Review of The Winding Stream (2014) by Jonathan D — 18 Jul 2016
This is a lovingly told history of the origins and growth of The Carter Family, an essential part of the history of American country music. The movie covers how A.P. kind of stumbled onto making music after failing as a farmer, and the extraordinary situations which managed to bring the sound of the Carters to a wider audience, at a time when there was no mass media - apart from border radio.
There are really two Carter Families. The definitive one is A.P. , his wife Sara and sister-in-law Maybelle. Then their daughters formed the Carter Sisters and eventually took on the Carter Family name. They are all such an unlikely group of musicians, and yet they were on to something, and had a raw talent, which has made them legends, as many musicians testify to during this movie.
A.P.'s greatest contribution may be as an unwitting folklorist., ultimately probably more influential than Alan Lomax As he needed more material, he and Brownie McGee toured the mountains in search of folk tunes - which AP then took credit for - but in so doing preserved a wealth of American culture which would otherwise have been lost.
I think this is essential viewing if you're interested in the history of American music.
On Netflix.
This review of The Winding Stream (2014) was written by Jonathan D on 18 Jul 2016.
The Winding Stream has generally received positive reviews.
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