Gentle Reader: Today’s topic is Country Music, which was brought to mind when I saw that Ken Burns’ history of country music was being re-run on PBS. I did not watch the re-run yet, but as I remember, I enjoyed the original presentation, although I am not a particular fan of Burns’ other works. But neither could I be called a particular fan of country music itself.

However, neither could I not be fond of this musical heritage, since it was the first music my childhood ears heard, other than my mother’s lullabies. Probably I should say it was the first commercial music, since I am referring to the Saturday night radio broadcasts of the Grand Ol’ Opry, from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, which my grandfather tuned into faithfully by means of a battery radio which he had rigged up using a car battery and outdoor antenna, before F.D. Roosevelt’s Rural Electrification program brought him electrical power for his radio.