Country Music Hard Times (1933 - 1945) (Season 1, Episode 2)
TV-14
TV Episode | 113 min | Documentary, Music

Primary photo for Hard Times (1933 - 1945)

Country Music

Hard Times (1933 - 1945) (Season 1, Episode 2)

TV-14

TV Episode | 113 min | Documentary, Music

During the Great Depression and World War II, country music thrives and reaches bigger audiences. Gene Autry sets off a craze for singing cowboys, Bob Wills adapts jazz's Big Band sound to create Texas Swing, and Roy Acuff becomes a star.

Director

Ken Burns

Writer

Dayton Duncan

Producers

Ken Burns | Dayton Duncan | Julie Dunfey

Cinematographer

Buddy Squires

Editor

Ryan Gifford

See all filmmakers & crew (34)

Edit Released

Updated Sep 16, 2019

Release date

Sep 16, 2019 (United States)

Awards

Series awards

1 win & 2 nominations

Contacts

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Cast	+ Add Cast
30 cast members

Name	Known for
Peter Coyote Narrator Narrator See fewer	Bitter Moon (1992)
Bill Anderson Self Self See fewer	Missing (1982)
Gene Autry Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Gene Autry Show (1950)
DeFord Bailey Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer
Ray Benson Self Self See fewer	Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
Carlene Carter Self Self See fewer	Maverick (1994)
John Carter Cash Self Self See fewer	Walk the Line (2005)
Rosanne Cash Self Self See fewer	The Little Rascals (1994)
Ranger Doug Self (as Douglas B. Green) Self (as Douglas B. Green) See fewer	Sweet Dreams (1985)
Vince Gill Self Self See fewer	Maverick (1994)
Benny Goodman Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Allied (2016)
Merle Haggard Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Wag the Dog (1997)
Tom T. Hall Self Self See fewer	Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016)
Emmylou Harris Self Self See fewer	Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Betty Johnson Self Self See fewer	Country Music (2019)
Don Maddox Self Self See fewer	The Marty Stuart Show (2008)
Bill C. Malone Self Self See fewer	Country Music (2019)
Wynton Marsalis Self Self See fewer	A Star Is Born (2018)
Willie Nelson Self Self See fewer	The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
Alice Randall Self Self See fewer	The Thing Called Love (1993)
Margaret Ann Robinson Self Self See fewer	Country Music (2019)
Ketch Secor Self Self See fewer	Boyhood (I) (2014)
Jean Shepard Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Opry Video Classics: Queens (2007)
Ricky Skaggs Self Self See fewer	Raw Deal (1986)
Hazel Smith Self Self See fewer	Country Music (2019)
Marty Stuart Self Self See fewer	The Marty Stuart Show (2008)
Eddie Stubbs Self Self See fewer	The Marty Stuart Show (2008)
Bob Wills Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Right Stuff (1983)
Mac Wiseman Self Self See fewer	Ranch Party (1957)
Lester G. Reynolds Roy Acuff Fiddle Donor (uncredited) Roy Acuff Fiddle Donor (uncredited) See fewer	Still Smiling