Ken Burns' "Country Music"

Episode 6, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"

I'm a fan of country music and its history, but I nodded off in Episode 1 of Ken Burns' latest documentary. I vowed to give it another chance when he fast-forwarded at least to the Carter family and Johnny Cash. So I skipped all the way to Episode 6, which covers 1968-72 and explores how country music responded to a nation divided by the Vietnam War. Burns jams a lot into these two hours, including Earl Scruggs, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, Cash and Willie Nelson, but the star of the show is Kris Kristofferson, the former Rhodes Scholar/Army captain/janitor who became one of the country's most gifted songwriters. Really, the episode should have been titled "Sunday Morning Coming Down." If you don't have the time or interest to slog through the entire 16 hours, give this episode a try and enjoy.