When Beyoncé announced her full dive into country music with “Cowboy Carter,” the follow-up to her 2022 album “Renaissance,” discussions on pop artists transitioning to the genre and the reception of Black artists in Nashville intensified.
Country music remains a tightly-knit sector of the music industry, presenting significant challenges for Black performers, despite the historical contributions of Black pioneers like Lesley Riddle, also known as Esley. Riddle, a guitarist and folklorist, played a pivotal role in instructing the Carter Family in the 1930s.
Additionally, Charley Pride, with over 50 Top 10 country hits from the 1960s to the ’80s, stands as another influential figure in the genre’s history.
In recent years, Lil Nas X ignited cultural discussions and achieved chart-topping success with “Old Town Road,” a fusion of country and rap.
Following this, Breland introduced his own unique blend with “My Truck,” while O.N.E the Duo, a mother-daughter duo, blended country, R&B, and pop in their music.
However, this trend is not new, as there is a rich history of Black artists embracing country music after establishing themselves in other genres. Here’s a look at how some notable figures navigated this path.
Ray Charles
Ray Charles’s love for country music traced back to his childhood, where his mother allowed him to stay up late on Saturdays to listen to the Grand Ole Opry.
Reflecting on this passion during an interview with Terry Gross on “Fresh Air” in 1998, Charles expressed fascination with the musicians’ skills with banjos, fiddles, and steel guitars.
When Charles ventured into the genre with “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” in 1962, he departed from the typical country music sound.
Instead, he reimagined country classics from the past decade as poignant pop-crooner melodies. Focusing on themes of heartbreak, Charles beautifully interpreted songs such as Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker’s “You Don’t Know Me,” Don Gibson’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” and Hank Williams’s “You Win Again.”
His soulful voice was complemented by lush orchestral arrangements, capturing the melancholic essence of these timeless tunes.
The concept proved to be a stroke of genius, yielding remarkable sales success: “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” claimed the top spot on the Billboard pop chart, while its second volume, released later the same year, reached No. 2.
Despite maintaining a steady presence in pop, R&B, and jazz, Charles continued to revisit country music regularly in the years that followed.
Albums like “Love Country Style” (1970) and “Wish You Were Here Tonight” (1983) saw him openly paying homage to his musical roots.
In these projects, he skillfully incorporated the banjos, fiddles, and steel guitars that had amazed him decades earlier, reaffirming his enduring connection to the genre.
Tina Turner
Crafting an entire album centered around country music wasn’t a significant departure for Tina Turner. In her memoir, “I, Tina,” she reminisced about her childhood radio experiences dominated by country and western music.
Turner’s exceptional covers of songs like Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary,” the Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women,” and the Beatles’ “Get Back” showcased her mastery of the rock ‘n’ roll genre’s rootsier elements.
On her 1974 solo debut album, “Tina Turns the Country On!,” Turner elevated the heartfelt yearning of Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” infused a righteous twang into a gender-flipped rendition of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs to Me,” toughened up Hank Snow’s “I’m Movin’ On,” and uncovered the gospel undertones in Dolly Parton’s “There’ll Always Be Music.”
While the album earned a Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance, female, it didn’t chart as expected.
Turner found greater success with her subsequent LP, “Acid Queen,” which leaned more towards rock.
Although she never released another country album, outtakes from the “Tina Turns the Country On!” sessions emerged later, including dynamic renditions of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson’s “Good Hearted Woman,” Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man,” and Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough (to Take My Man).”
Linda Martell
In the early ’60s, Linda Martell had released a few singles in the girl-group R&B style when a music manager discovered her singing country covers at a U.S. Air Force base in South Carolina.
Encouraged by his vision, Martell ventured to Nashville where she swiftly secured a record deal and recorded her debut album, “Color Me Country,” in 1970, marking her transition to a country singer.
Three singles from the album made their way onto Billboard’s country songs chart, with Martell’s beautifully nuanced rendition of Richard Lewis Spencer’s recent hit, “Color Him Father,” reaching No. 22.
Martell made history as the first Black woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, yet she encountered racial discrimination while touring.
A disagreement with her producer, who retaliated against her for recording with another label, led to the conclusion of her Nashville recording career.
Despite this setback, Martell continued to sing both country and R&B in subsequent years but never released another album. Recognized today as a pioneer in the genre, her legacy has inspired contemporary Black country artists like Mickey Guyton.
Millie Jackson
In 1981, soul singer Millie Jackson remarked,
”I took these country songs that I like and funked them up a little,” ahead of releasing ‘Just a Lil’ Bit Country,’ her first full-length album dedicated to the genre.
Like Charles and Turner, Jackson, a Georgia native, was raised on country radio, and while she made her mark as a master of passionate, straight-talking R&B, she also recorded songs by Merle Haggard and others.
On ‘Just a Lil’ Bit Country,’ Jackson infused a contemporary groove into Charles’s ‘Modern Sounds in Country and Western’ hit, ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You.’
She tackled ballads popularized by Tammy Wynette and John Conlee, and transformed Kris Kristofferson’s ‘If You Don’t Like Hank Williams’ into an homage to her favorite soul singers, including herself, on ‘Anybody That Don’t Like Millie Jackson.’
Although the album cracked the Top 50 on the R&B albums chart, it marked Jackson’s final full LP exploration into the genre. She continued to explore soul, pop, and even raunchy comedy.
However, in 2014, she demonstrated her ability to funk up country once again with her playful and explicit take on Tyler Farr’s 2013 country hit, ‘Redneck Crazy.'”
Darius Rucker
In 2008, singer-songwriter Darius Rucker announced a hiatus for Hootie & the Blowfish, stating that fans shouldn’t expect another album or tour until he released “three or four country records.”
Ultimately, Rucker surpassed this estimate with five country albums. His second solo LP and debut country album, “Learn to Live,” immediately found success, topping the Billboard country albums chart and spawning a series of country No. 1 hits.
Among these hits was “Wagon Wheel,” a Grammy-winning, diamond-certified cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s song from 2013.Rucker’s impact on the country music scene was substantial, making him the most prominent Black artist in the genre in decades.
He became the first Black artist to top the Billboard country songs chart since Charley Pride in 1983 and the first to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry since Pride in 1993.
Although Rucker reunited with Hootie & the Blowfish in 2019, his country career remains a significant focus. His sixth country album, “Carolyn’s Boy,” was released in 2023, showcasing his enduring commitment and success in the genre.
Lionel Richie
Country influences were evident in Commodores hits like “Sail On” from 1979, featuring Lionel Richie’s pronounced twang. However, Richie, an Alabama native, found even greater success in the genre the following year with “Lady.”
Originally pitched to his bandmates without success, the stirring love ballad became a massive hit for Kenny Rogers, topping Billboard’s Hot 100, country-songs, and adult-contemporary charts, and also making a mark on the R&B songs chart.
Amid Richie’s solo career explosion in the ’80s with pop hits like “Truly,” “All Night Long (All Night),” and “Hello,” he continued to pay homage to Nashville on tracks like “Stuck on You” and “Deep River Woman,” a collaboration with country veterans Alabama.
His country roots were highlighted on the 2012 LP “Tuskegee,” where he revisited his country forays alongside his pop smashes, featuring collaborations with Rogers, Willie Nelson, Shania Twain, Darius Rucker, and other country luminaries.
In 2022, Richie expressed his desire to prioritize recording country music going forward, emphasizing his deep connection to the genre.
“I am so vested in country music, you have no idea,” he declared at the C.M.A. Awards that year.