Did not Black artists provide the roots for Country music too? 

by Stephen Furlow
OMA Associate Director for Community Engagement & Partnership

Welcome back my OMA Music Lovers!

We talked about Rock, so let us roll right on into this next genre, with a breaking story in pop cultural. 

I am not sure if you heard the news, but Beyoncé Knowles Carter, the beloved “Queen Bey” to some, made music history this past week, which automatically makes it a new chapter in Black American history. In an article "Beyoncé Makes History as First Black Woman Atop Hot Country Songs Chart," it is explained to us that the iconic artist’s newest single “Texas Hold 'Em” launches at #1. Another of her charting singles “16 Carriages” comes in at #9.

The question I pose to you my audience is, are you shocked by this information? Did not Black artists provide the roots for Country music too? In light of the overwhelmingly positive response to the Sister Rosetta Tharpe Documentary, I did some digging and found The history of Black artists in Country Music (video). Would you believe it began with the Banjo (video)? Look at both video clips and we will discuss it in a moment.

Were you surprised with what you learned? For so long, this style of music was made to feel foreign to Black music enthusiasts, and anytime my peers or me would steer towards a quality Country jam we would find the nearest R&B song to clear our ears as we swerved back into our specific soundscape. Unfortunately, we did not recognize that Charlie Pride, Darius Rucker, and Aaron Neville were all fighting for space in this genre. Even Ray Charles and Tina Turner had bonafide Rock & Country hits that were not validated because they were Black. 

Did you know that the song “Old Town Road,” performed by Lil Nas X, and featuring the artist who brought the “Achy Breaky Heart” to life, Billy Ray Cyrus, was not qualified by Billboard as a country song? It is almost as interesting as the classic folk song “Fast Car” written and originally performed by Tracy Chapman picking up major steam after Luke Combs’s cover of the song earned him a Country Music Award. 

We have only 1 more week left to wrap up our series this year! Please stand by, while learning that new line dance in celebration of Black people continuing to break ground!

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