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American Epic Season 1 Episodes

2017-2017
1 Season
PBS
Documentary, Music
TVPG

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The story of record company talent scouts who toured America during the late 1920s with a recording machine and captured the raw expression of emerging cultures. Here, the filmmakers retrace that journey and meet with the families whose recordings would lead to the development of modern music. Included: unseen film footage; unpublished photographs; and remarks from the last living witnesses to that era.

Season 1 Episode Guide

Season 1

3 Episodes 2017 - 2017

Episode 1

The Big Bang

Tue, May 16, 2017 60 mins

Part 1 of 3. The story of the nascent record industry of the 1920s, when music scouts traveled America in search of undiscovered talent, begins with producer Ralph Peer, who recorded the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and the Memphis Jug Band.

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Episode 2

Blood + Soil

Tue, May 23, 2017 60 mins

Part 2 of 3 travels to the rural South, where Elder Burch, Charley Patton and others record early Delta blues, gospel and protest songs. Also: the Great Flood of 1927 devastates Mississippi River communities, leading to northern migration and such Chicago bluesmen as Howlin' Wolf.

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Episode 3

Out of the Many, the One

Tue, May 30, 2017 90 mins

Conclusion. How America's diverse cultures contribute to its musical styles: from the Hopi tribe to Hawaii's Joseph Kekuku to Mexican-American Lydia Mendoza and the Cajun Breaux Family. Mississippi John Hurt's blues inspires a generation of musicians.

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