Spectacle – Kris Kristofferson, Rosanne Cash, Norah Jones & John Mellencamp (episode 8, Season 1)

The “guitar pull” is said to have started in Johnny Cash’s living room in Tennessee, with writers and musicians like Kris Kristofferson, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan taking turns playing their songs for the Man in Black and his guests. Some years later, Elvis gathers a stellar group for a “guitar pull” of his own – and it includes a couple of people who were at the original gatherings in the Cash home, namely American songwriting royalty, Kris Kristofferson and Cash’s daughter, Rosanne. Rounding out the group are the golden-voiced Norah Jones (who brings along a “new” song co-written by none other than Hank Williams) and American rock superstar John Mellencamp, who strips his music (old and new) down to the bare essentials. If not exactly a hootenanny, this star-studded edition of Spectacle is a showcase for – and an embarrassment of riches of – the craft of songwriting, from some of the best-known (and loved) tunes of the past 40 years to brand-new, previously-unheard compositions.