Switch servers if a stream won't play. Your server and progress are remembered on this device.
E1
57 min 1. The Big Bang
Travel to 1920s Tennessee as the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, and the Memphis Jug Band make their first records with producer Ralph Peer on a revolutionary portable recording machine, creating the first recordings of R&B and country songs.
E2
57 min 2. Blood and Soil
Travel to the rural South as Elder Burch, Charley Patton and others record early Delta blues, gospel and protest songs. The Great Flood of 1927 devastates Mississippi River communities, leading to northern migration and Chicago Blues by Howlin' Wolf.
E3
87 min 3. Out of the Many, the One
Discover how America's diverse cultures contribute to its musical styles: from the Hopi tribe to Hawaii's Joseph Kekuku to Mexican-American Lydia Mendoza and the Cajun Breaux Family. Mississippi John Hurt's blues inspires a generation of musicians.
E4
140 min 4. The American Epic Sessions
Using the only 1920's era recording device in existence, Jack White and T Bone Burnett produce a series of recording sessions in tribute to the mostly unknown artists celebrated in the three prior episodes of this PBS documentary series.
The First Time America Heard Itself
Travel the country in search of unknown 1920s artists, when the music of ordinary Americans was recorded for the first time, transforming music forever, in a three-part film narrated by Robert Redford, featuring Jack White, Nas, Taj Mahal and others.
Genres: Documentary
Stars: Robert Redford, Taj Mahal
TV
Long Way Home
2025
TV
Superpowered: The DC Story
2023
TV
Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All
2023
TV
Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson
2021
TV
Marvel Studios Legends
2021
TV
History's Greatest Mysteries
2020
TV
Down to Earth with Zac Efron
2020
TV
Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
2020
TV
Country Music
2019
TV
The Movies
2019
TV
Savage Kingdom
2016
TV
The Circus
2016