A year or so ago, on my way to Great Smoky Mountain National Park (on the Tennessee-North Carolina border), I had to pass through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. They're similar to what I hear of Branson - a beautiful mountain area filled with huge country music theaters, hotels, souvenir stores, and traffic - oh, and Dolly Parton's "Dollywood" theme park. I understand that was once a very impoverished part of southern Appalachia, but it sure was a disappointment to see so much touristy trash in such a beautiful area.
I was hoping to find the old music that the folk music collectors found in the area during the first part of this century, but I guess I got there about 75 years too late.
-Joe Offer-