{"id":1318222,"date":"2020-02-13T08:37:33","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T15:37:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1817817"},"modified":"2020-02-13T08:37:33","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T15:37:33","slug":"black-history-month-how-these-musicians-shaped-classic-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/music-news\/black-history-month-how-these-musicians-shaped-classic-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Black History Month: How These Musicians Shaped Classic Country"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:ao:image:cmt.com:688935?width=1200&amp;height=675&amp;.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"byline\"> by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/morrise\/\" title=\"Posts by Edward Morris\" rel=\"author\">Edward Morris<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\"><br \/>\n5m ago<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>Charley Pride has been such a commanding figure in country music that it\u2019s tempting to see him as the only really significant African American contributor to the genre. And, indeed, he does still stand alone in that category when it comes to recording hits and longevity. Over a period of 14 years, he scored 29 No. 1 singles and, at 85 years old, he continues to tour and charm crowds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HKmMovZ52MY?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HKmMovZ52MY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>But the fact is, black creators were helping shape country music long before it had a name, whether it was introducing the banjo to America, building a corpus of gospel songs that rang down through the centuries, or spreading musical styles too alluring for white musicians not to copy or build on. Today their contributions surface in every aspect of the music.<\/p>\n<p>The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, the two acts generally regarded as the founders of commercial country music through their recordings at the fabled Bristol Sessions in 1927, both owed much of their popularity to black influencers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WPe-jsJif54?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WPe-jsJif54?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>As <em>The Encyclopedia of Country Music<\/em> noted, \u201cearly jazz, stage show yodeling, the work chants of railroad section crews, and, most importantly, African-American blues,\u201d all met and merged in Rodgers\u2019 songs. In 1930, Rodgers recorded one of his famous blue yodel songs with an up-and-coming trumpet played named Louis Armstrong. Forty years later, the world-renowned \u201cSatchmo\u201d would again perform the song on national television with Rodgers fan Johnny Cash.<\/p>\n<p>A. P. Carter, the patriarch of the Carter Family, relied heavily on musician and songwriter Lesley Riddle to help him find, remember, and arrange the melodies of many songs that would eventually become Carter standards. As a guitar player, Riddle is also said to have influenced Maybelle Carter\u2019s seminal picking style.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_e7VBJTHWxo?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_e7VBJTHWxo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Harmonica player DeFord Bailey performed on the Grand Ole Opry from the late 1920s until 1941 and toured with such Opry stars as Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe and Uncle Dave Macon. He was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.<\/p>\n<p>Rufus Payne, also known as \u201cTee Tot,\u201d gave Hank Williams guitar lessons in the late 1930s, and Arnold Schultz, a Kentucky guitarist and fiddler, was crucial in developing the thumb-picking style later evident in the playing of Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Doc Watson and countless others. Schultz also served as a mentor and de facto teacher to bluegrass music originator Bill Monroe.<\/p>\n<p>Producer and songwriter Henry Glover was a co-writer of the Delmore Brothers\u2019 1949 hit, \u201cBlues Stay Away From Me,\u201d later recorded by The Browns, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, and Jean Shepard, among many others. Glover produced popular records for the Delmores, Grandpa Jones, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, Moon Mullican and others.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zHevN7NPo0A?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zHevN7NPo0A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 1962, a full four years before Pride made his entrance on the country charts, the great pop and jazz artist Ray Charles released two albums of country songs that exposed them to their widest audiences yet. Among the songs Charles turned into pop hits after they\u2019d first appeared on the country charts were \u201cI Can\u2019t Stop Loving You,\u201d \u201cYou Don\u2019t Know Me,\u201d \u201cYou Are My Sunshine\u201d and \u201cBorn to Lose.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In the 1980s, Charles signed to Columbia Records\u2019 Nashville division and recorded hit pair-ups with George Jones, Chet Atkins, Mickey Gilley and Hank Williams Jr. Charles\u2019 1985 duet with Willie Nelson, \u201cSeven Spanish Angels,\u201d earned him a No. 1 country hit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x8A9Y1Dq_cQ?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x8A9Y1Dq_cQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Other pop singers such as Esther Phillips and O. C. Smith popularized a sheaf of country standards in the 1960s, including \u201cRelease Me,\u201d \u201cI Really Don\u2019t Want to Know,\u201d \u201cLittle Green Apples\u201d and \u201cThe Son of Hickory Hollow\u2019s Tramp.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, aspiring country artists \u2014 notably Ruby Falls, Linda Martell, Big Al Downing, Stoney Edwards, Dobie Gray and Cleve Francis \u2014 were or soon would be making modest inroads to the country charts, never topping the charts but maintaining a steady presence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vU_U0iMlA5A?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vU_U0iMlA5A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>It may be hard to believe, but Tina Turner\u2019s first album, released in 1974, was called <em>Tina Turns the Country On<\/em> and featured such hillbilly favorites as \u201cI\u2019m Movin\u2019 On\u201d and \u201cHelp Me Make It Through the Night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 1978, Willie Nelson released <em>Stardust<\/em>, a collection of pop classics from the Great American Songbook. It was produced by Booker T. Jones of Booker T. &amp; the MG\u2019s fame and would go on to become Nelson\u2019s best-selling album, with more than five million copies sold.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OaKqfHvlb8o?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OaKqfHvlb8o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>After writing the song, Lionel Richie of the Commodores put on his producer\u2019s hat and gave the world Kenny Rogers\u2019 1980 hit, \u201cLady.\u201d Richie also wrote and sang on Alabama\u2019s 1986 Top 10 winner, \u201cDeep River Woman.\u201d Then, in 2012, he issued <em>Tuskegee<\/em>, an entire album of duets with country acts, among them Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean and Little Big Town.<\/p>\n<p>Alice Randall, a Harvard-educated songwriter (and later novelist) co-wrote Trisha Yearwood\u2019s insanely popular No. 1 tune from 1994, \u201cXXX\u2019s and OOO\u2019s (An American Girl)\u201d after having had the cheek to contribute a song to Moe Bandy (\u201cMany Mansions,\u201d 1989) that begins with a line from Emily Dickinson. Talk about cultural cross-pollination!<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uepL2VMzdHs?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uepL2VMzdHs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>In addition, Yearwood shares a 1994 Grammy with Aaron Neville for \u201cI Fall to Pieces,\u201d a highlight from the MCA Nashville collaborative album, <em>Rhythm, Country, &amp; Blues<\/em>. Nominated for a CMA Award for Album of the Year, the project paired modern country artists with R&amp;B legends Natalie Cole, Al Green, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Sam Moore, the Pointer Sisters, the Staples Singers, and Allen Toussaint. Neville also secured a 1993 Grammy nomination for his rendition of George Jones\u2019 \u201cThe Grand Tour,\u201d which marked Neville\u2019s first appearance on <em>Billboard<\/em>\u2019s country airplay chart.<\/p>\n<p>And so the channels were opened for the stream of black recording artists, songwriters and producers that would permeate country music throughout the first two decades of the 2000s. Stay tuned for a post later in February \u2014 which is Black History Month \u2014 about these modern achievements by African Americans in modern country music.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><em>Pictured at top: Ray Charles, Charley Pride, Dobie Gray, DeFord Bailey, Aaron Neville (lower right corner)<\/em> <\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n<div class=\"description\"> Edward Morris is a veteran of country music journalism. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a frequent contributor to CMT.com. <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1817817\/black-history-month-how-these-musicians-shaped-classic-country\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Edward Morris 5m ago Charley Pride has been such a commanding figure in country music that it\u2019s tempting to see him as the only really significant African American contributor to the genre. And, indeed, he does still stand alone in that category when it comes to recording hits and longevity. Over a period of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1318222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 06:29:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}