Episode Details

Imagine a world -class horse racer who becomes a national TV star, right. And then she wins a Grammy for this massive pop country crossover hit that basically defines an entire decade. But then years later, she makes these really sensational headlines for punching a police officer over a shoplift at Harry Potter DVD.

And she doesn't just cover it, she absolutely nails it. Her version actually out charts the original, hitting number 17 on the Billboard country singles list in 1970. It's such a brilliant strategic move. She's essentially saying to Nashville, I can sing your sacred texts better than you can, but I'm doing it with my own voice.

• You hear a headline like that and you immediately think, you know, oh, I know this story
• What we found is this profoundly intense story
• Which is fascinating because when you think about country music royalty in the 1960s, you picture a very specific origin story
• We're talking about a squeaky clean variety hour, famous for, like, bubble machines, accordions, and polka music