Country Music Hall of Fame honors Black Country artists with expanded edition of 'From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music' set

In April, Beyoncé and Shaboozey made history Advertising signHot Country Songs Chart. First, Beyoncé became the first black woman to top the chart with “Texas Hold'Em.” The following week, “Texas Hold 'Em” was replaced at the top of the chart by Shaboozey's “A Bar Song (Tipsy”), marking the first time two black artists have held the top spot back-to-back.

By Beyoncé Cowboy Carter The album also featured black country artists past and present, including trailblazer Linda Martell (the first black artist to play the Grand Ole Opry) and newcomers Brittney Spencer, Willie Jones, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts and, in fact, by Hot The successor to Country Songs Shaboozey.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Warner Music Nashville aim to add deeper, historical context to these achievements with the expanded edition of the boxed set From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music, a collection showcasing the creative works of Black country and Americana artists in country music. Hall and Warner Music Nashville originally released the three-CD set in 1998.

Out today (May 31), the updated collection features more than 80 songs, spanning nearly a century of country music and includes an added fourth CD highlighting music by Black country and Americana artists who have appeared since 2000. The collection is joined by an online experience as well as a concert.

Rissi Palmer, whose 2007 song “Country Girl” is included in the updated set, says she's often referenced the original boxed set for Apple Music's groundbreaking radio show Color Me Countrywhich showcases the music, stories and perspectives of country artists of color.

“It's so iconic to be a part of, because it really tells a great story about our involvement in country music from the beginning,” says Palmer. Advertising sign. “I hope that people who love Cowboy Carter and Shaboozey, that they take this project and say, “Let me dive deeper. Let me see all the amazing Black artists that contributed and helped build this genre.”

“With Beyoncé and Shaboozey, it's reinvigorated and rekindled the conversation, and it's at the forefront of pop culture right now,” says Michael Gray of the Country Music Hall of Fame and museum. Advertising sign.

From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music originally released at the urging of black country artist Cleve Francis and American Baptist College executive Nelson Wilson.

Although black musicians directly influenced the sounds of country music pillars such as Carter family patriarch AP Carter, Jimmie Rodgers, and Hank Williams—while the banjo itself also has West African origins—the music, creativity, and influence of black country artists have been largely overlooked. for decades. Even in country music's commercial origins, record executives divided the country music sound along racial lines, classifying them as either “hillbilly records” or “race records,” based on a marketing construct. While Charley Pride became country music's first black superstar in the 1960s and 1970s, it would be decades before another black country artist, Darius Rucker, became a major hitmaker in the format, scoring his first No. 1 country single in 2008.

Palmer herself notes that she was first introduced to the music of Martell, whose 1969 song “Color Him Father” serves as the namesake for Palmer's radio show, in the early 2000s after participating in the CMT documentary Waiting in the Wings: African Americans in Country Music: “That was my first taste that there were black female country performers – because up until that point, all they were talking about was Charley Pride. So if you don't dig too deep, you'd think the only Black contribution to country music was Charley Pride.”

The first disc in From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music explored the work of black artists in the pre-World War II string band era, featuring songs by harmonica player DeFord Bailey, the first black man to play on the Grand Ole Opry, as well as music by the Mississippi Sheiks, Lead Belly and The Dallas. String band. Disc 2 Country of soul featured classics from Ray Charles, including “I Can't Stop Lovin' You” from his groundbreaking Modern sounds in country and western music, and “Down on the Farm” by Big Al Downing — plus songs by Bobby Hebb, Solomon Burke and Etta James. Disc 3 Forward with pride offers several songs from Pride, including “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'” and “The Snakes Crawl at Night.” The record also features songs by Martell, Stoney Edwards, OB McClinton, Ruby Falls, Herb Jeffries, Francis, Barrence Whitfield and Grammy winners Aaron Neville and The Pointer Sisters.

“When we were approaching the update of this boxed set, there was the question, 'Do we go back and rework the first three discs?' Are we starting from scratch?' says Gray. “We decided that the first three records were a good representation and they tell an important story, and it's an artifact of its time.” However, Gray says there were a few exceptions, with the addition of some obscure ones discovered from the original release, including one by accident. The museum had contacted Jo Ann Sweeney about photos and memorabilia about her father, Jimmy Sweeney – who was featured in the Night Train to Nashville exhibit. “He mentioned that he had made some country records in the early '70s — like eight sides in all,” Gray says. “They were great, and the staff that worked on that box started in 1998 might not have known her, so we included her.”

New to the set are the Disc 4's Reclaiming the Inheritance, showcasing artists that have emerged since 2000, including Rucker's 2008 hit “Don't Think I Don't Think About It.” The new record also features music from 11-time Country Airplay topper Kane Brown, as well as Rhiannon Giddens, Yola, “The Git Up” hitmaker Blanco Brown, Breland, Spencer and Grammy-nominated artists Mickey Guyton and The War and. Treaty.

“We tried to pick songs that would best represent the story,” says Gray. “It is by no means exhaustive. It is not the last word on the matter. It's not complete — we don't pretend to be by any means. But we feel it continues the story and is a good representation.”

The expanded ensemble expands on the work the Country Music Hall of Fame has already done to highlight the work of black artists in building the genre. This includes weaving the work of black artists throughout the museum's main permanent exhibition, Sing Me Back Home, and presenting an exhibition highlighting session musicians, which includes the work of Willie Weeks (who has played with Stevie Wonder and George Harrison, as well as with Vince Gill and Wynonna), as well as the American Currents exhibition, which has highlighted the work of black artists including SistaStrings, Allison Russell, Joy Oladokun and the work of the Black Opry.

The new boxed set will come with an in-depth, free online experience at The Country Music Hall of Fame website, which is also out today. The experience will also feature music that couldn't be licensed for the physical set, including the Beyoncé/The Chicks collaboration Bey's Daddy Lessons, Lil Nas X's Old Town Road and Al Green's version of “For the Good. Times. ” The portal also highlights new essays by artists Rhiannon Giddens and Palmer, adding to the original work's essays by journalists/historians Bill Ivey, Bill C. Malone, Ron Wynn, and the late Claudia Perry.

“We felt, of course, that we definitely needed Black voices to narrate their experience, and it was important to get the experience and perspective of the artists that have emerged over the last 20 years,” says Gray. “Rhiannon and Rissi, they're doing the work not only as musicians, but Rissi with her Color Me Country radio show and Rhiannon speaking and writing, all the scholarship she's done.”

“The most beautiful thing to me about the renaissance of Black country is that its stars, who are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve, are really using country music in the way that, to me, it was born to be used. Giddens writes. in her essay. “Their music reflects and highlights a cultural point of view that has traditionally been suppressed, showcases the best of American storytelling, and ultimately tells the important stories of now, for tomorrow's generations.”

Although most of the Cowboy Carter While the partners aren't in the expanded physical set, Gray says the online experience could be updated to showcase even more artists of the moment. “I see it as a living organism,” he says. “We've got the site ready for May 31, but I think that's definitely something we need to look at. One thing I love about the museum is that we have so many different platforms to be able to enrich the history of country music.”

On June 18, the Country Music Hall of Fame will host a celebratory concert at the CMA Theater. Led by Palmer and BMI Nashville executive Shannon Sanders, the artist lineup will include Brown, Cowboy Troy, Tony Jackson, Hubby Jenkins, Miko Marks, Wendy Moten, Palmer, Rucker, The War and Treaty and Whitfield.

“This is a dream come true for me,” says Palmer. “I've long dreamed of an opportunity for artists from different eras to come together and play in one place and celebrate our contribution and our place in this music. It will be really special. This is one of those things for the ages.”