O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack)

O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	December 5, 2000
Genre	Country folk bluegrass blues gospel soundtrack
Length	61:24
Label	Lost Highway/Mercury
Producer	T-Bone Burnett
Music sample
"I Am a Man Of Constant Sorrow"

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the soundtrack album of music from the 2000 American film of the same name, written, directed and produced by the Coen Brothers and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Goodman.

With the film set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, the soundtrack, produced by T-Bone Burnett, uses bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, and folk music appropriate to the time period. With the exception of a few vintage tracks (such as Harry McClintock's 1928 single "Big Rock Candy Mountain"), most tracks are modern recordings.

The soundtrack was reissued on August 23, 2011, with 14 new tracks that were not included in the original album, "including 12 previously unreleased cuts from music producer T-Bone Burnett's O Brother sessions."^[1]

Development and sound

The soundtrack was originally conceived as a major component of the film, not merely as a background or support. For this reason it was decided to record a soundtrack before filming.^[2] T-Bone Burnett was invited to design collections of music.^[3] One member of The Stanley Brothers, Ralph Stanley, personally took part in recording the music for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, singing a cappella folk song O Death.^[4][5][6]

There is a notable use of dirges and other macabre songs, a theme often recurring in Appalachian music,^[7] such as in "O Death," "Lonesome Valley," "Angel Band," and "I Am Weary", in contrast to the bright, cheerful songs, like "Keep On the Sunnyside" and "In the Highways", in other parts of the film.

"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" has five variations: two are used in the film, one in the music video, and two in the soundtrack. Two of the variations feature the verses being sung back-to-back, and the other three variations feature additional music between each verse.^[8] The voices of the Soggy Bottom Boys were provided by Dan Tyminski (lead vocal on "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow"), Nashville songwriter Harley Allen, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band's Pat Enright.^[9]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]

The soundtrack CD became a best seller, certified eight times platinum as of October 2007^[11] with sales of 7.9 million copies in the United States as of January 2015.^[12] It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2002, 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", 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.

In 2001 the album spent over 20 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Chart. It won an award for album of the year and "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" won an award for single of the year from the Country Music Association.^[13]

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

In 2006, the album ranked #38 on CMT's 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music. In 2009, Rhapsody ranked it #8 on the "Country's Best Albums of the Decade" list.^[14] Engine 145 Country Music Blog ranked it #5 on the "Country's Best Albums of the Decade" list.^[15] In 2010, All Songs Considered, a program on NPR, included the soundtrack on their list of "The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings."^[16]

In August 23, 2011, a 10th anniversary edition was released, with 14 new tracks that were not included in the original album, "including 12 previously unreleased cuts from music producer T-Bone Burnett's O Brother sessions."^[17][18]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"Po' Lazarus"	traditional	James Carter and the Prisoners	4:31
2.	"Big Rock Candy Mountain"	Harry McClintock	Harry McClintock	2:16
3.	"You Are My Sunshine"	Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell	Norman Blake	4:26
4.	"Down to the River to Pray"	traditional	Alison Krauss	2:55
5.	"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (radio station version)	Dick Burnett	The Soggy Bottom Boys	3:10
6.	"Hard Time Killing Floor Blues"	Skip James	Chris Thomas King	2:42
7.	"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (instrumental)	Burnett	Norman Blake	4:28
8.	"Keep On the Sunny Side"	Ada Blenkhorn, J. Howard Entwisle	The Whites	3:33
9.	"I'll Fly Away"	Albert E. Brumley	Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch	3:57
10.	"Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby"	traditional	Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch	1:57
11.	"In the Highways"	Maybelle Carter	The Peasall Sisters	1:35
12.	"I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)"	Pete Roberts (Pete Kuykendall)	The Cox Family	3:13
13.	"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (instrumental)	Ed Haley	John Hartford	2:34
14.	"O Death"	traditional	Ralph Stanley	3:19
15.	"In the Jailhouse Now"	Blind Blake, Jimmie Rodgers	The Soggy Bottom Boys	3:34
16.	"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (with band)	Burnett	The Soggy Bottom Boys	4:16
17.	"Indian War Whoop" (instrumental)	Hoyt Ming	John Hartford	1:30
18.	"Lonesome Valley"	traditional	The Fairfield Four	4:07
19.	"Angel Band"	traditional	The Stanley Brothers	2:15
Total length:				61:24

Personnel

Norman Blake (American musician) – Performer, guitar, vocals Jerry Douglas – Dobro Alison Krauss – Vocals, harmony vocals Chris Sharp – Rhythm guitar The Stanley Brothers – Performers Ralph Stanley – Performer Sam Bush – Mandolin Emmylou Harris – Performer 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 Peter Kurland – Location recording First Baptist Church of Norfolk Choir – Vocals Chris Sharp – Guitar Nathaniel Best – Lead Robert Hamlett – Vocals Joseph Rice – Vocals Sarah Peasall – Vocals, harmony vocals Hannah Peasall – Vocals Leah Peasall – Vocals, harmony vocals The Soggy Bottom Boys – Performer Tim Blake Nelson – Vocals, performer Porter McClister – Tenor backup vocals James Carter and The Prisoners – Performers Sandy Wilbur – Musicologist

Chart performance

Album

Chart (2000–2002)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	1
U.S. Billboard 200	1
U.S. Billboard Top Soundtracks	1
Canadian Albums Chart	3
French Albums (SNEP)[19]	9
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20]	15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21]	14
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22]	87

Singles

Year	Single	US Country
2002	"Man of Constant Sorrow"	35

See also

• Down from the Mountain

References

1. Germain, David. New 'O Brother' set serves up more old-timey music Yahoo! News (August 22, 2011). Retrieved August 22, 2011
2. Ridley, Jim (May 22, 2000). "Talking with Joel and Ethan Coen about 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'". Nashville Scene. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
3. "O Brother, why art thou so popular?". BBC News. February 28, 2002. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
4. Ellison, Michael (June 18, 2001). "American high". The Guardian. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
5. Kumer, Anita (September 9, 2008). "Bluegrass Legend Ralph Stanley Endorses Obama". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
6. "Museum Honoring Music Legend Ralph Stanley Set to Open October 16". Ralph Stanley Museum. 2004. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
7. McClatchy, Debbie (2000-06-27). "A Short History of Appalachian Traditional Music". Appalachian Traditional Music – A Short History. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
8. Long, Roger J. (2006-04-09). ""O Brother, Where Art Thou?" entry page". Retrieved 2007-11-09.
9. "Soggy Bottom Boys Hit the Top at 35th CMA Awards". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
10. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack) at AllMusic Allmusic Review
11. "RIAA certifications". Billboard.
12. Jessen, Wade (January 29, 2015). "Luke Bryan's 'Party' Still Rocking, Sam Hunt's Album Holds at No. 1". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
13. Price, Deborah; Stark, Phyllis (December 29, 2001). ""O Brother" One of Country's Biggest Success Stories". Billboard - the International Newsweekly of Music, Video and Home Entertainment.
14. "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" Retrieved 12 January 2010.
15. Staff (December 10, 2009). "Top Country Albums of the Decade (#10-#1)". Engine 145. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
16. "The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings". NPR. November 16, 2009. Retrieved 2010.
17. Germain, David (August 22, 2011). "New 'O Brother' set serves up more old-timey music". Associated Press. Yahoo! News. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
18. Lewis, Randy (August 23, 2011). "'O Brother,' is it 10 already?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
19. "Lescharts.com – Soundtrack – O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
20. "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
21. "Charts.org.nz – Soundtrack – O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
22. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved July 9, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• BBC News: O Brother, why art thou so popular?