Home / Series / Country Music by Ken Burns / Aired Order / Season 1 / Episode 3

The Hillbilly Shakespeare (1945-1953)

As country music adapted to the cultural changes of post-war society, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs transformed traditional string band music into something more syncopated - bluegrass. Out of the bars and juke joints came a new sound - honky-tonk - with electric guitars and songs about drinking, cheating and heartbreak. Its biggest star was Hank Williams, a singer who wrote songs of surprising emotional depth, derived from his troubled and tragically short life.

English
  • Originally Aired November 29, 2019
  • Runtime 50 minutes
  • Network BBC Four
  • Created April 24, 2025 by
    Moonlit
  • Modified April 24, 2025 by
    Moonlit