T Bone Burnett holds the 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' vinyl soundtrack

T Bone Burnett

Photo: Rachel Murray/WireImage.com

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'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' Soundtrack | For The Record

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Learn more about the hit soundtrack to the 2000 Coen Brothers' film and its unique place in GRAMMY history
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Dec 7, 2017 - 12:11 pm

Sometimes, the marriage of music to a film is so brilliantly executed that it's impossible to imagine that film without said music.

For The Record: 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'

That's certainly the case with the 2000 Coen Brothers' film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? With loose parallels to Homer's "Odyssey," the film is set in Depression-era rural Mississippi in 1937, with the plot centering three convicts, including Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), who escape from a chain gang and journey homeward to get their hands on some stolen bank money.

T Bone Burnett, a musician's musician, was tapped to produce the soundtrack designed to feature bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, and folk music to appropriately represent the time period. The result is a stunningly fun collection of songs that ably supports the film's offbeat comedy.

Enlisting an all-star collective, Burnett churned out an authentic mix of sterling tracks, including Alison Krauss' angelic reading of the traditional "Down To The River To Pray"; Norman Blake's uplifting "You Are My Sunshine"; Chris Thomas King's rootsy "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues"; Ralph Stanley's bone-chilling "O Death"; and Krauss, Gillian Welch and Emmylou Harris teaming for another traditional song, "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby."

Not only did the soundtrack top the Billboard 200 album chart, it emerged a big winner at the 44th GRAMMY Awards in 2002. The 19-song set took Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media honors, while Burnett scooped up Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Stanley earned took Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "O Death."

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Wins Album Of The Year

The cherry on top of the proverbial sundae? Following Saturday Night Fever and The Bodyguard, the O Brother …. soundtrack became just the third film soundtrack to win the coveted Album Of The Year GRAMMY.

"This version of this epic had a happy ending of sorts, and then one happy ending after another," said Burnett during his acceptance. "But not even minds as elliptical as the Coen Brothers could have written this ending."

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris

Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

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Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum Announces Lineup Of 2018 Exhibits

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Emmylou Harris, Dr. Ralph Stanley, the Judds, and more to be featured in brand new exhibits in one of Nashville's biggest attractions for country music fans
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Dec 6, 2017 - 5:32 pm

One of Nashville's main country music attractions, the Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum has announced its lineup of 2018 exhibits, featuring GRAMMY winners Emmylou Harris, The Judds, Dr. Ralph Stanley, and Little Big Town.

The year's first exhibit will be a refresh of "American Currents: The Music of 2017." The exhibit will open to the public March 9 and feature some of today's hottest country acts such as Maren Morris, Eric Church, Luke Combs and Chris Young.

The first of the museum's new artist spotlights will be unveiled on June 29, highlighting Alabama-bred quartet Little Big Town. Two weeks later on July 13, the museum will premiere a special exhibit dedicated to Dr. Ralph Stanley, celebrating the late bluegrass icon's storied career and massive influence.

Chart-topping mother-daughter duo the Judds will get an exhibit of their own on Aug. 3 and country's angel-voiced stalwart Harris will be the focus of an exhibit opening Oct. 5. Harris, a member of the Country Hall Of Fame, continues to perform and record more than 40 years into her illustrious career.

More information, including ticket details, can be found via the Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum's website.

Preview Katy Perry's GRAMMY Museum Exhibit

List

'Baby Driver' and beyond: 7 soundtracks that spook, spark and shine

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Explore how these soundtracks steered their films and left their mark on pop culture
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 12, 2017 - 5:00 pm

It's no secret that the 2017 crime film Baby Driver, directed by Edgar Wright, has steered its way into the zeitgeist, largely thanks to its killer soundtrack. And like a legacy of film music before it, Baby Driver's music is changing the soundtrack game.

Whether it's the '80s hip-hop of Do The Right Thing or the disco-driving tunes of Saturday Night Fever, music can often provide the boost to push the film into a class of its own. Covering more than 60 years of film music, check out this list of seven soundtracks that influenced generations of pop culture.

Baby Driver, 2017

A heist-gone-wrong film, Wright's Baby Driver taps heavy hitters from the '70s with tracks from Queen, Beck, Barry White, and the Beach Boys, among many others — a total of 35 songs made it into the film. "You could describe Baby Driver as a car-chase movie set to rock and roll," writes Variety. "Or, conversely, you could think of it as a playlist that happens to have a crime film attached." And the film's title? It's Simon & Garfunkel's "Baby Driver" from their Album Of The Year GRAMMY-winning Bridge Over Troubled Water — not to be confused with the KISS song of the same name.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?, 2000

This Coen Brothers classic follows three convicts who escape from a chain gang and chase buried treasure through 1930s Mississippi. Hilarity ensues, but what makes this film unique was its soundtrack based on music from the deep south, including folk, country and bluegrass. Produced by GRAMMY winner T Bone Burnett, O Brother, Where Art Thou earned an Album Of The Year GRAMMY for its participating musicians, including Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and the Fairfield Four. 

Pulp Fiction, 1994

Kool & The Gang's "Jungle Boogie," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" read like a who's who of rock royalty on Pulp Fiction's soundtrack. "The mixture of surf, soul and s***-talking that Quentin Tarantino assembled for Pulp Fiction's soundtrack played out like one of the world's coolest mixtapes, which made it an instant classic," writes Rolling Stone. While the soundtrack made commercial waves when it peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200, its lasting legacy comes from the retro surf-rock vibes of the film's opener, Dick Dale's 1962 breakout single "Mirislou," which still sounds fresh decades later.

Do The Right Thing, 1989

Hip-hop was still primarily an underground genre in the late '80s, but Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing changed all that when Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" blasted first during the film's opening credit roll, and then later straight from Radio Raheem's boombox during the film's climax. "Peppered with 'new jack' era slabs of wax from the likes of Public Enemy (the iconic "Fight The Power"), summer party staples from E.U. ("Party Hearty") and Teddy Riley ("My Fantasy"), and deep slow jams from Perri and Al Jarreau, it's the perfect background for a hot night in the city," writes AllMusic.com.

Saturday Night Fever, 1977

From subcultures to the main stage, there was no better catalyst for disco than Saturday Night Fever. The primarily Bee Gees-penned album caught fire, earned four No. 1 singles and five GRAMMYs, including Album Of The Year for 1978. But what Robert Stigwood, film producer and head of the Bee Gees' label RSO Records, effectively did was bring the genre to a white-hot peak. "Disco made an unexpected leap in the culture, from popular musical style to genuine phenomenon," writes The Dissolve.

Behind the soundtrack: Saturday Night Fever

Shaft, 1971

Shaft, in a word? Blaxploitation. Composer Isaac Hayes' classic soul double album may contain primarily instrumentals, but that doesn't lessen the soundtrack's impact. The memorable "Theme From Shaft" — one of only three tracks with vocals on the LP — not only won composer Isaac Hayes a GRAMMY, it also earned him an Oscar and became the best-selling record for Stax in its history. Shaft paved the way for other greats in the Blaxploitation genre, such as Curtis Mayfield's Super Fly, and, as A.V. Club says, "fomented a soundtrack revolution."

Psycho, 1960

If you aren't creeped out by Psycho's iconic murderous shower screen, complete with high-pitched scratching violins courtesy of composer Bernard Herrmann, you're stronger than we are. No stranger to Alfred Hitchcock films, including Vertigo and North By Northwest, Herrmann turned up the dial to 100 for Psycho with just spooky stringed instruments. The film's music has become synonymous with terror, and even Hitchcock had to admit, "33 percent of the effect of Psycho was due to the music."

Which film soundtrack do you think made the biggest impact? Vote below!

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Exploring The GRAMMYs' American Roots Music Field Nominees

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Go inside the nominations in the American Roots Music Field categories for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

You've seen the list of nominees, now take a closer look at the artists nominated in the American Roots Music Field categories for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

The roots of American music run deep, going back to a time in our national history when folk, blues and bluegrass were still-gestating genres. Blues became the building block for genres such as gospel, jazz, rock, rap, and pop, without ever losing its authenticity or ability to address the daily joys and woes of ordinary people. Folk music had a similar authentic thread, telling simple stories of rural and urban life that united singer and audience with the common thread of shared experience. Folk has transformed over the years into what we now call country, singer/songwriter, bluegrass, roots, and Americana. Like blues, folk shares the impulse for realistic, plainspoken expression and stretches back to the days before our country's foundation. This year's nominees in the American Roots Music Field emphasize the diversity of these American musical traditions, with fresh seeds planted for the future.

Best Americana Album
Linda Chorney nabbed a GRAMMY nomination without registering a single Nielsen SoundScan sale of her sixth self-produced album, Emotional Jukebox, as of last December. The New Jersey resident has supported herself as a working musician for 25 years with songs marked by her wicked sense of humor and lively vocals. Ry Cooder has won six GRAMMY Awards in his career, spanning folk, pop, Latin, and children's music. Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down is another showcase for Cooder's expressive guitar playing and sardonic vocals. Though he did not take home a GRAMMY during his tenure with the Band, a group that almost single-handedly invented the Americana genre, Levon Helm has won two in the last five years for his solo work. Ramble At The Ryman features contributions from top musicians such as Buddy Miller, John Hiatt and Sheryl Crow. On Hard Bargain, 12-time GRAMMY winner Emmylou Harris turns her talent from interpreter to songwriter, with self-penned songs reflecting themes such as friendship, her affinity for animal companions, romance, and racism. The shimmering beauty of her voice is spine-tingling, evidenced by her emotionally charged tributes to Gram Parsons ("The Road") and Kate McGarrigle ("Darlin' Kate"). With three GRAMMYs in folk, country and rock categories already to her credit, Blessed is Lucinda Williams' second nomination in this category, following 2009's Little Honey. Williams has made her reputation exploring the dark side of the human psyche and the songs on Blessed are as powerful as any she's ever written.

 

"CHERRIES" from Grammy Nominated EMOTIONAL JUKEBOX by Linda Chorney

Levon Helm Ramble At The Ryman "The Weight" on PBS

Emmylou Harris: Goodnight Old World

Lucinda Williams BLESSED Part 1




Best Bluegrass Album
Paper Airplane marks the first album of all-new recordings for Alison Krauss & Union Station since 2004, and picks up right where they left off in ably mixing bluegrass, country, rock, and pop. Krauss most recently scored five wins in 2008 for Raising Sand with Robert Plant, bringing her GRAMMY total to 26, a record for a female artist. As lead singer of the Stanley Brothers, Ralph Stanley was playing bluegrass before the genre had a name. His music stays close to its traditional mountain roots and his vocals on A Mother's Prayer, with their raw, unpolished force, harken back to his formidable rendition of the GRAMMY-winning "O Death" on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Country maverick Jim Lauderdale's alliance with Stanley on Lost In The Lonesome Pines won him a GRAMMY in this category in 2002. Reason And Rhyme: Bluegrass Songs By Robert Hunter & Jim Lauderdale is the Lauderdale/Hunter duo's second full-album collaboration, and a smooth blend of fancy picking and lyrics with a sharp literary edge. Steve Martin already had two Best Comedy Album GRAMMYs in his trophy case before going back to his first love — banjo — and winning two music-related GRAMMYs. On Rare Bird Alert he teamed with North Carolina's Steep Canyon Rangers and their smoking energy is evidenced by the amazing fretwork on "Northern Island" and the bluegrass version of Martin's hit "King Tut." Nine GRAMMY nominations and one Best Bluegrass Album award later, the Del McCoury Band checks in again with Old Memories: The Songs Of Bill Monroe, a tribute to the man who gave McCoury his first high-profile gig when he hired him as guitarist and lead singer for the Blue Grass Boys. As a member of Nickel Creek, mandolin player Chris Thile helped pioneer a jazzy, pop approach to bluegrass that helped introduced a new generation of young people to the genre. Sleep With One Eye Open, his debut album alongside Brooklyn, N.Y.-based traditionalist Michael Daves, is a collection of 16 traditional songs from artists such as Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin and Bill Monroe, among others.
 

Jim Lauderdale - Reason & Rhyme (EPK)

Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers - Jubilation Day [OFFICIAL]

Del McCoury Behind the Scenes recording Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe

Chris Thile & Michael Daves - "Sleep with One Eye Open"




Best Blues Album
Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients the Allman Brothers, led by Duane and Gregg Allman, helped pioneer Southern rock and expanded the paremeters of popular music with a sound that merged rock, blues, country, and jazz. Gregg Allman returns to his roots with Low Country Blues, a simmering collection of covers paying tribute to the music that inspired him. A longtime Allman Brothers associate and Gov't Mule co-founder, Warren Haynes showcases his searing guitar work, passionate vocals and exceptional songwriting on Man In Motion. Haynes draws upon his deepest roots throughout, resulting in a potent concoction of soul and blues. When blues singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi and Allman Brothers guitarist Derek Trucks married, the Tedeschi Trucks Band was the next logical step. Although the 11-member group bears the duo's name, the band is a cooperative effort, with Revelator offering a pleasing gumbo of blues, funk, gospel, soul, and rock. Marcia Ball's rhythmic boogie-woogie keyboard work on Roadside Attractions includes nuances drawn from zydeco, swamp rock and R&B that complement her spirited original tunes. Ball has four prior GRAMMY nominations to her credit, the most recent in 2008 for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Peace, Love & BBQ. Keb' Mo's mashup of delta blues, folk, jazz, and rock made him one of the leaders of the blues revival of the early '90s. As much soul and folk as it is blues, The Reflection shows off the three-time GRAMMY winner's continuing exploration of the crossroads where gospel, blues, pop, African-American folk, and rock merge.
 

Gregg Allman - Just Another Rider (The Savannah Rehearsal Sessions)

Warren Haynes - "Man In Motion" EPK

Keb Mo - "The Whole Enchilada"

Tedeschi Trucks Band - The Making of Revelator

Best Folk Album
The Civil Wars — the singing/songwriting duo consisting of John Paul White and Joy Williams— created an Internet buzz in 2009 when they offered fans a free download of Live At Eddie's Attic. Their studio debut, Barton Hollow, has crossed the rock, folk, indie, and pop genres, winning fans with their close country harmonies and solid songcraft. Three-time GRAMMY winner Steve Earle is a novelist, producer, poet, playwright, actor, and activist as well as a singer/songwriter. The album title is an obvious nod to Hank Williams and, like his work, the songs on I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive deal with mortality, loss and limitation. Harps, zithers, fiddles, hammer dulcimers, acoustic guitars, and vintage synthesizers ebb and flow through the soothing folk pop sound of Fleet Foxes. Helplessness Blues is intimate and anthemic at the same time — subtle folk for fans of transcendent harmonies. Alternative rock icon Eddie Vedder switches gears on Ukulele Songs, an acoustic outing on which his understated vocals and ukulele take center stage. Pearl Jam's "Can't Keep" is stripped down to its folky essence and sounds comfortable nested up against standards such as "Dream A Little Dream" and Vedder's own "Broken Heart." The music of Gillian Welch is steeped in the timeless melancholy of traditional folk music and marked by her unadorned vocals and the stunning interplay between her guitar and the sophisticated picking of her partner David Rawlings. The Harrow & The Harvest sounds like a message from the past, full of dark painful beauty and sudden bursts of soulful sunshine.
 

Poison & Wine | The Civil Wars | OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO [HD]

Steve Earle - I'll Get Never Out Of This World Alive - The Making Of (Preview) Part 1 of 2

Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Can't Keep (Music Video) - Ukulele Songs - Eddie Vedder




Best Regional Roots Music Album
C.J. Chenier, son of GRAMMY-winning zydeco king Clifton Chenier, got his professional start playing in jazz, R&B and funk bands. His music has more rock and blues in the mix and, as you might expect from the title, the emphasis on Can't Sit Down is on booty-shaking party jams. Slack key guitarist George Kahumoku Jr. has recently picked up GRAMMYs for the albums Legends Of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar — Live From Maui, Treasures Of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar and Masters Of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2. Wao Akua — The Forest Of The Gods includes a mixture of traditional songs and his own compositions. When the Rebirth Brass Band was founded in 1982, they were intent on preserving the music of New Orleans marching bands and helped contribute to the form's recent resurgence by adding funk, soul, jazz, and hip-hop to their infectious sound. Rebirth Of New Orleans is their first GRAMMY-nominated album. Grand Isle is the fourth album by Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys to receive a GRAMMY nomination. Led by Riley, a master accordion player and charismatic singer, the Playboys have been winning audiences with their soulful blend of Cajun, blues, zydeco, ska, and swamp rock for more than 20 years. Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra is arguably the most popular polka band in the United States with Sturr already having 18 GRAMMY wins to his credit. Not Just Another Polka includes "Ob-La-Di Polka," a polka-charged rendition of the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La Da."

Who will take home the awards in the American Roots Music Field categories? Tune in to the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 12, taking place at Staples Center in Los Angeles and airing live on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

(Note: The videos embedded reflect official videos available through official artist and record label Web channels.)

 

Charley Crockett

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Charley Crockett's Walk Through 'The Valley': "That's What Artists Do" | Newport Folk 2019

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"I think everybody in life has to walk through the valley, and a lot of times, we got to do it by ourself. That's part of the struggle and the beauty of being a human being," the country troubador told us at Newport Folk Fest
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Jul 27, 2019 - 3:00 pm

Some voices are unmistakable. True modern troubadour Charley Crockett has one such voice, and he knows how to use it. Street-trained and road-worn, Crockett's musical journey has bounced him around the globe, from his homeland of Texas, to New Orleans, Barcelona, Paris and more. At every stop in his journey, he's sharpened his skills as a singer of storytelling songs. But his latest twist in the road might also be his most cathartic.

Charley Crockett On His Walk Through 'The Valley'

On Sept. 20, he will release The Valley, his fourth album in three years, which he recorded in the weeks leading up to what would be a life-saving heart surgery. Sung by a man who's made a global voyage with the uncertainty of his own return, these songs read as the next chapter of his chronicles. According to Crocket, channelling his life experiences, no matter how dire, comes with the territory.

"It's what artists do," he says, when asked the complicated question of how such intense uncertainty shaped the songs and performances of his new album.

Just after Crockett's first-ever performance at Newport Folk Festival, we sat down with the sharp-dressed man to hear about his forthcoming project, the journey it took to make it and how singing songs on subways and in train stations taught him everything he knows about making music.

This is your Newport Folk debut - what makes this festival special to you?

Oh, it has to be the heritage. It has to be the history, my man, it really does. And I've been looking out over this harbor since we got here this morning, it's just a real special place. So I'm thinking about some of those greats like Lightnin' Hopkins and a lot of the Bob Dylan and the folk artists, and the just the roots music artists that transformed America through this festival and that decade and that era, that lives with me. That's what I know about the festival… and I was shocked to get invited. So thanks to whoever made that happen.

Yesterday, you announced your new album The Valley is coming out on Sept. 20. What can your fans that have been following your career expect from this album?

I think everybody in life has to walk through the valley, and a lot of times, we got to do it by ourself. That's part of the struggle and the beauty of being a human being. And I've recently just been through some things in my life, and lots of people are going through stuff, but I had some life-saving heart surgeries that ultimately, to be honest with you, it just kind of transformed the way I see my life and the wold around me. Well, I recorded these songs about a week before those operations, just really uncertain about where I was going. If I was going to stay here, go up to the house, or just the quality of life. So, I made those recordings and I urged the people around me to put it out.

How do you think that intense uncertainty manifested musically for you on this album?

That's what artists do, and it's our responsibility to reflect our times. That's what artists are here for, I think, or whatever you want to call it. So, that's all I'm doing. I'm just painting pictures of the life that I'm seeing, and I have learned from my journey to pull from tradition to find myself. But I am a man of my times, so I have to project this time too. That's all I can do, is reflect living now. And a lot of the spirituals that I've learned over the years playing in the street and traveling like I have, refer to life as the valley. A lot of the Carter Family stuff that I've really gotten into. Just that spirituality, it's a universal thing when you talk about something like the valley, or that mountain to climb. And we don't want the mountain to disappear, we want the strength to climb it.

Wow, that's an incredible answer. You've lived and played music all over the world. What's your approach to playing to a festival crowd where you've got some people who know you very well and are singing along, and you've got some people hearing you for the very first time?

I suspect most of them are hearing me for the first time, and it's why somebody like me, I might have a lot of anticipation coming to this place. I learned how to do this in public, like actually. A lot of people might be afraid to get out in public and play on a street corner or in a subway platform or inside a subway car. I have traveled around the world and just counting on people to lend you a hand, and when you come at music from that direction, people aren't asking you to be there. So, when people interact with you, that's a very real exchange that I can feel and see and understand.

I guess the short way to answer that question for you is, I've spent my whole life learning to stand behind my guitar, and the reality is half of what we do is the people listening. Literally, half of it. I'm only doing half of it because that's the whole thing. It wouldn't be an art if there wasn't somebody listening to it. And once somebody hears it, it honestly belongs to them as much as it does to you. If it means something to somebody, I'm lucky enough to have that going on.

"It wouldn't be an art if there wasn't somebody listening to it. And once somebody hears it, it honestly belongs to them as much as it does to you. If it means something to somebody, I'm lucky enough to have that going on."

What was the selection process like for your 2018 covers album, Lil G.L.'s Blue Bonanza? Are these songs you've been playing your whole life?

Yeah. To be honest with you, what it is mostly is songs I've known for years, and that's why I play so much stuff that comes from anywhere from gospel to country to blues to soul music or traditional jazz or whatever you want to call it. It's mostly songs that I've just been picking up over the years that I just always thought were so good, and look, I write a lot of songs. I write a whole lot of songs, but I just don't think I'm worth anything if I'm not learning the great songs from before me, for myself personally.

And a lot of the giants, the people that I see as maybe my mentors or heroes were anybody from even a Dolly Parton or a Etta James or Hank Williams or somebody like that, Willie Nelson, these people are amazing songwriters. But if you look at their catalog, half the stuff they ever recorded they didn't write, and there is something to be said for when a great artist knows when a song is so great it has to be sung. Because sometimes the song is best sung by somebody that didn't write it, and sometimes the only person that can sing it well is the writer.

You know of some kind that I can see that's growing, I just figure that each time I put out a record, it's doing better than the last one, and that's a real blessing. So I'm going to do what I've been doing, which is I live on the highway and I play really hard. I been doing that ever since my mama got me a guitar at a pawn shop, going toward the valley nonstop. I'm going to Europe in a few days. I got to get home to my lady for a few days and tell her I love her, and then I bet before we know it again it'll be Newport next year.

We look forward to seeing you there and good luck on everything.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate y'all taking the time to speak with me and I'll be twice as good next time.

Backstage At Newpork Folk Festival's 60th Anniversary