Song:I'll Fly Away
Album:O Brother, Where Art Thou?: Soundtrack
I can't emphasize enough how important the soundtrack of the 2001 film O Brother, Where Art Thou? was to popularizing bluegrass music. The artists who recorded on that album got unprecedented exposure and we got to hear Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch sing the classic gospel song I'll Fly Away. Usually unless it's a musical, music is an afterthought for most films. But Joel and Ethan Coen wanted the music to be an integral element of the film. So they hired music producer T-Bone Burnett to produce the music. The first guy he approached was Dan Tyminski of Alison Krauss and Union Station. Tyminski sang lead on the hit single Man Of Constant Sorrow. The Coens asked Alison to appear in the film but she was pregnant at the time and said no. But she agreed to appear on the soundtrack. Burnett already knew Gillian Welch as he produced her albums. She was nowhere near as well known as Alison. But obviously having them sing together was a great idea. And they released a video for I'll Fly Away. Alison and Gillian also sang Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby with Emmylou Harris and Alison sang Down To The River To Pray on the soundtrack. The soundtrack CD was a huge success and made Alison Krauss a big star. I don't think Gillian Welch wants to be a big star but she wants to continue to do her thing with partner David Rawlings. The soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou? is available as a budget CD. It will make you more familiar with Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch and then get some of their CDs. Here's the video for I'll Fly Away by Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch.
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