Did you know the impact that Black artists have had in creating country music? Black artists have played a crucial role in shaping country music from the early 1920s to the present day, with artists like Lil Nas X and Beyoncé amplifying the genre even further.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00It doesn't get more black than country music.
00:03♪ I'm a buckle bunny ♪
00:05Black artists have been changing the game
00:06in the genre for quite some time,
00:08even before Beyonce decided
00:10to put the history in the forefront.
00:12For Black Music Month,
00:13we're taking a look at country music's roots.
00:16♪ La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la ♪
00:19The genre became popular in the 1920s,
00:21and for its entirety,
00:23black folks have been writing,
00:24performing, and recording country.
00:26The sound simply wouldn't exist
00:27without the innovation of black artists.
00:30Research shows that the Carter family,
00:32known as the first family of country music,
00:34was influenced in the 1920s by black blues
00:37and gospel guitar player Leslie Riddle.
00:39Even Johnny Cash learned from black musician Gus Cannon.
00:43Right as Nashville became the country music capital,
00:45black harmonica player D Ford Bailey
00:47was the historic first performer on the Grand Ole Opry.
00:51♪ No more ♪
00:52♪ I got the horses in the back ♪
00:54And now black faces are a dominant force in country.
00:57Lil Nas X and Beyonce have recently brought
00:59that attention mainstream,
01:01with Beyonce's album, Cowboy Carter,
01:03exploring all sounds of black country music.
01:06Even using the language, the rodeo chitlin' circuit,
01:09a network of venues where black musicians
01:11could perform safely between the 1930s and 1960s.
01:15We wanna welcome you to the Beyonce Cowboy Carter Act Two
01:20in a rodeo chitlin' circuit.
01:22♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪