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The People

Discover the stories of the people who helped shape Country Music in Nashville.

Jo Dee Messina

"My favorite place to hear music in Nashville, oh, that's a hard one. I just went to the Tomlin concert at the Arena. Oh, there are so many places. But I think I would prefer the smaller venues, going there. Not the bars, those are louder than the arena sometimes, so."
– Jo Dee Messina –

+ Transcript

-- Hi, I'm Jo Dee Messina and you're watching NPT, Nashville Public Television, your home for Nashville stories. My favorite place to hear music in Nashville, oh, that's a hard one. I just went to the Tomlin concert at the Arena. Oh, there are so many places. But I think I would prefer the smaller venues, going there. Not the bars, those are louder than the arena sometimes, so. No, last night, I was sitting and we were listening to, 'Oh, You're Gone' by Diamond Rio. We were listening to some Shenandoah songs. We were listening to things like, the things we used to listen to when we were kids, me and some friends, and then we were just like, 'Oh, those lyrics,' or, what's Shenandoah's ♪ I'm just a ghost in this house ♪ Oh, anyways, there are so many good lyrics. You stumped me, she stumped me. If I could collaborate with any country music artist, I'd love to write with Dolly Parton, 'cause she has no limits. She has no limits, like she's not always country country, and she's not always pop, and she's, you know, topically, musically, she's, can go anywhere. My first instrument was the piano. I actually have a picture of me at about 18 months, two years old, sitting behind the piano and we just had one in the house, and I'd love to sit down and make noise and still do, sit down and make noise behind it.

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KEN BURNS' COUNTRY MUSIC

From southern Appalachia’s songs of heartbreak and faith to the western swing of Texas, from California honky tonks to the Grand Ole Opry in NPT's home town of Nashville, Ken Burns' Country Music follows the evolution, over the course of the twentieth century, of America’s music.

Ken Burns' Country Music | 8-Set-DVD