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Episode One

Cerys Matthews dusts off her stetson and returns to Nashville, where she lived for many years, to celebrate the lives of some of the great women of country music.

Cerys Matthews dusts off her stetson and returns to Nashville, where she lived for many years, to celebrate the lives of some of the great women of country music.
When Catatonia spilt up in the late 1990s Cerys made the musical pilgrimage she'd always dreamed of. She headed to the southern states – for the blues, for the jazz and especially for the country music she'd come to love. She ended up living in a shack in the hills of Tennessee where she stayed for six years, writing songs and living a country life. 'What I love about country music is the way it tells it like it is, especially from a female perspective. Far from being schmaltzy, this is a genre of music that's brave enough to sing about jealousy and birth control, alcoholism and domestic violence. It's all in there. And many of the country singers risked everything to chase their dream of cutting a record in Nashville.'
In this two part series Cerys hears the stories of some of the great women of country music including Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Rosanne Cash, Loretta Lynn, Wynonna and Alison Krauss. She hears about the challenges, the joys and the politics of being a woman in the country music industry, while also exploring her love for the music. And she recalls her own experiences of living and making music in Tennessee.

57 minutes

Last on

Sat 2 Mar 2019 03:00

Music Played

  • Loretta Lynn

    YouÂ’re Looking At Country

  • Dolly Parton

    9 to 5

  • Dolly Parton

    Dumb Blond

  • Dolly Parton

    Coat Of Many Colours

  • Kitty Wells

    It WasnÂ’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels

  • Patsy Cline

    Crazy

  • Patsy Cline

    Faded Love

  • Loretta Lynn

    CoalminerÂ’s Daughter

  • Loretta Lynn

    Fist City

  • Loretta Lynn

    Wings Upon Your Horns

  • Loretta Lynn

    The Pill

  • Tammy Wynette

    Stand By Your Man

  • Tammy Wynette

    DIVORCE

  • Tammy Wynette

    Til I Can Make It On My Own

  • Cerys Matthews

    The Good In Goodbye

  • Connie Smith

    If It AinÂ’t Love

  • Connie Smith

    Once A Day

  • Connie Smith

    Ribbon Of Darkness

  • Bobbie Gentry

    Ode To Billie Jo

  • Bobbie Gentry

    MISSIPPI

  • Cerys Matthews

    Louisianna

  • Tom T. Hall

    Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine

  • Jeannie C. Riley

    Harper Valley PTA

  • Lorrie Morgan

    Except For Monday

  • Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn

    YouÂ’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly

  • Dolly Parton

    I Will Always Love You

Broadcasts

  • Mon 4 Nov 2013 22:00
  • Tue 3 Mar 2015 22:00
  • Sat 2 Mar 2019 03:00