Thank You, Mr. Burns

It was the greatest electronic love letter Country music has ever received. Ken Burns' "Country Music" documentary was 16 hours of a story that needed at least 32. Sixteen was about all that most folks could soak in. Hopefully, it made the PBS stations more viewers and made more people interested in American culture's most widely heard form of music.

We are the America of Motown, Beale Street, the Brill Building, the Big Easy, Laurel Canyon and 16th Avenue. Burns took us from the Appalachian Trail to Nashville's Lower Broadway, and many stops in between. He made sure we visited Bakersfield, Bristol, and Austin, as well as the Opry. He hit the high points, and you wished at several points in the show it would be 30 hours longer. So beautifully done!

I want more on Hank Sr. and Jr., and more about Country music in the movies and on TV. The Beatles and Country needed a paragraph, and the Stones too ("Dead Flowers" and "Country Honk" for starters). Las Vegas was a big part of Country's commercial success and it was never mentioned.

But Burns said on many occasions he would not be telling a comprehensive story. He did spend valuable time on the beginning of the format, and many have said they would have like to have seen some of that time spent on the last third of his chronological story. I'm sure you could bring in a dozen producers and they would find a dozen paths to have followed.

Burns is a historian; maybe first among the many hats he wears. He looked at the story from a stew of viewpoints. I wish we had seen a few more historical experts, more viewpoints and analytical voices that might have given other ways to look at things. If you've breathed this story for the last 40 years, you know what was out there to use and what made it in. Burns story was a little Cash/Carter Family, and Bluegrass-heavy. But again, a dozen producers would have done this a dozen ways.

The dry history needed some color that showed up only every once in a while.

John Denver was one of the first CMA winners, yet he is not in the Country Music Hall of Fame. That remains an ugly point. Conway and Loretta duets were a huge part of their careers. And on and on.

Still, it was a great effort, and hopefully more people will come to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and explore other Country music museums, like Montgomery, Alabama's Hank Williams Museum.

If you want to branch out some from this excellent work, go into extra innings and try looking into the impact of Jim Reeves, Conway Twitty, and Johnny Horton, and read more about Eddy Arnold.

The concept of the Country family and its "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" brings up something else: The recent tragedy involving Josh Turner's road crew.

Just checked the GoFundMe page for the injured crew. It's embarrassing how little money has been raised to date. These road warriors are in great need. I hope the charity arms of Country music will take notice.

Road crews are the backbone of the Country music industry. These men are badly hurt and their families need help. I hope someone will run point on this and make sure the right thing is being done. They are family!