A few years ago we started a little AC side project. Calling it the Another Country Movie Club we started to collect lists of the many films which had great country music soundtracks. This was propelled by two or three movies which could well lay claim to converting people to the genre in the first place.
Around 16 years ago or so Oh, Brother Where Art Thou brought country, gospel and bluegrass to a worldwide audience who, until then, had no idea they might actually like the sound of a banjo or a church choir. A few years earlier I had been to Dundee’s first designated ‘film theatre’ to see ‘Coal Miners Daughter.’ Such was my limited knowledge of the genre that I had no idea who the film was about and was grateful that someone explained it was about ‘Crystal Gale’s sister.’
The tradition of country music in movies now has a proud and noble history and there is rarely a year goes by which doesn’t add into the canon of work. This year, ‘Hell or High Water’ made by Scottish filmmaker, David McKenzie and to some extent ‘War on Everyone’ with its sublot paen to Glen Campbell have added into the catalogue. Then, of course, there are the biopics – I still haven’t seen ‘I Saw The Light’ as it’s not had many recommendations but we all fell in love with ‘Walk The Line’ – the list goes on and on.
On the Tuesday’s Another Country I will be joined by a man who knows all these films and more. By day he is Edinburgh University’s Doctor of Celluloid and in any spare time he has he loves country music. Pasquale Iannone will take us through some films you’ll want to see or see again if it’s been a while and from them we’ll pull out some great singers and songs you will certainly want to hear again and again.
You’ll hear music from Ryan Bingham, Tom Russell, Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss and we will not forget one or two current releases as well as our regular Merle Moment. Join us from five past nine this Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland.
Really looking forward to this show. Country music and the movies is a perfect fit!