Oh Brother Where Art Thou

"Oh Brother Where Art Thou" is set in Mississippi during the Great Depression in 1933. It is a satire loosely based on the Odyssey by Homer. The music in the film is period specific including that of Virginia bluegrass by singer Ralph Stanley. The soundtrack of the film has sold more than four million copies and has been one of the most unexpected hits of recent times. It won the 2002 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It is described as primarily bluegrass but also included in the depiction of music category is roots, mountain music and old time country.

To produce these fabulous sounds harmonies, gospel choirs, mandolins, guitars, violins and banjos were applied. This music was first popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s and the styles were used to emphasize the film’s plot. The music is compelling and it brings back the times when music was a part of everyday life. The Coen brothers hired veteran musician and producer T-Bone Burnett who is heavily involved in roots music. Burnett and singer-songwriter Gillian Welch together found the most accurate songs for the film. The most inspired choice was to revive a melody called, “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow.”

It is a folk song from the Appalachian Mountains recorded in 1922. This song is believed to have made the soundtrack a hit. It was the anthem in the movie that made George Clooney’s band, The Soggy Bottom Boys, Depression-era stars. The Soggy Bottom Boys is named as homage to the famous Foggy Mountain Boys, a bluegrass band led by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. The voices behind the band are well-known bluegrass musicians: Union Station’s Dan Tyminski, Nashville songwriter Harley Allen and the Nashville Bluegrass Band’s Pat Enright.