Beyoncé and Country Music
Beyoncé's "Texas Hold 'Em" | Repainting a whitewashed history of country music
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Beyoncé's "Texas Hold 'Em" | Repainting a whitewashed history of country music
February, 2024. Beyoncé's release of her new song Texas Hold' Em is causing quite a stir in the entertainment landscape. The single has entered the Billboard Country Airplay Chart, a first for Beyoncé. The song has all the trappings of bonafide contemporary country music hits, such as a collection of string instruments like the acoustic guitar, banjo, and viola (those last two expertly played by the remarkable musician and banjo and old-time music historian Rhiannon Giddens) and references to hoedowns, whiskey, and dive bars (all staples of country music lyrics). In addition, it has a catchy "woo-hoo" refrain (a similar sounding country music exclamation, "yahoo" helped turn Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" into a monster hit in 1981). Texas Hold 'Em is a genuine foot stomper that could lead to some serious boot scootin' at the aforementioned "dive bars" if it gains airplay on their jukeboxes.
But if it were up to a few who consider themselves gatekeepers of "true country music," potential fans would never hear it on those dive bar jukeboxes, on country music radio, or at the CMT Awards. Why? The reason is that a Black woman is performing the song — and not just any Black woman, but one whose talent and celebrity shine so bright that it cannot help but attract occasional racially motivated criticism. At the heart of the matter to these so-called gatekeepers is whether Beyoncé and Blacks in general have a right to participate in the country music genre.
Country music traces its history to the rural South and Southwestern United States. It consists primarily of American roots music: Appalachian music, folk songs, and "old-time" music, along with added ingredients from Native American, Mexican, Hawaiian, and others. The most crucial group of those added ingredients, though, are the descendants of the enslaved people from Africa and their music. Without Black contributions in instrumentation, song choice, vocal stylings, and, most monumental of all, the blues, country music would be unrecognizable.
As Jim Crow and American segregation reached its zenith, the newly formed recording industry reflected the country's segregation, segmenting music performed by Blacks as "race records" marketed to Black audiences — while creating the genre of "hillbilly" music (country's original term) to market music performed by rural whites to white audiences. A talent scout named Ralph Peer is the man most associated with creating this market segmentation and, thereby, the genre of what would eventually be called country music.
In the 1920s, Ralph went on a tour of the South to find a performer who could compete with Bessie Smith, aka "The Empress of the Blues," one of America's first recording stars. The performer that Ralph eventually settled on was a white musician called Fiddlin' John Carson. Fiddlin' John's 1923 recording of "The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane" (a minstrel tune written in so-called "Negro dialect") was marketed and sold to white audiences as "hillbilly" music. It achieved unprecedented success for its time — laying the groundwork for what eventually became country music and showing marketing executives they could make plenty of easy money by playing to stereotypes.
In truth, though, the music of African Americans and whites in the rural South shared many commonalities. Rural Southern music was multicultural and diverse in many aspects before World War I. Black musicians played a massive part in directly influencing or inspiring key white figures to help develop nascent country music. During this time, it was not unheard of for Black and white musicians to collaborate, and whites benefited enormously by learning from Blacks sharing their musical knowledge.
However, the radio and recording industries worked hard to ensure that the lines of segregation held firm. Record companies even ensured that Blacks who worked on hillbilly records in that early period went uncredited and substituted white stand-ins for the record sleeves because they believed white audiences wouldn't purchase records if they saw a Black face on them.
The whitewashing of country music is still present today. This is why some see it exclusively as a "white genre," foolishly believing African Americans had little to do with its development. They see a country album by a Black woman who is one of the most popular recording artists on the planet as an encroachment on "their" territory (did we learn nothing from Lil Nas X?). By releasing Texas Hold' Em and her upcoming country album, Beyoncé reminds us that Blacks have been there from the start and gives country music's whitewash a more inclusive paint job.
By releasing Texas Hold' Em and her upcoming country album, Beyoncé reminds us that Blacks have been there from the start and gives country music's whitewash a more inclusive paint job.
The banjo is a foundational instrument in the string band music of Appalachia. Enslaved Africans brought their memories of griot traditions and lute instruments handmade from gourds to the New World (first to the Caribbean and then Southern plantations), which evolved into the banjo. The instrument played a critical part in minstrelsy and blackface performing, which was the country's most popular entertainment for about sixty years, and that is how it found use in Appalachian hill music.
The creation of cowboy music, which would evolve into country and western, owes a considerable debt to African Americans. First, the term "cowboy" was initially designated only for Black men who worked with cattle and rode horses — "cowhands" was used for whites. The distinction was to enforce the racial codes of white supremacy and remind Blacks of their second-class citizenship and unattainable standing as full men in the eyes of whites. However, even with that hostility facing them, many formerly enslaved people headed out west due to its lure of jobs and the possibility of greater societal freedom. It is so much so that about one-quarter of cowboys were Black, which probably upsets your understanding of Old West history if the only thing you know about it is from Hollywood. Black people brought their hopes and dreams to the Old West as well as their music. According to musicologist Alan Lomax, the version of "Home On The Range," which we sing today, perhaps the most well-known cowboy song, came from a Black cowboy and ex-Buffalo soldier.
Immigrants from Europe brought the violin and acoustic guitar, two of the three core parts of string band instrumentation. The third part of the core, the banjo, was brought to America by enslaved people. The string bands of the late 19th century in Appalachia represent some of the earliest known collaborations between African American and white musicians (often Scots-Irish). Black harmonica player and musician DeFord Bailey was the first artist to perform on WSM's newly rechristened Grand Ole Opry's radio telecast in 1927. In a 1975 interview, DeFord explained the music that influenced him as a youth: "I never heard the blues till I came to Nashville to work. All I heard as a boy back then was what we called black hillbilly music." Even though string band music from African Americans had a regional impact, it never found a larger audience because Northern record companies decided it did not fit their predetermined stereotypes for what they considered "black" or "white" music.
"I never heard the blues till I came to Nashville to work. All I heard as a boy back then was what we called black hillbilly music." —DeFord Bailey
If you've listened to even the slightest amount of country music, you will know many songs have an underlying theme of sinners and saints — raising hell on Saturday night and seeking sweet redemption on Sunday morning. On the side of the saints is the influence of the Negro spiritual. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" is a song closely identified with country music (it is nicknamed "the national anthem of country music") and made famous by the Carter Family, considered "The First Family of Country Music," — it originated as a Negro spiritual. The group that brought Negro spirituals to the mainstream was the Fisk Jubilee Singers. This acapella group began at Fisk University in 1871 to help raise money for the school through performing. Their 1909 "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" recording became the first commercially successful spiritual record, inspiring vocal groups of all races. The Fisk Jubilee Singers are still around today and continue to tour worldwide, singing music rooted in the Black experience, along with classical and other forms.
On the opposite end of the country music spectrum from the saints would be the rabble-rousing sinners (aka, Team Fun). "The Father of Country Music," Jimmie Rodgers (September 8, 1897-May 26, 1933) was heavily influenced by blues music. Jimmie spent his early years in Mississippi and was inspired by the music of his people, like the yodeling he would become renowned for. But Rodgers also learned a lot from the Black music around him, especially jazz and the blues. Rodgers worked as a railroad man and gained a great appreciation and learned about the blues form from the Black "gandy dancers" (the slang term for railroad workers) he met during that time. Listen to Jimmie Rodgers's 1930 collaboration with the legendary Louis Armstrong, "Blue Yodel No. 9," and you can hear the influence of the blues on his music.
Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter was a profoundly influential pioneer of American roots music and one of the most important figures in folk music history. Check out this performance by country music legend Willie Nelson on the 1970s TV classic, The Midnight Special, covering "Goodnight Irene," the tune made famous by Lead Belly.
Lesley Riddle was an essential figure in the birth of country music because of his close relationship and mentoring to the Carter family. Lesley taught traditional Negro songs and arrangements to A.P. Carter, the patriarch of the family. Maybelle Carter, one of country music's greatest guitarists, credited Lesley with teaching her how to play the "Carter scratch" technique (bottleneck guitar).
A grandson of enslaved people, Bailey contracted polio at three, stunting his growth and leaving his back somewhat bent. He grew up in a musical family who played what he called "black hillbilly music," a tradition of secular string band music shared by rural Black and white musicians alike. He was the first performer introduced on the Grand Ole Opry radio program.
Elizabeth Cotten taught herself to play banjo and guitar as a child. She played a right-handed guitar held upside down because she was left-handed. Elizabeth was a folk guitar master and gained fame later in life. She won her first Grammy at age 90.
Charley Pride is the "Jackie Robinson of country music" because he broke many barriers establishing his career. Pride was a former member of the Negro Leagues in baseball before starting a music career. He is the first Black artist to have a number-one country record and is one of only three Grand Ole Opry Black members (the other two are DeFord Bailey and Darius Rucker).
Linda was the first Black female performer to have commercial success in country music and the first to play the Grand Ole Opry in August 1969. Unfortunately, members of the country music community subjected Linda to an enormous amount of racism and bigotry, and her budding stardom was cut short.
Texas Hold' Em's existence reflects America's greatest strength: cultural diversity. One of the sad ironies of the current state of America is the attempt by those willing to exploit the country for personal and political gain by twisting its most significant strength into a weakness.
Beyoncé was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and has ventured into the country genre before, most notably in her 2016 song "Daddy Lessons" off her Lemonade album. As Rolling Stone points out, Nashville stars have covered her songs for years. These examples of America's cultural diversity and Beyoncé's new foray into country music, a genre that would not exist as we know it without the input of Black creativity, frighten those who would seek to ignore or erase Black artistry. Perhaps their "replacement theory" paranoia has them fearful that country music will crown a new Carter clan, "The First Family of Country Music," with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as queen.
These examples of America's cultural diversity and Beyoncé's new foray into country music, a genre that would not exist as we know it without the input of Black creativity, frighten those who would seek to ignore or erase Black artistry. Perhaps their "replacement theory" paranoia has them fearful that country music will crown a new Carter clan, "The First Family of Country Music," with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as queen.
Perhaps the bright shining light that Beyoncé generates will give some attention to other Black performers working hard in the country music genre. If you are unaware of these artists, you should investigate Black Opry. From the Black Opry website: "Black Opry is home to Black artists, fans, and industry professionals working in country, Americana, blues, folk, and roots music." The Black Music Project's advisory board member, Roberta Lea, is one talented example of a contemporary Black musician and emerging star working in today's country music space. Follow her on IG to discover more about this incredible singer-songwriter!
African American Old-Time String Band Music: A Selective Discography Discography
American Masters: The history of Black artists in country music
Appalachian Whiteness: A History that Never Existed
Hidden in the Mix: The African American Presence in Country Music
Kingsport’s Lesley Riddle Featured in Ken Burns’ Country Music Series
Library of Congress: Black Cowboys at "Home on the Range"
Library of Congress: Country Music Timeline
NCPedia: Music History from Colonization to the 1920s
NPR Music: '(Goodnight) Irene'
The New Yorker: Darius Rocker and The Perplexing Whiteness of Country Music
Reverb: A Brief History of the Banjo, America's Oldest Instrument
Rolling Stone: Beyoncé Going Country? Nashville’s Stars Have Been Singing Her Songs for a Decade
Rolling Stone: Linda Martell, Country’s Lost Pioneer
Rolling Stone: Rewriting Country Music’s Racist History
Time: Country Music Should Be Political. After All, It Always Has Been
Time: Black Artists Helped Build Country Music—And Then It Left Them Behind
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