Country Music By Ken Burns – BBC4

(Image credit: BBC/PBS/Les Leverett)

Artists in the mid-1970s and the early 1980s are the subject of this week’s double bill of Country Music By Ken Burns on BBC4

In tonight’s double bill of Country Music By Ken Burns, BBC4’s comprehensive look back at the rich history of country music, we focus on the stars that made their mark from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s.

This includes the struggles and successes of probably the most famous woman in country music, Dolly Parton.

She talks about her first big break on Porter Wagoner’s show, how she had to fight to go solo and why her hit song I Will Always Love You, later made famous by Whitney Houston, was a turning point.

Another artist struggling to find his own voice was Hank Williams Jr, who by the age of eight was performing his father’s songs on stage.

When he turned 18 he sacked his manager, his mother.

His daughter talks about his success in later life as he stepped out of his father’s shadow and found his own sound.

For full listings, see our TV Guide.

TV Times rating: ****

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Joanne Lowles has been writing about TV since 2002. After graduating from Cardiff University with a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism, she worked for All About Soap magazine covering the ups and downs of life on the cobbles, the square and the Dales.

Next came nearly 10 years at TV Times magazine as a writer and then deputy features editor. Here she spent many happy days interviewing the biggest names in entertainment and visiting the sets of some of our most popular shows including Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and Strictly Come Dancing.

With a love of nature and wildlife she’s also interviewed the leading experts in this area including David Attenborough, Chris Packham and Steve Backshall. She’s also travelled the world visiting Mongolia, Canada and South Africa to see how the best in the business make the most brilliant natural history documentaries.

Freelance since 2013, she is now is a digital writer and editor for What to Watch, previews the best on the box for TV Times mag each week and loves being constantly surprised, entertained and informed by the amazing TV that she is lucky enough to watch.