(gentle country music)
- When you think of country music, who do you think of?
Maybe it's Dolly Parton, belting "Jolene"
or Tim McGraw's iconic Southern drawl.
Maybe it's something a little bit more modern
like Taylor Swift's "Love Story"
which got a revival on TikTok this past summer,
or maybe Gabby Barrett's
top billboard country song, "I Hope."
Or maybe, let's be honest,
you just think of white people.
When you look at the country charts,
black artists are far and few between,
but that doesn't mean they don't exist.
And actually, in many ways,
black people in America have helped shape country music
to what it is today.
Even if they don't always get the recognition for it.
(upbeat country music)
(cheerful banjo music)
- For many historians, the origins
of modern day country music begin with bluegrass.
Bluegrass relies on the acoustic sounds
of string instruments,
and the banjo is a staple.
The banjo is a West African instrument
brought over in the 1600s
via the transatlantic slave trade.
The instruments were originally made out of boards
and had been popular in the region
way before American slavery started.
Other instruments like the fiddle and tambourine
were also integral to bluegrass,
and also had links to Africa.
Now, as enslaved Africans were forced into the Americas,
they continued to make these instruments.
But black influence didn't stop there.
(people chanting)
Work calls and chants became lyrics to these sounds.
And these chants, also known as spirituals,
helped its tell stories, keep the pace
and secretly spread information.
For example, the songs of the underground railroad
had secret coded directions
to help slaves escape to the north.
Fast forward a few hundred years,
and take this lyrical storytelling element
with this acoustic string sound,
and you got the foundation of country music.
Now, while these spirituals were essential
to a slave's motivation, survival and possible freedom,
how did this music enter
into mainstream white Southern culture?
The answer, black face.
By the 1800s, music created by black people
became popular within mainstream white new music
and minstrel shows helped bring these songs
to the spotlight.
Well, sort of.
Well, let me explain.
You see, minstrel shows were like OG American theater.
They usually would consist of variety comedy shows.
Think "SNL," but like super racist.
Since black performers weren't allowed in white spaces,
white performers would paint their faces black,
play the banjo, fiddle and other bluegrass instruments
and perform satirical slave songs and dances.
They would do skits and speeches
in exaggerated black Southern dialects.
So essentially, they stripped African slaves
of their tribal cultures,
made it illegal for them to speak their native language,
made reading English punishable by lashings or worse
and then created a theatrical art form
to make fun of them for the music and dialects
they were forced to create for themselves.
Yep. That's about right.
Minstrel shows helped solidify
a lot of negative black stereotypes,
and it was still seen in film
all the way up to the mid 20th century.
But despite the overall harm
the satirical genre did for the black community,
black music was starting to be taken seriously
by white people for the first time.
And mainly because it was introduced to them
in this non-threatening way.
Unfortunately, there was no credit
or representation given to the black artists
that helped create the music.
(mellow blues music)
Another precursor to modern day country music,
and a lot of other genres, was the blues,
which got its start in the 1860s
as minstrel shows were starting
to come down from their peak.
The sad, sultry, minor tones within the slave spirituals
made its way into the genre.
(sultry blues music)
These spirituals call-and-response-based lyrics
were a way to create more unity and inclusion
within the music experience.
And that carried over into blues as well.
Now, there are tons and tons of black blues artists,
but many of them didn't get white mainstream acceptance
until the following century.
And even then, they weren't given
the same performance privileges
as their white counterparts.
And this inequality was the same in many other genres
that were developing during the 20th century,
like jazz, rock and yeah, country.
There has been and continue to be black country artists.
Country music is a blend
of many different cultures and genres,
but history doesn't always reflect this.
Things get a little messy with once you learn
that these iconic white artists
actually got their trade from other black artists.
Hank Williams was mentored by Rufus Tee Tot Payne.
Johnny Cash was taught from an early age by Gus Cannon,
and black guitar player, Lesley Riddle,
was known as one of the pioneers
of the finger picking guitar style,
favored by Maybelle Carter.
And while legal segregation has been outlawed
in the United States since the 1960s,
Americans still have trouble
giving black artists credit within the country genre.
♪ Has to shine bright ♪
♪ It's in the strong beat ♪
- Moving into the '80s, '90s and 2000s,
black country artists weren't charting
and country music had been seen socially as a white genre,
and internalized prejudice within music management
didn't really help.
In 1998, general manager of Curb Records,
Dennis Hannon, insisted that, quote,
"For country music to be more well-rounded,
we would like to see more African-American artists."
But he also said, "If it is harder
for African-American artists to break into the industry,
it's more of a lifestyle issue."
Likewise, in 2006, Tammy Genovese
of the Country Music Association
rejected a reporter's suggestion
that the industry had not attempted to gain black fans,
telling the guardian, quote,
"The black community's lifestyle
is different from what we communicate with country music.
Black people have their own types of music
that they listen to,
be that jazz, hip hop or whatever."
Country singers in Nashville formed
to create the Black Country Music Association
in the mid 1990s in hopes of giving black artists
an avenue into the genre.
Country singer, Cleve Francis,
was one of the founders
and described the Nashville country music industry
as one based solely on, quote, permission
when it came to the black artists there.
Francis himself had suffered from racism in the industry,
especially at the hands of those
who were supposed to be in charge
of marketing and managing his career.
Despite these attempts at inclusion,
the genre today still faces hardships
when it comes to representation.
Atlanta rapper, Lil Nas X, shattered records
with his debut hit, "Old Town Road," in 2019.
From the topic to the twangy tone,
it was, as his producer described, a country rap song.
♪ I got the horses in the back ♪
♪ Horse tack is attached ♪
♪ Hat is matte black ♪
♪ Got the boots that's black to match ♪
- And at first, Billboard agreed.
He was ranked on the Billboard Country Charts
before Billboard decided to retract his ranking
and exclude him from the category.
Billboard told "Rolling Stone," quote,
"While 'Old Town Road' incorporates references
to country and cowboy imagery,
it does not embrace enough elements of today's country music
to chart in its current version."
This was definitely not the first time a hip hop artist
attempted to enter into country and was rejected.
Nelly and Tim McGraw, both Southern artists,
made "Over and Over" in 2004.
♪ 'Cause it's all in my head ♪
♪ I think about it ♪
♪ Over and over again ♪
♪ And I can't keep ♪
- [Alana] It made not even a blip on the country charts.
Beyonce's "Daddy Lessons" on "Lemonade"
was a textbook country bop.
♪ With his head held high ♪
♪ He told me not to cry ♪
- The song's thematic storytelling
and use of traditional country instrumentals
fit well into the genre,
which led her to performing the song at the 2016 CMAs.
But country fans were pissed.
According to "The AP," Beyonce also tried
to submit the record for a country Grammy,
and the submission was rejected.
But this sort of exclusion doesn't stop
at hip hop or R&B artists attempting
to enter into the country space.
Mickey Guyton, a rising black female country artist,
has commented both on the racism
that faces black country artists
and also the industry's sexism.
♪ If you think we live in the land of the free ♪
♪ You should try to be black like me ♪
- She said, quote, "I don't even realize
how crazy what I'm doing is.
It really is hard for women
to get played on country radio, period.
Do I face extra obstacle? Absolutely."
From the slave trade to Beyonce,
black people have been shaping and contributing
to country music since the start.
And while the United States
has made some progress in black representation
in some genres of music and entertainment,
it's important that history provides
a holistic depiction of all of our contributions.
'Cause black history is American history.
(cheerful country music)