What's Good Ya'll! HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH!!! In honor of this YeeHaw Revolution (as my friend Clio calls it lol), I wanted to dedicate this next article to the roots of Black Women in Country Music. Country Music truly is in my DNA, low key. R&B will always be my favorite genre but as a young child my mom was very adamant about my sister and I listening to every genre of music, one I enjoyed just as much as R&B was Country.
While it may seem like we are new to the genre due to the massive hype of Beyonce's new country releases, the reality is we been doing this! Let's take a look back at some of the Black Women who changed the Country game:
Linda Martell
Born Thelma Bynem, Linda Martell is the first black woman who became successfully commercial within country music. She was also the first black woman to play at the Grand Ole Opry. Playing at the Grand Ole Opry for country singers can be compared to how big it was for upcoming artists to perform at the Apollo back in the day. And Linda was really that girl because she ended up performing at the Grand Opry 12 times!
You can check out her televised appearance on Hee Haw below:
Auriel Andrew
What's so awesome about Auriel Andrew is during the time Linda Martell was doing her thing here in the U.S., Auriel was making waves in Australia. Her first album released in 1971 entitled 'Just For You' was only the second album made by and Indigenous woman in Australia. Auriel was also the first Aboriginal woman to appear on Australian television as she started to appear on tv music broadcasts. Last but certainly not least, in 1991 Auriel was inducted into the Tamworth Hands Of Fame at the Australian Country Music Awards at Tamworth.
Do yourself a huge favor and listen to her Debut EP 'Truck Driving Woman' below:
Tina Turner
Did you know the Queen Rock n' Rolls' first solo album was a country album? In 1974, Tina turned country out with covers by country artists like Dolly Parton and Kris Kristofferson. The album was nominated for a Grammy the following year but before than only a small group of fans had truly appreciated it.
We should all be familiar with Tina's hit single 'Nutbush City Limits' which chronicled her smalltown upbringing in Nutbush, TN. But if you're not familiar, you can check it out below:
Now ya'll know the history don't stop there, but you gotta do the work yourself and I hope you truly enjoy this new country music revolution! Country music really gets to the depth of your heart and with the right voice behind it, it can touch your whole soul. And country music isn't all heartbreak, like every other genre it can be about anything but the arrangement of a country song hits way different when its a little umph behind it. I hope ya'll enjoy!
Comments