‘Country Music’ uncovers stars’ surprising backstories, scandals

Country music has always been known for its relatable tales of love and loss set against backdrops of hometowns, dive bars and winding roads. But it’s not only the songs that are filled with stories — it’s the singers and songwriters, too. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and his team spent 8½ years interviewing 101 country experts (including legendary artists such as Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride) for “Country Music,” a new eight-part, 16-hour series premiering Sunday at 8 p.m. on PBS. The show goes deep on the popular personalities and humble trailblazers who shaped this influential and popular genre. “The songwriter Harlan Howard said, ‘Country music is three cords and the truth,’ ” Burns tells The Post. “He’s admitting that it’s elemental. It doesn’t have the sophistication and complication of classical music or some forms of jazz. But it does have the truth.” Here are just a few of the many surprising true stories spotlighted in the fascinating documentary series...MORE