USA: SOUNDTRACK OF "O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?"RECIEVES FIVE GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Record ID: 392471

  • Title: USA: SOUNDTRACK OF "O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?"RECIEVES FIVE GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS
  • Date: 4th February 2002
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., USA (FEBRUARY 4, 2002) (REUTERS) SOUNDBITE (English) SHARON WHITE [STANDING WITH BUCK AND CHERYL WHITE] SAYING: "It is definitely a surprise. I mean we believe in this music and we love this music and it's our favourite but we didn't dream it'd do what it's done and we're excited about it." SOUNDBITE (English) CHERYL WHITE SAYING: "Especially the Grammy
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, USA AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA51GGV7U00HCF60D2F5QOI782Y
  • Story Text: The runaway success of the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
    soundtrack brought old-fashioned bluegrass music out of obscurity and garnered five Grammy nominations - including Album of the Year. Now comes a multi-city concert tour starring the musicians who appeared on the album, including bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, one of the founding fathers of traditional Appalachian Mountain music.
    "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", starring George Clooney, was written by Joel and Ethan Coen, the filmmakers behind such classics as "Fargo," "Barton Fink," and Raising Arizona." The film is a Depression-era retelling of the Odyssey, set to vintage bluegrass and gospel tracks. One year following the film's release, its box office has doubled the take of any previous Coen brothers film.
    But the real success story has been the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", produced by T Bone Burnett, which helped bring hillbilly roots music out of obscurity to become the country's top selling album in 2001. Last week its sales topped the four million mark.
    In addition to its five Grammy nominations, it won album of the year from both the Country Music Association and the International Bluegrass Music Association, and was ranked the ninth-best album of the year by Rolling Stone.
    "A Man of Constant Sorrow," sung in the film by George Clooney's character, is arguably the song most identified with the album's distinctive sound. The track, sung by the Soggy Bottom Boys featuring Dan Tyminski, brings blues, gospel, and hillbilly elements together to launch the film and the soundtrack.
    The Coens, longtime fans of roots music, heard the song through Peter, Paul and Mary and remembered Bob Dylan's version that appeared on his first album in 1962. It is a song from deep in musical history, steeped in the roots of American folk music.
    Other memorable songs from the album include "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby," performed by Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, and Alison Krauss, (who also sings the exquisite "Down to the River to Pray"), and "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," by Chris Thomas King.
    The award-winning project would not have been complete without one of the original pioneers of bluegrass music, legendary performer Ralph Stanley. Stanley contributed two tracks to the album - a haunting a capella rendition of "O Death" and "Angel Band" - and while he credits the Coen brothers' film with sparking the bluegrass revival, he says the public would have loved hillbilly music long ago if they had only been able to hear it.
    "This music had never been really advertised and put out to the public where they could hear it," Stanley told Reuters on Monday (February 4, 2002).
    "And the Coen Brothers and so forth when they released the movie of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' and the soundtrack, why they put it out where billions of people could hear and see it maybe where before maybe a few thousand, so I think that's why people may have finally found what they want to hear. I believe they've been searching for a little while," he says.
    People are searching no more. Capitalizing on the runaway success of the soundtrack comes the "Down From the Mountain" tour, an 18-city jaunt featuring many of the musicians who played on the soundtrack. Ticket sales have been so strong that plans are in the works for a follow-up summer tour. Unheard of success for bluegrass, which has long been overshadowed by mainstream country music.
    Ralph Stanley is making the most of the revival. His performance of "O Death" has been nominated for best male country vocal performance - competing with the likes of Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, and Lyle Lovett - and his recent album "Clinch Mountain Sweethearts" received a nomination in the bluegrass category.
    Sweet success, considering he has been recording for more than five decades. "Most people my age are retired you know and it seems like my career is just getting started. I'm really proud of that. I'm thankful you know that I'm still able to go and fill my job," says Stanley - who still performs at least 150 concert dates a year with his band.
    He has received numerous accolades over his storied career, he was named a "Living Legend" by the U.S. Library of Congress in 2000, and Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Patty Loveless are among those who cite Stanley with as an influence.
    Ralph Stanley has garnered six previous Grammy nods, but this is the first time he'll be performing during the Grammy telecast. Stanley will appear in a medley of songs from the "O brother" soundtrack, along with some of the album's other stars.
    The unprecedented success of the album has caused the music establishment to take note, and Ralph Stanley hopes that will translate into a win come Grammy night (February 27, 2002).
    "I've been nominated, probably for six Grammys before, I've been a couple times but I never did sing. And it sort of surprised me a little in a way, in a way it didn't, I think these nominations I've got this time are more important than they were before and may go a lot further. I hope," Stanley says.
    The Whites, who perform "Keep on the Sunny Side" on the soundtrack, are among the contributors surprised - and thrilled - by the album's mainstream success. "It is definitely a surprise. I mean we believe in this music and we love this music and it's our favourite but we didn't dream it'd do what it's done and we're excited about it," Sharon White told Reuters.
    Cheryl White points to the crossover success the album has enjoyed, with its Grammy nod for Album of the Year.
    "Especially the Grammys, there's so many categories, and so there are really categories that are for that kind of music,"
    she said.
    "But for it to go outside of those boundaries and be nominated for album against people like Bob Dylan and Ralph Stanley's performance to be nominated in country performance, I mean all of that is very exciting to all of us that have been a part of it," Cheryl White said.
    The juggernaut that is the "O Brother Where Art Thou?"
    soundtrack, originally snubbed by Nashville and ignored by U.S. country music stations, shows no signs of stopping.
    Spinoff projects continue to appear, including "Down From the Mountain," a live recording of music from the film, and a documentary on the making of the soundtrack by the same name.
    Ralph Stanley says that the booming success of the musical tradition he helped to found - and the accolades he is receiving at this stage in his career - are better late than never.
    "That just goes back to more, twice to three times or maybe ten times more people heard it and heard me now. Well they's thousands and thousands of people never heard of Ralph Stanley. But they have now because it's been out where they could hear it and see it, I think that's the reason it's become more popular. If it'd been out where the people could hear it twenty years ago who knows I might've been king," he said.
    With the bluegrass revival showing no signs of slowing, Ralph Stanley may yet have that chance.
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