Two tracks on Beyoncé’s new album feature the voice of Linda Martell, the first commercially successful Black female country music artist, who faced exclusion in #countrymusic throughout her career
"We’d already picked up a good idea of what country means to her culturally, in her few public statements in advance of 'Cowboy Carter,' amplified in the one trillion thinkpieces published during the last two months, many of which really did help spur a vital conversation about Black exclusion and reclamation in one of America’s most important indigenous artforms. But now “Cowboy Carter” is in front of us as a real piece of music, not just a conversation piece. So what does what might already be the most talked-about album of the 21st century actually sound like?" Variety reports:
Black country music has existed for decades; according to songwriter, educator and novelist Alice Randall, its recorded origins go back to DeFord Bailey's 1927 harmonica performance of "Pan American Blues" at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Now, its time has come — thanks to Beyoncé's "Texas Hold 'Em, which debuted at the top of the country charts last month. Vox takes a look at the century of country that led to "Cowboy Carter."
Happy #NewMusic Friday! My new retro country autobiographical ballad "Son, Tell Jesus You're Straight (The Ballad of a Kid Named Ren)" is now available!
It's a song about my dad's efforts to straighten my bi-ass out over the years. Hope you enjoy!
@georgetakei
John, your side lost the Civil War – get over it!
Those Confederate dollars in your safe are worth less than diplomas from Trump University.
Welp, my new song, “Son, Tell Jesus You're Straight (The Ballad Of A Kid Named Ren)” is out Friday, y’all! It’s a little retro country ballad about my relationship with my dad and his attempts to straighten me over the years.
Beyoncé wore a cowboy hat to the Grammys and fans predicted that she was working on a country album. Lo and behold, she's announced "Act II," which will be out on March 29 and is the second release of her "Renaissance" trilogy. @pitchfork has more details, plus videos for the first two songs — "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages" — both of which have a distinct country feel.
"I wish I could call the old folks that aren't with us anymore.
I feel Granny dancing recklessly, at the Floyd County Store.
And the artist has his suffering, and the Gods must have their pain.
By the time the ride is over I'm sure I'll ask to ride again.
#JasonIsbell on "Rich Men North of Richmond" by #OliverAnthony: "There’s something there. But that’s the song you should have written when you were 16, and then, when you were 19, you should have rewritten it without the part about hating people on welfare. And then when you are 20 you throw the whole thing out and write another song."
Jason Aldean's "Try That In A Small Town" has underlined the stereotype of country music as an inherently conservative genre of music, but there's a liberal lineage too. @TheConversationUS's William Nash writes about country and Americana songs that focus on reproductive rights, including Loretta Lynn's "The Pill," Dolly Parton's "Down from Dover" and Molly Tuttle's "Goodbye Mary."
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