Beloved country singer Glen Campbell performs his hit “Wichita Lineman” on Story Songs (My Music). (Image courtesy of TJL Productions)
Throughout the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, “story songs” weren’t just great music — they helped unite us through our shared culture, history and personal experiences.
B.J. Thomas hosts Story Songs (My Music). (Image courtesy of TJL Productions)
From country-pop favorites to folk-rock epics, “Story Songs” relate to all of our lives. Don McLean’s anthem “American Pie” (the number-one hit for a full month in 1972), Bobbie Gentry’s iconic 1967 musical monologue “Ode to Billie Joe” (one of Rolling Stone’s Greatest Songs of All Time) and Harry Chapin’s poignant “Cat’s in the Cradle” are musical tales we all know and love.
Hosted by five-time Grammy Award-winning singer B.J. Thomas, this special features vintage footage of classic performances by the original artists, including:
- “American Pie” – Don McLean
- “Tom Dooley” – The Kingston Trio
- “Big Bad John” – Jimmy Dean
- “Sixteen Tons” – Tennessee Ernie Ford
- “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” – Gordon Lightfoot
- “Cat’s in the Cradle” – Harry Chapin
- “Ode to Billie Joe” – Bobbie Gentry
- “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” – Jim Croce
- “Coal Miner’s Daughter” – Loretta Lynn
- “Wichita Lineman” – Glen Campbell
- “Harper Valley PTA” – Jeannie C. Riley
- “El Paso” – Marty Robbins
- “Honey” – Bobby Goldsboro
- “The Gambler” – Kenny Rogers
- “Rock and Roll Lullaby” – B.J. Thomas
On CPTV: Sunday, August 25, 2019 at 5:30 p.m.