On Saturday March 1st, at 6 pm, the BBC will broadcast part 2 of 'LOST HIGHWAY', a new series about the history of country music.
In part 2; 'ROAD TO NASHVILLE', four video clips of Jim Reeves will be shown; 'MEXICAN JOE' from the Al Gannaway production 'Classic Country', 'HE'LL HAVE TO GO' (the telephone booth), 'GOLDEN MEMORIES AND SILVER TEARS' and 'FOUR WALLS'. Two well known writers, Ronnie Pugh and John Rumble and two members of THE JORDANAIRES will talk about Jim Reeves. The producer would have liked a longer segment on Jim, including some footage of the 1964 European tour that still exists but he couldn't fit it in.
With the series comes a book written by Mr. Colin Escott. Mr. Sscott is well remembered from the booklet of the BEAR FAMILY 16 CD Jim Reeves boxed set.
BBC PRESS RELEASE:
BBC TWO travels the Lost
Highway and uncovers the story of country music
BBC
TWO travels the Lost Highway and
uncovers the story of Country Music on a journey to the heart of America and the
music that has come to define it. From the makers of the award-winning series Dancing
in the Street and Walk
On By comes another major heritage music series charting the history of
Country Music in the words of its greatest performers and producers, musicians
and songwriters.
2003
sees the 50th anniversary of the death of Hank Williams, the most
iconic figure in Country and one of the most revered songwriters of all time.
And Country is currently enjoying a remarkable renaissance fuelled by the
international success of the multi-million selling soundtrack to the Coen
Brothers movie O Brother Where Art Thou.
This bluegrass revival, which has brilliantly succeeded in re-inventing
the music for a contemporary audience, has been led by performers such as
Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch, all of whom feature in Lost
Highway.
Series
Editor, Michael Poole, said: “Country is now some of the coolest music around
but there’s still this popular misconception that it’s just about
line-dancing and big hats. In fact Country is a really rich and varied music
that constantly surprises you with its depth and range.
It’s also a fascinating way to see how America has negotiated wave
after wave of social change.
“Country’s
influence can be felt in every genre of popular music and it is full of larger
than life characters whose stories we bring to life in Lost Highway.
It’s always been the music through which America talks to itself – and now
it is increasingly finding popularity outside America, most recently seen in the
massive world-wide sales for the soundtrack to ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou’
and the continued chart presence of performers like Shania Twain.”
At a
time of uncertainty and change, Country Music is being embraced again because it
offers a deep sense of rootedness. The
longing it expresses has always been about belonging and it’s one of the key
ways ordinary Americans have made sense of their country and themselves. This
four-part series will make sense of the people and the landscapes of country
music, and the amazing variety and depth of this genre and its performers.
Uniquely, it will use musical reconstruction and specially recorded performance
from leading artists to allow its audience to experience the music in a new,
fresh and accessible way.
Lost Highway will chart the history and
growth of Country Music from its roots in mountain music, through bluegrass to
the emergence of Hank Williams and Honky Tonk, the rise of the pop friendly
Nashville Sound, the extraordinary emergence of female performers to positions
of dominance in the industry and the success of newer forms of the genre from
Country Rock to alt. country.
Lost Highway: The Story of
Country Music is
produced by William Naylor; the series editor is Michael Poole.