Country Music is Built on Black Music
Every facet of country music from its instrumentation to repertoire to vocal and instrumental techniques is indebted to African and African-American traditions. At some point, it became an accepted cultural narrative that country music is the domain of white people. This has never been the case, but more to the point, it has never been further from the truth than right now.
I’m not sure what the exact moment was that I decided to learn more about the history of country music. As a white queer person born in Michigan but lived as an adult in the American South I was raised on music- a lot being country music- from Charley Pride to Patsy Cline to Sister Rosetta Tharpe to Elvis and beyond. Music has always been a through line in my life, a constant. It only makes sense that I would give any amount of time to learn more about one of the things in my life that remains constant, present, a life raft.
Since country music was/is my top favorite collection of music I’ve spent the last few years diving deeper into its history. For the month of February I am going to share a little of what I’ve learned, people I think you need to know about, and music that you should listen to. February is Black History Month and since Country Music’s roots are black - it only seems right to spend every day in dedication to it.
Country music doesn’t seem to have a great appetite for acknowledging that it’s built on black music.
DeFord Bailey, country music’s first black star was treated with ambivalence and sometimes contempt. He was a harmonica player and was the grandson of an enslaved person. DeFord became the most frequent performer on the Nashville radio station “Barn Dance”. One of his performances became the backdrop for the genesis of the Grand Old Opry, the radio program that was country music’s central institution.
There are hundreds of black musicians that are forgotten about or are not given the same audience as white country musicians. The next 28 days will be an intentional act to educate other white people about the history of country music and to honor and appreciate the roots and current voices of country music.
“Maybe it’s the story of black people in country music. People don’t know how to get out of the way because they don’t realize the privilege they have. As long as we have to navigate white people’s fragility, we’re going to have a difficult time with these conversations.” - Yola
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