Roy Clark R.I.P.

Actually, Hee Haw appeared in 1969, four years after Green Acres' debut --- and didn't survive CBS' rural purge in 1971. Thus, it went into syndication, where it enjoyed more than two decades of success.

Its "inspiration" , if anything, was the success at the time of Laugh-In and other "niche" programs of the era (Soul Train, Lawrence Welk, etc.).

 

That was when CBS had Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction and The Andy Griffith Show as well.
It definitely wasn’t a coincidence
A couple of years later, Fred Silverman came along, got rid of all those shows and gave us Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and MASH
Hee Haw, which was fashioned as a country Laugh-In, lasted another 25 years in syndication

 

"Andy" had become ragged third cousin "Mayberry RFD" by the time Hee Haw came along.

 

Two of the all-time greats:

 

Saaaaaaaaa-lute

 

This wouldn't be out of place on a Dragonforce album. Insane.

 

He'll be grinnin' for sure.

 

Jerry Reed was great, too, add in Marty Stewart and Chet Atkins and Country Music produced some amazing players. Wouldn’t be surprised if Ken Burns’ documentary on CM weaves an indirect line from the Carter Family through almost every genre especially rockabilly to rock music itself. I was blown away by Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville and it got me listening to the classic era of 50s and 60s CW again. Going to play some tracks over the weekend as a tribute to Roy and friends.

 

Another great clip ...

 

In terms of influence, you can pretty easily connect the dots from the Bristol Sessions to the likes of Buddy Holly and the Beatles. From there you can definitely make the argument it led to pretty much every kind of popular music of the past 90 years or so.

 

Hey Jake...we are on the same wavelength. Burns’ “Jazz” documentary has to be a seminal music touchstone. I’m sure he will do justice to Country music and it’s incaluable influence. Almost every genre of music derives from something previous and the Carter Family is almost ground zero for all 20th Century pop music. C F G chords are the basis for a shitload of pop and blues tunes. OK, we will throw in A and D, too. Nothing fancy, just like all classic popular music.