By Larry Carlin (Article with photos: Live Bluegrass at DFTM movie)

Bluegrass fans have something to do during this cold month of January as they recover from the post-holiday blues while bemoaning the fact that festival season is still eons away. It has been a long time since bluegrass music played a major part in a movie, and lucky for us, there are not one but two new movies for you to enjoy, and both come from the same source. And on top of all of this, there is a wonderful soundtrack available from the first film that features some great bluegrass and traditional music. Heck, who says the holiday season is over?

In December, the feature film O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released in major markets around thecountry. It was made by Joel and Ethan Coen, who also gave us the film gems Fargo, Blood Simple, and Raising Arizona, just to name a few. O Brother is an updated, comedic retelling of Homer's "The Odyssey" and it stars George Clooney, John Turturro, TimBlake Nelson, and Holly Hunter. Set in Mississippi in 1937, Clooney and his two sidekicks escape from a chain gang and then embark on a journey in search of a hidden treasure, encountering many colorful characters in their travels. Along the way they stop by a radio station where they were told you can make money "by singing into a tin can," and there they record "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow." They call themselves The Soggy Bottom Boys, and unbeknownst to them the song goes on to become a big hit, as the press and public wonder who these guys are. As you might expect in a Coen Brothers film, there is lots of skewering going on, as politics, racism, and religion are all examined. Marvelous performances abound by all, with smaller scene-stealers by larger-than-life characters John Goodman and Charles Durning. O Brother is the Coen Brothers at their best, and if nothing else this film will expose unwitting audiences to the wonderful world of bluegrass and old-time music.

Soon another filmwill be released that came about as a result of the music used in the O Brother movie. In May of 2000 a benefit concert for the County Music Hall of Fame was staged at the venerable Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, with most of the performers who played on the soundtrack playing on the stage. Acclaimed documentarian D. A. Pennebaker (of Don't Look Back and Monterey Pop fame) was hired by the Coen Brothers to record the concert on film. The result is Down From The Mountain, which features live performances -- and backstage scenes -- with some of the greats of bluegrass and traditional music. John Hartford is the host and emcee for the Ryman show, and it is one fabulous concert. Since some of the artists whose work was used in O Brother are no longer with us, others sang in their stead at the Ryman show. The first song "Po Lazurus" was sung by James Carter and The Prisoners in the movie, but done in Mountain by The Fairfield Four. Likewise the original version of "Big Rock Candy Mountain" by Harry McClintock was used in the film, but in Mountain John Hartford croons the tune. One odd twist is that originally there were two versions of the song "You Are My Sunshine," with Alan O'Bryant of The Nashville Bluegrass Band singing it in O Brother, yet in Mountain Norman Blake is the singer. Aside from these exceptions, those who sang them in the O Brother movie sing the rest of the concert songs.

The real star of both O Brother and Mountain is the music. There are very few scenes in the O Brother movie where there is no music playing. The Coen Brothers are big fans of bluegrass and old-time music, and some of the musicians have parts in O Brother, most notably bluesman Chris Thomas King, who "sold his soul to the devil down at the crossroads." The main song in the film, "I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow," is sung by Dan Tyminski, who is from Alison Krauss & Union Station, and he is backed by the Soggy Bottom Boys, who are the rest of the members of Union Station. George Clooney lip-synchs the tune in O Brother. Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, and Gillian Welch do an a capella three-part song called "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby," and Ralph Stanley sings a haunting a capella version of "O Death." The Cox Family and The Whites are showcased on the classics "I Am Weary" and "Keep On The Sunny Side." And the young Peasall Sisters, who sing three-part harmony on the Maybelle Carter song "In The Highways," upstage all of the adults. Plus there is lots more, including a grand finale with all the musicians singing the Stanley Brothers hit "Angel Band."

Rare is the time that so much great music is found on a movie soundtrack. Not since Bonnie and Clyde and Deliverance has bluegrass been so prominent in a feature film. And even rarer still is the time when there are two excellent movies at the same time that have bluegrass music in them. Both films are eligible for Oscar and Grammy nods, so who knows -- the year 2001 could be a big year for bluegrass on the silver screen and on the radio.

Bluegrass at the movies? Suddenly the cold, wet winter months don't seem so bleak afterall…

Larry Carlin, Sausalito, California | Write to | Web site |

1st Feb 2001