BGS Long Reads of the Week // April 3

We all tell ourselves we want to read more, now is the chance! Our #longreadoftheday series looks back into the BGS archives for some of our favorite reporting, videos, interviews, and more — featured every day throughout the week. You can follow along on social media [on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram] and right here, where we’ll wrap up each week’s stories in one place.

Our long reads this week say goodbye to March and hello to April, they look to the stars and to family members for inspiration, and above all else they spread the joy of music far and wide. Check ’em out:

“The Rainbow Connection” at 40: Paul Williams Reflects on Kermit the Frog’s Banjo Classic

One day we’ll find it, the rainbow connection. It’s a song of dreaming, of looking to the stars at night for guidance and inspiration. To mark the 40th anniversary of this iconic song, we spoke to its songwriter, Paul Williams, for an edition of our column, Roots On Screen. For many viewers, Kermit the Frog would have been their introduction not only to this modern classic, but the banjo, too. [Read about “The Rainbow Connection”]

June Carter Cash Connects the Classic Eras of Country Music

To say goodbye to Women’s History Month we spent a day going back to each of the stories in our Women’s History series, starting with this history of June Carter Cash’s career. Known often as an addendum to others — including her era-defining husband Johnny Cash and her genre-creating family — June was a consummate performer, musician, and something of a comedian herself. [Read the story and watch June perform]

Ranky Tanky Takes Gullah Culture Around the Globe

South Carolina quintet Ranky Tanky won a Grammy Award for their latest album, Good Time, a project that took Gullah music and culture around the world. Not familiar with Gullah? Don’t worry, that’s kind of the point. While many fans of American roots music are familiar with zydeco, Cajun, creole, and other cultures, Gullah remains largely unknown — a music of the African diaspora that’s peppered up and down the coasts and sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia, where it’s known as Geechee culture. [Read more and introduce yourself to Gullah]

Why “Cover Me Up” Is the Truest Love Song Jason Isbell Will Ever Write

Month after month, year after year, this is one of our all-time best-performing stories on BGS. And it’s no wonder; “Cover Me Up” speaks to folks. It’s a wedding song, a break up song, an anniversary song, a first love song. (It’s also not so bad for your isolation playlist, either.) Until more recent Isbell-penned treasures like “If We Were Vampires” came along, it was unparalleled. Even so, it still stands apart. Find out why music fans the world over keep flocking to this particular piece of writing. [Read the feature on BGS]

The Haden Triplets Share Their Musical Legacy in The Family Songbook

Here’s a piece that keeps it all in the family! Calling The Haden Triplets a family band is definitely an understatement. The three sisters channel cross-generational musical inspiration on their most recent album, The Family Songbook. While they’re looking back, their idea was not to recreate the old days, but to interpret and pay homage. [Read more]