Sierra Hull: The Mandolin Prodigy Who Escaped the Prodigy Trap
Sierra Hull shouldered a hundred-year-old bluegrass tradition before she was old enough to drive. The mandolin prodigy self-released her first CD at age 10, signed with Rounder Records at 13, and was ...
11 Jun 15min
Porter Wagoner: From Butcher Shop Radio to a TV Empire
Porter Wagoner began his country music career singing live radio broadcasts from inside a local butcher shop — and ended up as Nashville's most dazzling television showman. With rhinestone-covered Nud...
11 Jun 19min
The Cadillac Three: From Nashville Hit Factory to Southern Grit
The Cadillac Three were Nashville's secret weapon — elite songwriters quietly crafting chart-topping country hits for superstars like Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, and Jake Owen. Then Jaron Johnston, Kelby...
11 Jun 21min
Linda Martell: The Country Trailblazer Nashville Tried to Erase
Linda Martell made country music history as the first Black woman ever to perform at the Grand Ole Opry — then, at the peak of her ascent, the Nashville music industry effectively erased her. Her reco...
11 Jun 19min
Sammi Smith: The Defiant Outlaw Who Sang the Forbidden Hit
Sammi Smith dropped out of school at age 11 to sing in smoky Oklahoma nightclubs — and grew up to record the song Nashville was terrified to release. In 1971 the defiant outlaw country singer cut Kris...
11 Jun 17min
Carrie Underwood: From Zoo Cages to Country's Biggest Voice
Carrie Underwood walked away from a major record deal at 14 because she wanted to be practical — then spent her college years scooping animal pens at an Oklahoma zoo and waiting tables at a pizzeria. ...
11 Jun 19min
Jim Reeves: The Velvet Voice That Outsold Elvis Overseas
Elton John once played his songs in smoky English pubs to win over crowds, and in South Africa he outsold Elvis Presley himself. Jim Reeves, the velvet-voiced Texas balladeer known as Gentleman Jim, b...
11 Jun 20min
DeFord Bailey: The Harmonica Wizard Who Named the Opry
He was the biggest draw on 1930s country music tours, packing canvas tents and roaring auditoriums — yet he was paid five dollars a show and had to sneak into hotels by the fire escape. DeFord Bailey,...
11 Jun 19min
