Country goes Hollywood

We have had movies and music on the mind with the recent Grammy Awards and upcoming Academy Awards. We started thinking about the Nashville connection and came up with a list of movies and songs every country lover should enjoy.

NASHVILLE, 1975: Often referred to as the most influential film of its decade, this film, directed by Robert Altman spins together plot strands involving two dozen people over the course of one particularly busy weekend in Music City, USA and stars Starring Karen Black, Lily Tomlin, Scott Glenn, Henry Gibson, Keith Carradine and Ned Beatty, this movie was It received five Oscar nominations and “I’m Easy” won for best original song.

Keith Carradine – I’m Easy on YouTube

COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER, 1980: This biography of Loretta Lynn earned seven nominations, Sissy Spacek, did her own singing in the film and won an Oscar for “Best Actress”.

Sissy Spacek – Coal Miner’s Daughter on YouTube

URBAN COWBOY, 1980: John Travolta stars as a young man from the country who learns about life and love in a Houston honky tonk. The film features music by the Charlie Daniels Band, Jimmy Buffet, Johnny Lee, Mickey Gilley, Joe Walsh, Bob Seger and Dan Fogelberg.

Johnny Lee – Looking for Love on YouTube

TENDER MERCIES, 1983: A broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together. Starring Robert Duvall, Tess Harper and Betty Buckley, this film received five Oscar nods and two wins: one for Duvall as “Best Actor” and a win for “Best Screenplay”.

Betty Buckley – Over You on YouTube

SWEET DREAMS, 1985: An unforgettable film that traces Cline’s career and her stormy marriage. Jessica Lange was nominated for Best Actress.

Patsy Cline – Sweet Dreams on YouTube

THE THING CALLED LOVE, 1993: A group of newcomers (River Phoenix in his final movie, Samantha Mathis, Sandra Bullock and Dermont Mulroney) to the country music business seek love, luck and stardom in Nashville.

Dennis Robbins – Looking For a Thing Called Love on Youtube

WALK THE LINE, 2005: This movie chronicles the life of country music legend Johnny Cash from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Nashville girl Reese Witherspoon, they both performed all of the songs and learned to play their instruments to make it authentic. The film garnered five nominations and Reese won for “Best Actress”.

Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Witherspoon – It Ain’t Me Babe on YouTube
(photo from www.lastfm.com)