CMT Crossroads

Country singer-songwriters participate in a series of competition rounds where they are judged on their performances, songwriting, interviews, and music videos.

There are living legends among us whose talents are so great, they are awe inspiring. Their gifts have touched their fans, challenged their peers and garnered awards and international recognition. But it is an elite few who are considered giants in country music. CMT Giants honors those true icons who outshine all others.

A recreation from one of the world's greatest jam sessions. On December 4th, 1956 Carl Perkins' career was flying high from his hit "Blue Suede Shoes." New to the scene, Jerry Lee Lewis is brought in to work on a new song with Perkins. Then, lo and behold, superstar Elvis Presley and country music legend Johnny Cash stop by the studio for a visit. The songs they sang on that epic day became the concept for Million Dollar Quartet. A fun, inventive retelling of their impromptu recording session.

"'Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue'" - Discusses the Toby Keith post-9/11 song. "'The Pill'" - Examines Loretta Lynn's 1975 hit, banned by many stations. "'Independence Day'" - Analyzes response to Martina McBride's song and video on domestic violence, which re-emerged after the brutal murder of Nicole Simpson. "'Would You Lay With Me In A Field of Stone'" - Revisits the mid-1970s hit by Tanya Tucker, then an underage adolescent singing about sex. "'Indian Outlaw'" - Presents several points of view on the Tim McGraw novelty hit, including a wide range of perspectives of famous Native Americans. "Johnny Cash vs. Music Row" - Focuses on Cash's battle in the 1980s to convince radio stations to keep playing his songs, in the middle of a shift to promoting younger artists exclusively. "'John Walker Blues'" - Explores Steve Earle's song about American expatriate John Walker Lindh, the center of a firestorm for his service as a Taliban soldier. "Kris Kristofferson" - Looks in particular at the singer-songwriter's famed "Sunday Morning Coming Down," a hit for Johnny Cash despite (or due to) lines such as "wishin' Lord that I was stoned." "'Okie from Muskogee'" - Presents the Merle Haggard song of small-town life, questioned by some for expressing what they described as "divisive" political opinions. "Murder They Wrote" - Examines famous songs of violent death, such as Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" and the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl." "'Stand By Your Man'" - Discusses Tammy Wynette's most famous song and its reception by feminist groups at the time of its release ... and long after. "'Take This Job and Shove It'" - Profiles Johnny Paycheck's song of the disaffected American worker in the economic discouragement of the 1970s.