O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack)

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O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Soundtrack by Various Artists
Released	December 5, 2000
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	61:24
Label	Mercury Records
Producer(s)	T-Bone Burnett
All Music Guide link

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the soundtrack of music from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? an American film starring George Clooney. Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, three friends escape from a prison chain gang and search for fortune and love. The adventure is (very) loosely based on Homer's Odyssey, which the Coen brothers confessed to having never read.

The soundtrack uses U.S. music from the era when the film is set (American roots music): music appropriate to that time and place, a marked break from standard Hollywood practice. The score, produced by T-Bone Burnett, prominently features bluegrass, gospel, blues and country music. With the exception of a few vintage tracks (such as Harry McClintock's 1930s single "Big Rock Candy Mountain"), most tracks were new recordings by musicians that play in the vintage style, adding an ironic twist to the soundtrack. The tracks are by such artists as Dan Tyminski, Jerry Douglas, John Hartford, Gillian Welch, Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss, The Fairfield Four and Norman Blake.

Contrary to the Hollywood "common wisdom" that non-contemporary music alienates audiences, the soundtrack CD became a best seller, with more than 5 million copies sold. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals (for singer Dan Tyminski, whose voice overdubbed George Clooney's in the film on "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow", and Nashville songwriter Harley Allen and the Nashville Bluegrass Band's Pat Enright), and the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "O, Death" by Ralph Stanley. Many considered the wins for the soundtrack at the Grammys to be a somewhat of a deserving upset because it was not favored to win in many categories, especially Album of the Year and Best Male Country Vocal Performance, but many were quick to acknowledge afterward that their wins were deserved. The soundtrack is credited in reviving interest in American bluegrass music.

The artists on the soundtrack also played a concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, which was recorded in the documentary film, Down from the Mountain.

1 Track listing
2 Music sample
3 Personnel
4 U.S. album chart success
5 External links

[edit] Track listing

"Po' Lazarus", arrangement by Alan Lomax; performed by James Carter and The Prisoners – 4:31
"Big Rock Candy Mountain", written and performed by Harry McClintock – 2:16
"You Are My Sunshine", written by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell; performed by Norman Blake – 4:26
"Down to the River to Pray", traditional; performed by Alison Krauss – 2:55
"Man of Constant Sorrow" (radio station version), arrangement by Carter Stanley; performed by Soggy Bottom Boys and Dan Tyminski – 4:16
"Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", written by Skip James; performed by Chris Thomas King – 2:42
"Man of Constant Sorrow", traditional; performed by Norman Blake – 4:28
"Keep on the Sunny Side", written by A.P. Carter; performed by The Whites – 3:33
"I'll Fly Away", written by Albert E. Brumley; performed by Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch – 3:57
"Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby", arrangement by Alan Lomax, T-Bone Burnett and Gillian Welch; performed by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Gillian Welch – 1:57
"In the Highways", written by Maybelle Carter; performed by Leah, Sarah, and Hannah Peasall – 1:35
"I Am Weary, Let Me Rest", written by Pete Roberts; performed by The Cox Family – 3:13
"Man of Constant Sorrow", arrangement by Ed Haley; performed by John Hartford – 2:34
"O Death", traditional; performed by Ralph Stanley – 3:19
"In the Jailhouse Now", written by Jimmie Rodgers; performed by Soggy Bottom Boys and Tim Nelson – 3:34
"Man of Constant Sorrow" (with band), arrangement by Carter Stanley; performed by Soggy Bottom Boys and Dan Tyminski – 4:16
"Indian War Whoop", written by Hoyt Ming; performed by John Hartford – 1:30
"Lonesome Valley", traditional; performed by The Fairfield Four – 4:07
"Angel Band", traditional, performed by The Stanley Brothers – 2:15

[edit] Music sample

Down to the River to Pray (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Alison Krauss sings "Down to the River to Pray"
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.

[edit] Personnel

Norman Blake - Performer, Guitar, Vocals
Jerry Douglas - Dobro
Alison Krauss - Vocals, Harmony Vocals
The Stanley Brothers - Performers
Ralph Stanley - Performer
Sam Bush - Mandolin
Emmylou Harris - Performers
John Hartford - Fiddle, Vocals
The Fairfield Four - Performer
Buck White - Mandolin, Vocals, Harmony Vocals
Ed Haley - Arranger
The Whites - Performers
Mike Compton - Guitar, Mandolin
Alan Lomax - Arranger
The Cox Family - Performers
Harley Allen - Vocals, Harmony Vocals
Barry Bales - Bass
Ron Block - Banjo
Curtis Burch - Dobro
T-Bone Burnett - Arranger, Producer
Evelyn Cox - Guitar
Sidney Cox - Banjo, Vocals, Harmony Vocals
Suzanne Cox - Mandolin, Vocals
Willard Cox - Vocals, Harmony Vocals
Stuart Duncan - Fiddle
Pat Enright - Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Yodeling
Isaac Freeman - Bass, Vocals, Lead
James Hill - Vocals
Harry McClintock - Performer
Tim O'Brien - Vocals
Maura O'Connell - Vocals
Carter Stanley - Arranger
Dan Tyminski - Guitar, Vocals
Wilson Waters - Sax (Tenor), Vocals
Cheryl White - Bass, Vocals, Harmony Vocals
Sharon White - Guitar, Vocals
Robert K. Oermann - Liner Notes
Sam Phillips - Vocals
Gillian Welch - Arranger, Vocals
Dub Cornett - Vocals
Chris Thomas King - Guitar, Vocals
David Rawlings - Vocals
Gavin Lurssen - Mastering
Mike Piersante - Mixing
First Baptist Church of Norfolk Choir - Vocals
Chris Sharp - Guitar
Nathaniel Best - Lead
Robert Hamlett - Vocals
Joseph Rice - Vocals
Sarah Peasall - Vocals, Harmony Vocals
Soggy Bottom Boys - Performer
Tim Blake Nelson - Vocals, Performer
Hannah Peasall - Vocals
Porter McClister - Tenor Backup Vocals
Leah Peasall - Vocals, Harmony Vocals
James Carter and The Prisoners - Performers

[edit] U.S. album chart success

Billboard:
- 2001
  - No. 1 on The Billboard 200
  - No. 1 on Top Country Albums
  - No. 38 on Top Internet Albums
  - No. 1 on Top Soundtracks
- 2002
  - No. 1 on The Billboard 200
  - No. 3 on Top Canadian Albums
  - No. 1 on Top Country Albums
  - No. 38 on Top Internet Albums
  - No. 1 on Top Soundtracks

The only single to chart was "Man of Constant Sorrow", which peaked at #38 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

[edit] External links

Preceded by Under Rug Swept by Alanis Morissette	Billboard 200 Number 1 Album March 23, 2002 - April 5, 2002	Succeeded by Now 9 by Various Artists