MUSIC RECORDS IN THE NINETIES, YOU WERE SELLING RECORDS, AND IT WAS LARGELY DUE TO GARTH.

NARRATOR: BETWEEN 1989 AND 1991, SALES OF COUNTRY MUSIC HAD DOUBLED FROM $460 MILLION TO NEARLY $1 BILLION.

THEN BETWEEN 1991 AND 1994, THEY DOUBLED AGAIN.

IN 1995 ALONE, 27 COUNTRY ALBUMS EACH SOLD MORE THAN A MILLION COPIES AND WENT PLATINUM.

RADIO STATIONS PLAYING COUNTRY MUSIC ATTRACTED SOME 70 MILLION LISTENERS, THE BIGGEST FORMAT ON THE AIRWAVES.

FROM CANADA, SHANIA TWAIN BURST ONTO THE SCENE WITH A SASSY PERSONA AND PERFORMANCE STYLE THAT FILLED BIG ARENAS AND SOLD RECORDS IN THE TENS OF MILLIONS AS SHE EDGED HER VERSION OF COUNTRY MUSIC FURTHER TOWARD POP AND ROCK.

MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER FROM PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, WAS MORE FOLK-ORIENTED BUT STILL HAD 5 PLATINUM ALBUMS.

YEARWOOD: ♪ KATIE'S SITTING ON HER OLD FRONT PORCH ♪ NARRATOR: WHEN TRISHA YEARWOOD ARRIVED IN NASHVILLE IN 1985, IT WAS THE FARTHEST SHE HAD EVER BEEN FROM HOME, THE TINY TOWN OF MONTICELLO, GEORGIA, ONLY 300 MILES AWAY.

YEARWOOD: ♪ OVER YONDER COMING UP THE ROAD... ♪ YOU KNOW, I HAD GROWN UP ON THE CLASSIC WOMEN OF COUNTRY.

I LISTENED TO PATSY, I LISTENED TO LORETTA, I LISTENED TO TAMMY WYNETTE.

WHEN I HEARD REBA, IT WAS KIND OF "THIS IS THE NEXT STEP FOR ME."

IF LORETTA AND TAMMY OPENED THE DOOR FOR REBA, REBA OPENED THE DOOR FOR ME.

YEARWOOD: ♪ "WHEN IT COMES TO BRAINS"... ♪ NARRATOR: BEFORE HIS CAREER TOOK OFF, GARTH BROOKS AND YEARWOOD HAD WORKED TOGETHER, SINGING ON DEMO TAPES FOR $10 TO $20 A SONG.

NOW BROOKS INVITED HER TO BE THE OPENING ACT ON ONE OF HIS TOURS AS SHE PROMOTED HER FIRST ALBUM.

ITS SIGNATURE SONG, "SHE'S IN LOVE WITH THE BOY," HIT NUMBER ONE ON THE COUNTRY CHARTS.

YEARWOOD: ♪ HER DADDY SAYS, "HE AIN'T WORTH A LICK" ♪ ♪ "WHEN IT COMES TO BRAINS" ♪ ♪ "HE GOT THE SHORT END OF THE STICK" ♪ ♪ BUT KATIE'S YOUNG, AND, MAN, SHE JUST DON'T CARE ♪ ♪ SHE'D FOLLOW TOMMY ANYWHERE ♪ ♪ SHE'S IN LOVE WITH THE BOY ♪ ♪ WHAT'S MEANT TO BE WILL ALWAYS FIND A WAY ♪ ♪ SHE'S GONNA MARRY THAT BOY SOMEDAY ♪ NARRATOR: 14 YEARS LATER, YEARWOOD AND BROOKS WOULD MARRY.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] FOR THE RECORD LABELS, THE EXPECTATIONS THAT DEFINED SUCCESS IN COUNTRY MUSIC HAD BALLOONED, BUT THE EXPECTATIONS OF COUNTRY FANS WERE UNCHANGED-- "DON'T GET ABOVE YOUR RAISIN'."

FOR MANY YEARS, THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION HAD HOSTED FAN FAIR, A CHANCE FOR PEOPLE TO HEAR SOME LIVE MUSIC BUT MOST OF ALL TO MEET THEIR FAVORITE STARS AND GET THEIR AUTOGRAPH.

BROOKS: ♪ AROUND THE BEND, SLOWING DOWN, SHE'S JUMPING... ♪ NARRATOR: AT THE PEAK OF HIS UNPRECEDENTED POPULARITY, GARTH BROOKS SHOWED UP, NOT TO PLAY BUT TO SIGN.

YEARWOOD: HE WENT OUT THERE UNANNOUNCED.

HE DROVE UP IN HIS TRUCK.

HE GOT OUT OF HIS TRUCK, AND HE WENT AND STOOD UNDER, YOU KNOW, A TENT SOMEWHERE, NOT A GARTH BROOKS BOOTH, NOT--AND JUST STOOD THERE.

MATTEA: AND USUALLY, YOU HAVE A WINDOW, AND EVERYONE KNOWS WHEN IT IS, AND SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T GET DISAPPOINTED, YOU HAVE SOMEONE STAND AT THE END OF THE LINE AND SAY, "LOOK.

WHEN--THIS IS THE LAST PERSON.

WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE ANY MORE," BUT GARTH JUST DIDN'T STOP.

HE JUST DECIDED HE WAS GOING TO SIGN UNTIL EVERYBODY WAS DONE.

YEARWOOD: AND HE STOOD THERE.

HE DIDN'T LEAVE THAT SPOT FOR-- IT WAS OVER 20 HOURS.

BROOKS: ♪ AIN'T GOIN' DOWN 'TIL THE SUN COMES UP ♪ ♪ AIN'T GIVIN' IN 'TIL THEY GET ENOUGH ♪ ♪ GOIN' ROUND THE WORLD IN A PICKUP TRUCK ♪ ♪ AIN'T GOIN' DOWN 'TIL THE SUN COMES UP ♪ DIERKS BENTLEY: MINNIE PEARL, YOU KNOW, "LOVE THEM, AND THEY'LL LOVE YOU BACK."

THAT WAS ALWAYS HER ADVICE ABOUT COUNTRY MUSIC FANS.

YOU LOVE YOUR FANS IN COUNTRY MUSIC, AND THEY WILL LOVE YOU BACK.

THEY'RE NOT JUST INVESTING IN A SONG.

THEY'RE INVESTING IN YOU AS A PERSON.

IT ALL GOES BACK TO THE SONGS.

THEY GET WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF PEOPLE'S LIVES, AND THEY ASSOCIATE YOU WITH THAT SONG.

YOU REALLY FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW THEM, EVEN IF YOU'VE NEVER MET THEM BEFORE, MATTEA: I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHY IT-- THIS STARTED, BUT IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING.

PART OF THE JOURNEY OF BEING A COUNTRY MUSIC STAR, YOU GO TALK TO YOUR FANS.

YOU SIGN AUTOGRAPHS.

YOU LOOK THEM IN THE EYE.

WHEN YOU LOOK THOSE PEOPLE IN THE EYE, THEY ARE YOU, AND YOU ARE THEM.

THERE IS NO BEING ABOVE.

PEOPLE COME THROUGH, AND THEY'RE LIKE, "THIS SONG CHANGED MY LIFE."

"I HAD THIS SONG SUNG IN MY WEDDING."

"MY GRANDMOTHER DIED THE SAME WAY."

THERE WAS A MOMENT WHERE I WAS SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS, AND THIS WOMAN JUST WALKED UP TO ME IN THE LINE, AND SHE JUST LOOKED AT ME, AND I LOOKED AT HER, AND SHE DIDN'T SAY A WORD, AND SHE JUST STARTED CRYING, TEARS JUST CAME DOWN HER FACE, AND...AND I JUST LOOKED AT HER, AND SHE LOOKED AT ME, AND SHE JUST WENT... AND I WENT... AND WE JUST HUGGED.

AND HER HUS--AND HER HUSBAND JUST LEANED DOWN, AND HE GRABBED HER ARM WHEN SHE-- THEY WERE WALKING AWAY, AND HE SAID, "SHE BURIED HER MOM THIS MORNING, BUT SHE REALLY WANTED TO COME AND SEE YOU TONIGHT."

AND...I MEAN, THAT'S IT, YOU KNOW?

THAT'S IT.

THAT'S COUNTRY MUSIC.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] REYNOLDS: RECORD LABELS HAVE A TERRIBLE TENDENCY TO CHASE WHATEVER IS THE CURRENT HIT.

I MEAN, I HAVE ALWAYS SAID THAT MARKETING MEN WOULD CLONE TODAY'S NUMBER ONE FOREVER WITHOUT A SENSE OF GUILT IF THEY COULD GET AWAY WITH IT, UH, JUST BECAUSE IT WOULD ELIMINATE RISK.

[FIREWORKS EXPLODE] NARRATOR: COUNTRY MUSIC MAY HAVE BEEN BIGGER THAN EVER, BUT BY THE MID-1990s, RECORD SALES WERE CONCENTRATED ON A SMALLER AND SMALLER NUMBER OF NEW RELEASES.

EXECUTIVES AT THE LABELS IN NASHVILLE WERE UNDER INCREASING PRESSURE TO ONLY PRODUCE ALBUMS THAT SOLD IN THE MILLIONS.

[PLAYING "ACHY BREAKY HEART"] CROWELL: EXPECTATIONS BECAME PART OF THE CREATIVE DECISION MAKING.

BILLY RAY CYRUS: ♪ YOU CAN TELL THE WORLD... ♪ ♪ YOU NEVER WAS MY GIRL ♪ THAT MEANS THAT THE RECORD COMPANIES' BOTTOM LINE HAD RISEN TO SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS WITH THE LIKES OF GARTH BROOKS AND SHANIA TWAIN THAT THEIR SHAREHOLDERS WERE NEVER GOING TO BE HAPPY IF THEY WERE OUT TRYING TO DEVELOP A NEW ACT WHO SOLD 1/5 OR 1/100 OF WHAT THOSE ARTISTS SOLD.

IT JUST WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.

CYRUS: OH!

NARRATOR: THEN A CHANGE IN FEDERAL LAW ALLOWED LARGE COMPANIES TO CONSOLIDATE THEIR OWNERSHIP OF RADIO STATIONS ACROSS THE NATION.

DECISIONS ON WHAT SONGS WOULD BE BROADCAST WERE BEING MADE BY FEWER PEOPLE.

PLAYLISTS GOT SHORTER.

IT BECAME EVEN HARDER FOR NEW ARTISTS TO BREAK IN AND HARDER FOR MANY ESTABLISHED ARTISTS TO HOLD ON.

EDDIE STUBBS: THE DAYS OF AN ARTIST DROPPING IN TO SEE A DISC JOCKEY, LIKE WAS THE CASE WITH LORETTA LYNN, THOSE DAYS ARE VIRTUALLY GONE.

REYNOLDS: AND NOW INSTEAD OF HAVING A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES TO GET TO TRY YOUR RECORD OUT AND SEE IF THE PUBLIC WILL RESPOND, YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE, ONE PERSON WHO IS PROGRAMMING FOR 1,300, 1,400 STATIONS, AND HIS SAY-SO IS "THE" SAY-SO, AND IF HE SAYS, "NO," THAT'S IT.

EMMYLOU HARRIS: I WAS DOING AN INTERVIEW AT A COUNTRY RADIO STATION.

I HAD AN ALBUM OUT, AND LORETTA LYNN HAD JUST BEEN INDUCTED INTO THE COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME, AND I SAID, "OH, THIS IS SO FANTASTIC.

"SO, YOU KNOW, LET'S PLAY SOMETHING BY LORETTA LYNN."

HE SAID, "OH, WE CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE SHE'S NOT ON OUR PLAYLIST."

NARRATOR: SOME INDEPENDENT STATIONS STILL EXISTED AND CONTINUED FEATURING ALTERNATIVE COUNTRY ARTISTS, AS WELL AS THE CLASSICS.

TO PROVE THAT THIS MUSIC STILL HAD AN AUDIENCE, A NEW TERM HAD TO BE INVENTED, WITH ITS OWN CHART AND LATER ITS OWN AWARDS.

IT WAS CALLED AMERICANA.

["BORN TO RUN" BY EMMYLOU HARRIS PLAYS] NARRATOR: NO ONE WAS MORE SUPPORTIVE OF THE NEW MOVEMENT THAN EMMYLOU HARRIS.

HARRIS: ♪ WELL, I NEVER DID... ♪ NARRATOR: 20 YEARS EARLIER, WHEN SHE BECAME A CONVERT TO COUNTRY MUSIC, HER BEST-SELLING ALBUMS, FEATURING SONGS BY OLDER STARS, HAD SHONE A SPOTLIGHT ON WHAT WAS BEING OVERLOOKED.

"EVERY SO OFTEN," JOHNNY CASH TOLD A REPORTER, "COUNTRY HAS TO GET BACK TO EMMYLOU HARRIS."

GILL: SHE MADE PEOPLE REMEMBER BUCK OWENS.

SHE MADE PEOPLE REMEMBER MERLE HAGGARD AND MADE PEOPLE REMEMBER KITTY WELLS, THE LOUVIN BROTHERS.

YOU KNOW, EVERY NOW AND THEN, THERE'S SOMEONE IN A STRETCH OF LIFE THAT'S GOING TO BE THE GREAT CONDUIT TO CONNECT YOU BACK TO WHERE WE COME FROM.

HARRIS: ♪ I WAS BORN IN THIS HOUSE ♪ ♪ I WAS BORN TO RUN ♪ NARRATOR: BY THE 1990s, HARRIS DECIDED TO DO AN ALL-ACOUSTIC ALBUM.

TO RECORD IT, SHE CHOSE THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM, WHICH HAD BEEN CLOSED SINCE THE EARLY 1970s.

STUART: IT WAS JUST AN OLD BUILDING WHERE THE GRAND OLE OPRY USED TO BE AND WITH AN OLD HISTORY THAT WAS TIRED, AND THE WINDOWS WERE BROKEN OUT, AND PIGEONS WERE FLYING AROUND, AND THEY CONDUCTED $2.00 TOURS.

NARRATOR: WHEN HARRIS AND HER BAND RECORDED THEIR LIVE ALBUM AT THE DECAYING RYMAN, THE CROWD THAT WAS PERMITTED TO WITNESS IT WAS RESTRICTED-- FOR SAFETY REASONS-- TO ONLY 200 PEOPLE, ALL GATHERED NEAR THE STAGE TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT THE AUDIENCE WAS MUCH LARGER.

♪ YOU'VE BEEN CHOSEN ♪ ♪ JOHN ♪ ♪ GO ON AFRAID ♪ ♪ JOHN ♪ ♪ I'LL GO WITH YOU ♪ ♪ JOHN THE BAPTIST ♪ ♪ THIS IS THE DAY ♪ NARRATOR: THE ONLY GUEST SHE INVITED TO PERFORM WITH HER WAS BILL MONROE, THE AGING PATRIARCH OF BLUEGRASS, WHO HAD FIRST APPEARED ON THE RYMAN STAGE BACK IN 1939.

[PLAYING "SCOTLAND"] [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] HARRIS: FOR COUNTRY MUSIC, PERHAPS IT'S A REMINDER OF US OF WHERE WE ALL CAME FROM AND NOT TO FORGET THAT, NOT TO JUST CONSTANTLY BE RECYCLING THAT AND TRYING TO GO BACK 'CAUSE YOU CAN'T GO BACK.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT.

EVERY GENERATION IS DIFFERENT, BUT WE MUSTN'T FORGET WHERE WE CAME FROM BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO MAKE THE MUSIC THAT WE MAKE IN THE FUTURE BETTER.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] NARRATOR: THE EVENT AND THE ALBUM THAT IT PRODUCED REMINDED PEOPLE OF THE RYMAN'S INCOMPARABLE ACOUSTICS, AS WELL AS ITS PLACE IN MUSIC HISTORY.

HARRIS AND OTHERS JOINED A CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE RYMAN FROM DESTRUCTION, AND THE OWNERS OF WSM AND THE GRAND OLE OPRY INVESTED MORE THAN $8 MILLION TO COMPLETELY RESTORE IT.

♪ THE MOTHER CHURCH OF COUNTRY MUSIC REOPENED AS A PERFORMANCE VENUE IN 1994 WITH LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS, PORTER WAGONER, AND MARTY STUART CUTTING THE RIBBON.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS] STUART: I LOVED THAT OLD MAN, AND TOWARD THE END OF HIS LIFE, I THOUGHT, "I WANT TO GO HANG OUT WITH HIM ONE MORE TIME "AND JUST SPEND THE AFTERNOON WITH HIM, TAKING PICTURES."

AND AT THE END OF IT ALL, WE WERE STANDING BY HIS BARN, JUST ME AND HIM, PLAYING MANDOLINS.

[PLAYING "BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY" ON MANDOLIN] SKAGGS: BUT I COULD TELL IN HIS LAST FEW, FEW DAYS THAT, UH, HE WAS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT WHERE BLUEGRASS WAS GOING, WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO IT.

YOU KNOW, WHERE'S IT GOING TO END UP?

AND I JUST SAID, "MR. MONROE, LISTEN.

"THIS MUSIC IS BIGGER THAN YOU.

"IT'S BIGGER THAN YOU.

"YOU GOT TO HEAR IT FIRST.

"YOU GOT TO PLAY IT FIRST, "AND YOU GOT TO SOW GREAT SEEDS WITH THIS MUSIC.

"I'M PART OF YOUR SEED.

"MARTY'S PART OF YOUR SEED.

"VINCE IS PART OF YOUR SEED.

"ALL OF US THAT LOVE BLUEGRASS ARE PART OF YOUR SEED, "AND IT'S NEVER GOING TO DIE, "SO YOU CAN GO HOME AND REST IN PEACE.

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHERE THE MUSIC'S GOING.

"WE'RE ALL--WE'RE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF IT.

JUST BE FREE."

YES.

I MADE A PROMISE TO HIM THAT I WOULD PLAY THIS MUSIC ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE AND I WOULD ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE WHERE IT CAME FROM.

♪ ["BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY" BY BILL MONROE PLAYS] ♪ ♪ BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY, KEEP ON SHINING... ♪ NARRATOR: RICKY SKAGGS, MARTY STUART, AND VINCE GILL WERE AMONG THE PERFORMERS AT MONROE'S FUNERAL, HELD AT THE RYMAN.

MONROE: ♪ BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY... ♪ NARRATOR: IN THE WAKE OF MONROE'S DEATH, BOTH RICKY SKAGGS AND MARTY STUART WOULD REFOCUS THEIR CAREERS.

MONROE: ♪ AND LEFT MY BLUE ♪ SKAGGS: MR. MONROE PASSED AWAY IN '96, AND I JUST KEPT HEARING THIS DEEP CALLING UNTO DEEP THING IN ME, AND IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, SIMPLE LIFE, SIMPLE LIFE, SIMPLE LIFE, AND I CAN TAKE THESE ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS.

I DON'T HAVE TO HAVE MICROPHONES.

I DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AMPS.

IF WE WANTED TO PULL OFF THE ROAD AND GO TO A LITTLE SCHOOLHOUSE, WE COULD GO PLAY AND ENTERTAIN THE KIDS.

AND I WANTED TO TAKE IT BACK TO THE FRONT PORCH, AND, UH, SO THAT'S-- THAT'S WHAT I DID.

MONROE: ♪ BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY... ♪ STUART: AND I FOUND OUT THAT WHAT HAD HAPPENED IS I HAD BECOME A-- A SUCCESS MACHINE.

I SIMPLY WANTED SUCCESS.

I WANTED TO BE ACCEPTED, AND MY HEART GOT LEFT BEHIND, AND ONE DAY I WAS RIDING THROUGH THE WOODS, AND I WAS NOTICING BARNS AND COWS AND TRACTORS AND CLOTHES BLOWING ON THE LINE AND THE SMELL OF THE COUNTRY, AND I LISTENED TO THE KIND OF MUSIC I WAS MAKING, AND IT DID NOT LINE UP WITH WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT.

AND THEN I WENT BACK AND STARTED LISTENING TO THE CARTER FAMILY, AND I LISTENED TO BILL MONROE AND TAMMY WYNETTE AND GEORGE JONES AND HANK WILLIAMS, AND I STARTED TO CRY.

MY HEART CAME BACK TO LIFE, AND I WENT, "I THINK I KNOW WHAT I NEED TO DO.

"GO BACK TO MYSELF AND START AGAIN AND TAKE IT UP AGAIN."

MONROE: ♪ AND THEY WHISPERED FROM... ♪ NARRATOR: A YEAR LATER, STUART WOULD MARRY COUNTRY STAR CONNIE SMITH JUST AS HE HAD PREDICTED HE WOULD DO WHEN HE WAS 11 YEARS OLD AND GOT HER AUTOGRAPH AT THE CHOCTAW INDIAN FAIR IN MISSISSIPPI.

MONROE: ♪ GONE AND SAID GOOD-BYE ♪ ["I STILL MISS SOMEONE" BY BOBBY HORTON PLAYS] ROSANNE CASH: I GREW UP THINKING THAT BECOMING FAMOUS WAS ABOUT THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU BECAUSE THEN YOU HAD TO GO ON THE ROAD, AND IF YOU WENT ON THE ROAD, YOU GOT DIVORCED, AND YOU DIDN'T SEE YOUR KIDS, AND YOU GOT ON DRUGS, AND EVERYTHING FELL APART.

♪ ♪ IT WAS SOMETHING KIND OF INGRAINED IN US-- "THIS IS NOT A GOOD WAY TO LIVE."

NARRATOR: AS HE AGED, JOHNNY CASH HAD TAKEN TO WRITING POIGNANT LETTERS TO HIS DAUGHTERS, ASKING THEM TO FORGIVE HIM FOR HIS MANY ABSENCES.

HIS DAUGHTER ROSANNE HAD MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY, AND WHEN HER FATHER CAME TO TOWN FOR A CONCERT, HE ASKED HER IF SHE'D JOIN HIM ONSTAGE FOR A SONG, ONE HE HAD CO-WRITTEN AND RECORDED BACK IN 1958, "I STILL MISS SOMEONE."

AND I WAS MAD AT HIM ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, SOME CHILDHOOD TRANSGRESSION HE HAD COMMITTED OR SOMETHING I WAS GOING THROUGH, SOMETHING HE HADN'T DONE.

I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS, AND I WAS--VERY PETULANTLY SAID, "NO.

I DON'T THINK I WILL."

HA!

CAN YOU IMAGINE?

AND HE SAID, "OK," AND HE TURNED, AND HE WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM, AND AS HE WALKED OUT, I LOOKED AT HIS BACK, AND I THOUGHT OF THE THOUSANDS OF TIMES I HAD SEEN HIS BACK FROM SITTING IN THE WINGS OFFSTAGE AND SEEN HIS BACK WITH THE LIGHT COMING DOWN ON HIM AND HIS GUITAR, SO I SAID, "DAD, I'LL DO IT."

SO THAT NIGHT, UM, HE CALLED ME OUT, AND WE SANG "I STILL MISS SOMEONE" TOGETHER.

♪ AT MY DOOR, THE LEAVES ARE FALLING ♪ ♪ A COLD, WILD WIND WILL COME ♪ ♪ AND SWEETHEARTS WALK BY TOGETHER ♪ ♪ AND I STILL MISS SOMEONE ♪ AND EVERYTHING GOT DISSOLVED.

EVERYTHING GOT FIXED, YOU KNOW, JUST LOOKING AT HIM.

HE WORKED OUT ALL OF HIS PROBLEMS ONSTAGE.

THAT'S WHERE HE TOOK HIS BEST SELF.

THAT'S WHERE HE TOOK ALL OF HIS ANGUISH AND FEARS AND GRIEFS, AND HE WORKED THEM OUT WITH AN AUDIENCE-- THAT'S JUST WHO HE WAS-- AND GOT PURIFIED BY THE END OF THE NIGHT.

SO THAT HAPPENED WITH ME THAT NIGHT WITH HIM.

IT JUST ALL GOT FIXED.

["WAYFARING STRANGER" BY JOHNNY CASH PLAYS] JOHNNY CASH: ♪ I'M JUST A POOR, WAYFARING STRANGER ♪ ♪ TRAVELING THROUGH... ♪ NARRATOR: LIKE MANY FADING COUNTRY STARS, JOHNNY CASH AND HIS WIFE JUNE CARTER FOUND THEMSELVES ENCAMPED IN THE TOURIST TOWN OF BRANSON, MISSOURI, WHERE A GROUP OF THEATERS HAD SPROUTED UP AND TURNED THE OLD BUSINESS MODEL OF LIVE PERFORMANCES ON ITS HEAD.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ WHICH I GO... ♪ NARRATOR: IT WAS THE AUDIENCE WHO SHOWED UP IN BIG BUSSES.

THE MUSICIANS STAYED IN ONE PLACE AND GAVE 2 OR 3 SHOWS A DAY... JOHNNY CASH: ♪ SHE SAID SHE'D MEET ME... ♪ NARRATOR: BUT SOME DAYS, JOHNNY CASH, THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN ELECTED TO BOTH THE COUNTRY MUSIC AND ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, LOOKED OUT AT THE 2,500-SEAT THEATER, AND FEWER THAN 200 PEOPLE WERE THERE.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ JUST GOING... ♪ RUN-DMC: ♪ IT'S TRICKY TO ROCK A RHYME, TO ROCK A RHYME ♪ NARRATOR: THEN IN 1993, A YOUNG PRODUCER NAMED RICK RUBIN, WHO HAD HELPED POPULARIZE HIP HOP MUSIC AND RECORDED SUCCESSFUL RAP, PUNK, AND HEAVY METAL ARTISTS, APPROACHED CASH ABOUT DOING AN ALBUM FOR HIS LABEL.

MANY OF CASH'S FRIENDS AND FAMILY WERE AGHAST, CERTAIN THE COLLABORATION WOULD BE DAMAGING TO HIS ALREADY FALTERING CAREER.

HE WENT AHEAD ANYWAY.

JOHN CARTER CASH: AND SO THEY BEGAN TO FOCUS ON MATERIAL.

EVERYTHING WAS HONESTLY CONNECTED WITH MY FATHER AND WHO HE WAS AS A PERSON.

SONGS OF FAITH, SONGS OF MY DAD'S LOVE FOR MY MOTHER, SONGS OF HIS HUMOR; SONGS OF THE ELEMENTAL DARKNESS WITHIN HIM.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ DELIA, OH, DELIA ♪ ♪ DELIA ALL MY LIFE ♪ ♪ IF I HADN'T HAD SHOT POOR DELIA ♪ ♪ I'D HAVE HAD HER FOR MY WIFE ♪ ♪ DELIA'S GONE, ONE MORE ROUND ♪ ♪ DELIA'S GONE ♪ ♪ ONE MORE ROUND... ♪ NARRATOR: RELEASED IN THE SPRING OF 1994, THE ALBUM "AMERICAN RECORDINGS" WON RAVE REVIEWS FOR ITS SPARSE ARRANGEMENTS, CASH'S STILL-COMMANDING VOICE, AND HIS SONG CHOICES FROM A TRADITIONAL COWBOY TUNE TO COMPOSITIONS BY TOM WAITS, LEONARD COHEN, AND KRIS KRISTOFFERSON AND THE NEARLY CENTURY-OLD MURDER BALLAD "DELIA'S GONE."

♪ SHE WAS LOW-DOWN AND TRIFLING ♪ ♪ AND SHE WAS COLD AND MEAN... ♪ ROSANNE CASH: EVERYTHING WAS NEW AGAIN.

HE WAS--HE WAS BACK.

IT WAS LIKE THE LIGHT SHINED ON HIM AGAIN, AND HE WAS SO GRATEFUL AND RELIEVED THAT SOMEBODY SAW HIS ESSENCE AND WHO HE WAS AND JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT OUT, JUST WANTED HIM TO BE JOHNNY CASH AGAIN.

♪ JAILER, I CAN'T SLEEP 'CAUSE... ♪ NARRATOR: MOST COUNTRY RADIO STATIONS IGNORED THE ALBUM, BUT IT SOLD 150,000 COPIES, MORE THAN ANY ALBUM OF HIS SINCE 1971, AND WON HIM A GRAMMY AWARD FOR BEST FOLK ALBUM.

TWO YEARS LATER, IN 1996, CASH AND RUBIN CAME OUT WITH THE EQUALLY SUCCESSFUL "UNCHAINED" WITH MARTY STUART AND TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS AS BACKUP MUSICIANS.

THIS TIME, IT WON A GRAMMY FOR BEST COUNTRY ALBUM.

["HURT" BY JOHNNY CASH PLAYS] NARRATOR: OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, EVEN AS HIS HEALTH DETERIORATED AND HE COULD NO LONGER MAKE LIVE APPEARANCES, JOHNNY CASH WOULD RECORD 3 MORE ALBUMS WITH RICK RUBIN WITH AN EQUALLY WIDE RANGE OF SONGS... JOHNNY CASH: ♪ TO SEE IF I STILL FEEL... ♪ NARRATOR: FROM ONES HE HAD WRITTEN TO THOSE BY BONO, STING, LENNON AND McCARTNEY, AS WELL AS HANK WILLIAMS AND THE CARTER FAMILY.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ THAT'S REAL ♪ ♪ THE NEEDLE... ♪ NARRATOR: BUT WHAT DREW THE MOST ATTENTION WAS A SONG CALLED "HURT," WRITTEN BY TRENT REZNOR OF NINE INCH NAILS.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ STING ♪ ♪ TRY TO KILL IT ALL AWAY ♪ ♪ BUT I REMEMBER EVERYTHING ♪ ♪ WHAT HAVE I BECOME ♪ ♪ MY SWEETEST FRIEND?

♪ ♪ EVERYONE I KNOW ♪ ♪ GOES AWAY IN THE END... ♪ NARRATOR: THE ALBUM WOULD EVENTUALLY SELL NEARLY 2 MILLION COPIES, EARN CASH YET ANOTHER GRAMMY, AND, AS A SIGN THAT THE COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY WANTED HIM BACK AS ONE OF THEIR OWN, WON THE CMA's AWARD FOR ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ I WILL MAKE YOU HURT ♪ ♪ IF I COULD START AGAIN ♪ ♪ A MILLION MILES AWAY ♪ ♪ I WILL KEEP MYSELF ♪ ♪ I WOULD FIND A WAY ♪ ["WINDING STREAM" BY BOBBY HORTON PLAYS] NARRATOR: SHORTLY AFTER THE SONG'S RELEASE, JUNE CARTER CASH DIED.

JOHNNY HUNG ON FOR 4 MONTHS WITHOUT HER.

ROSANNE CASH: IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF HIS LIFE, IT SEEMS LIKE I SANG A LOT OF CARTER FAMILY SONGS TO HIM.

UM, IT COMFORTED HIM, AND I READ THE PSALMS TO HIM.

THE LAST SONG HE HEARD WAS, UH, "THE WINDING STREAM."

THAT'S WHAT I SANG TO HIM WHEN HE WAS DYING.

♪ OH, GIVE TO ME A WINDING STREAM ♪ ♪ IT MUST NOT BE TOO WIDE ♪ ♪ WHERE WAVING LEAVES FROM MAPLE TREES MEET ♪ ♪ FROM EITHER SIDE ♪ IT WAS JUNE'S FAVORITE CARTER FAMILY SONG, AND I JUST LIKED TO SING IT, AND HE LIKED TO HEAR ME SING IT.

THE CARTER FAMILY SONGS ON THE RADIO WHEN HE WAS A KID, THAT PULLED HIM FORWARD, AND CARTER FAMILY SONGS SENT HIM OUT, SENT HIM AWAY.

♪ NARRATOR: JOHNNY CASH DIED ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2003.

HE WAS 71 YEARS OLD.

HE WAS BURIED NEXT TO JUNE IN THE MEMORY GARDENS CEMETERY NEAR THEIR HOME IN HENDERSONVILLE, TENNESSEE.

LATER, A MEMORIAL CONCERT WAS STAGED AT THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM WITH PERFORMANCES BY A GRAND ARRAY OF STARS.

IT BEGAN, AS HIS MOTHER WOULD HAVE LIKED, WITH A GOSPEL SONG, PERFORMED BY THE FISK JUBILEE SINGERS.

MAN: ♪ CAN HOLD MY BODY DOWN ♪ CHOIR: ♪ MY BODY, HOLD MY BODY DOWN ♪ NARRATOR: THEN ROSANNE STEPPED TO THE MICROPHONE AND SANG "I STILL MISS SOMEONE," THIS TIME, ON HER OWN.

♪ AT MY DOOR, THE LEAVES ARE FALLING ♪ [APPLAUSE] ♪ A COLD, WILD WIND WILL COME ♪ ♪ AND SWEETHEARTS WALK BY TOGETHER ♪ ♪ 'CAUSE I STILL MISS SOMEONE ♪ ♪ I GO OUT ON A PARTY ♪ ♪ AND LOOK FOR A LITTLE FUN ♪ ♪ BUT I FIND A DARKENED CORNER ♪ ♪ 'CAUSE I STILL MISS SOMEONE ♪ TAKE EVERY PIECE OF AMERICAN MUSIC.

I MEAN, EVERY PIECE OF THAT STREAM, ALL THOSE TRIBUTARIES THAT GO INTO THAT POOL OF WHATEVER WE CALL IT, COUNTRY MUSIC, AMERICAN MUSIC, FROM BLUES, GOSPEL, BLUEGRASS, ROCK AND ROLL... ROSEANNE CASH: ♪ AND ALL... ♪ HARRIS: I MEAN, THAT WAS ALL IN JOHN.

I MEAN, IT WAS ALL IN HIM.

ROSEANNE CASH: ♪ AND I'LL WONDER IF HE'S SORRY ♪ ♪ FOR LEAVING WHAT WE'D BEGUN ♪ ♪ YEAH, THERE'S SOMEONE FOR ME SOMEWHERE ♪ ♪ BUT I STILL MISS SOMEONE ♪ ♪ I STILL MISS ♪ ♪ SOMEONE ♪ ♪ [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] ["WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN" BY THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND PLAYS] MERLE HAGGARD: IT ROSE UP OUT OF NOTHING, UNEDUCATED, FROM THE SOUL AND CAME INTO WHAT IT IS, WHICH IS PROBABLY NEVER BEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT AND THERE WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING LIKE IT AGAIN.

GIDDENS: THIS IS OUR VOICE, AND THIS IS OUR--OUR MUSIC, TELLING THOSE STORIES OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THAT VOICE, AND THEY HEAR THAT SONG, AND THEY'RE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, "THAT'S MY STORY."

JOHNNY CASH: ♪ WHEN I SAW... ♪ NARRATOR: COUNTRY MUSIC IS A COMPLICATED CHORUS OF AMERICAN VOICES, JOINING TOGETHER TO TELL A COMPLICATED AMERICAN STORY.

CHORUS: ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?

♪ NARRATOR: IT HAS BEEN HANDED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION, MOVING FROM FARM FIELDS AND CHURCHES AND FAMILY PORCHES INTO EVERY CORNER OF THE COUNTRY.

CHORUS: ♪ IN THE SKY ♪ ROY ACUFF: ♪ I SAID TO THE UNDERTAKER ♪ ♪ "UNDERTAKER, PLEASE DRIVE SLOW" ♪ ♪ "FOR THIS LADY YOU ARE CARRYING" ♪ ♪ "LORD, I HATE TO SEE HER GO" ♪ NARRATOR: IT HAS CHANGED AND GROWN AT EVERY TURN, TETHERED TO ITS PAST BUT ALWAYS REACHING TOWARD ITS FUTURE.

SECOR: IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT NEEDS TO BE EXHUMED AND NEW LIFE BREATHED INTO IT.

CHORUS: ♪ IN THE SKY ♪ THE PART THAT IS THE SONGS OF THE PEOPLE, THE HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE PEOPLE, THE PAIN AND SUFFERING OF THE PEOPLE, THAT NEEDS TO REMAIN EMBEDDED IN COUNTRY MUSIC.

IF IT ISN'T THERE, I'M OUT.

SKAGGS: ♪ OH, I FOLLOWED CLOSE BEHIND HER ♪ ♪ TRIED TO HOLD UP... ♪ I'M NOT ONE OF THESE OLD FARTS THAT SAYS, "HEY, THEY'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT THE WAY THEY USED TO."

AND I SAY, "LOOK.

THEY'RE NOT DOING BRAIN SURGERY THE WAY THEY USED TO."

THEY USED TO DRILL A HOLE IN YOUR HEAD AND LET OUT ALL THE BAD AIR, YOU KNOW?

CHORUS: ♪ WILL THE CIRCLE... ♪ HALL: I'M NOT MARRIED TO-- IN MY PHILOSOPHY-- TO A CONCRETE COUNTRY MUSIC.

I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY SUCH THING.

CHORUS: ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY ♪ LEVON HELM: ♪ I WENT BACK HOME ♪ ♪ MY HOME WAS LONESOME... ♪ IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE CONNECTED TO THE PAST, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO STAY THERE.

"YOU NEVER STEP INTO THE SAME RIVER TWICE."

MUSIC HAS TO CHANGE, TOO.

HELM AND HARRIS: ♪ SO SAD AND LONE ♪ CHORUS: ♪ 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 ♪ ♪ ♪ NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: ♪ OH, WE SANG THE SONGS... ♪ STUART: THERE WILL BE SONGS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HITS THAT NEVER WERE.

THERE WILL BE SONGS THAT ARE HITS THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN.

THERE WILL BE PEOPLE THAT YOU'LL FALL IN LOVE WITH, AND THEY'LL BE GONE IN 3 WEEKS OR AFTER THE NEXT RECORD.

THEN THERE WILL BE STARS THAT COME AND GET YOU INSIDE OF YOUR HEART AND STAY WITH YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

CHORUS: ♪ BE UNBROKEN... ♪ STUART: SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, YOU'LL DISCOVER AN OLD COUNTRY SONG THAT WILL SPEAK TO THAT DIVORCE YOU'RE GOING THROUGH OR THAT TAX PROBLEM YOU'RE GOING THROUGH OR YOU LOSING YOUR BEST FRIEND.

CHORUS: ♪ IN THE SKY, LORD, IN THE SKY ♪ STUART: COUNTRY MUSIC HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY, AND IT'S INSIDE THE SONGS.

IT'S INSIDE THE LIVES OF THE CHARACTERS.

IT'S REALLY COLORFUL IN HERE.

I INVITE YOU IN.

CHORUS: ♪ THERE'S A BETTER HOME A-WAITING ♪ ♪ 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 ♪ JIMMY IBBOTSON: ♪ IN THE ♪ CHORUS: ♪ SKY, LORD ♪ ♪ IN THE SKY ♪ ["WILDWOOD FLOWER" BY MAYBELLE CARTER & THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND PLAYS] MAYBELLE CARTER: ♪ OH, I'LL TWINE WITH MY MINGLES ♪ ♪ AND WAVING BLACK HAIR ♪ ♪ WITH THE ROSES SO RED ♪ ♪ AND THE LILIES SO FAIR ♪ ♪ AND THE MYRTLES SO BRIGHT ♪ ♪ WITH THE EMERALD DEW ♪ ♪ THE PALE AND THE LEADER ♪ ♪ AND EYES LOOK LIKE BLUE ♪ ♪ ♪ TO EXPERIENCE MORE OF COUNTRY MUSIC, VISIT PBS.ORG FOR HISTORICAL TIMELINES, BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE, AND MUSIC PLAYLISTS.

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♪ OH, HE TAUGHT ME TO LOVE HIM ♪ ♪ AND PROMISED TO LOVE ♪ ♪ AND TO CHERISH ME OVER ALL OTHERS ABOVE ♪ ♪ HOW MY HEART IS NOW WONDERING ♪ ♪ NO MISERY CAN TELL ♪ ♪ HE'S LEFT ME NO WARNING, NO WORDS OF FAREWELL ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ OH, HE TAUGHT ME TO LOVE HIM ♪ ♪ AND CALL ME HIS FLOWER ♪ ♪ THAT WAS BLOOMING TO CHEER HIM ♪ ♪ THROUGH LIFE'S DREARY HOUR ♪ ♪ OH, I LONG TO SEE HIM AND REGRET THE DARK HOUR ♪ ♪ HE'S GONE AND NEGLECTED THIS PALE WILDWOOD FLOWER ♪