Country Music Has Always Been A Part of the Black Experience
I’m jumping right into the latest country music discussion. While I wouldn’t consider myself a member of the BeyHive, I respect Beyoncé as a business woman, and how she consistently reinvents herself and centers Black culture. Her foray into country music via her latest album, Cowboy Carter, is just one more example of that. What’s more, as of today, she became the first Black woman to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart.
Those who claim that the superstar singer has somehow appropriated White Southern culture might want to dive into the historical roots of country music. While both Black and White Americans have contributed to the genre’s style, the foundation is deeply rooted in the traditions of enslaved Africans. Let’s start with the banjo, the successor to a stringed instrument that originated in West Africa. Sometimes referred to as an akonting or a kora (there were others, too), it was crafted from a gourd, had a long neck, and three or four strings.
The sounds of bluegrass were heavily influenced by Black Americans, specifically those of the Piedmont region in North Carolina. Born in 1913, Etta Baker was one of the first Black woman recording artists who played bluegrass and popularized the ‘finger-picking’ style of playing the banjo and guitar.
My earliest memory of seeing a Black country artist was as a young child of the 1970s, when Charley Pride performed on television. I think I had a crush on him. He was a handsome Texan with a silky smooth voice.
Aside from music, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how Black Americans have always been a part of the rodeo culture. The term, “cowboy” was originally used to label Black men who were ranch hands. Of course, it was considered a racist description because of the word “boy.” Yet, eventually “cowboy” became the preferred title for everyone, regardless of race.
During the late nineteenth century, the famed Buffalo Soldiers were masterful on horseback. To this day, the traditions of horseback riding and competing in rodeos are being kept alive by Black men and women across the country.
Let me finish by getting back to Beyoncé. I’ve always felt that her 2006 hit “Irreplaceable” was giving us country vibes. Take a listen to the guitar and the twang when she sings, “To the left. To the left . . .” Right? The woman is from Texas, after all. That brings me to another very un-country song that sums up the versatility of Black women who refuse to be corralled:
“I’m every woman. It’s all in me.”
Ya’ll can thank the irreplaceable Chaka Khan for reminding us of that.