Charlie Daniels Settles the Fiddle vs. Violin Debate in ‘Country Music’ Sneak Peek [WATCH]
Over the years, you might’ve heard country music fans stress the difference between an old-time fiddle player and a high-brow violinist. Per a story he tells in a trailer for Ken Burns’ upcoming Country Music docu-series, Charlie Daniels, of all people, reckons there’s no real difference at all.
Daniels' revelation came in part from a chance meeting with one of the true modern-day masters of classical music: “I went to see Itzhak Pearlman at the Opera House in Nashville, and somebody took me backstage before the show,” Daniels recalls. “I said, ‘Hi, Mr. Pearlman. I’m Charlie Daniels. I’m a fiddle player.' He said, ‘We are all fiddle players.'
"So it’s like, if Itzhak Pearlman is a fiddle player, I’m proud to be associated with the fiddle," Daniels adds.
Daniels has built quite the interesting career, from playing bass on Bob Dylan albums and performing at a Vietnam War protest with Earl Scruggs to appearing on the influential Urban Cowboy soundtrack and becoming one of the genre’s more outspoken supporters of conservative causes. He’s one of Country Music's several recurring narrators with tastes and experiences that span the 70-plus years covered in the documentary.
Country Music, an eight-part documentary, debuts on Sept. 15 on PBS. The show's two-hour episodes will air in consecutive Sunday-through-Wednesday blocks (Sept. 15-18 and Sept. 22-25).
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