How Country Music Has Forgotten Its Roots

Country music is a popular genre of music in the south. The genre has a long history that inspired many great artists, but often this history is forgotten, leaving POC out of the genre.

How it Started

Country music is the product of the working class of the Appalachians. It was first recorded in the early 1920s as a combination of folk songs and regional music of immigrants in the area. Initially, it was called hillbilly music. In 1923 John Carson recorded country musics’ first hit record. In 1927 DeFord Bailey became the first ever country singer to be introduced on the Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest-running radio show. 

However, come to the Great Depression, country music started to vary from its folk origins and adapt characteristics of blues and gospel music. This is the country music that quickly became popular and is what is often referred to as “real country music.”

How It’s Changed

Country music started as the music of working-class Appalachian immigrants. Still, the country music many people recognize today was inspired by blues, gospel music, and POC artists of the time.

During the Great Depression, when many southern rural immigrants moved to cities in search of jobs, their music was influenced by the gospel and blues music they were exposed to. This introduced many great POC country artists. While POC country artists were involved in the genre from the beginning, such as DeFord Bailey, they became more prevalent in the genre after the Great Depression. These artists include iconic singers such as Charley Pride, Darius Rucker, and Ray Charles.

Starting in the 1970s, and becoming more common in the 2000s, was the integration of pop music into the country. This is the style of country that many Gen Z recognizes, with artists such as Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, and Brad Paisley. This new era of country music has caused some controversy among older fans. Country music has also changed not just in style but also in the type of artists. 

In recent years the majority of country artists that are played the most on the radio are white. With the development of country pop, POC artists have been slowly pushed out of the genre they helped create. At the 2022 America Country Music Awards, in the artist’s categories, there were not any POC artists that won, and only one was nominated; Jammie Allen, who was nominated for male artist of the year. Of the top 50 country artists of 2021 two were POC, Nelly, and Kane Brown. There are many great POC country artists, but they aren’t as well known.

Artists Spotlight

While country pop has created many great POC artists that have gotten quite popular, such as Darius Rucker and Cowboy Troy, many other great POC artists aren’t as well known despite their many accomplishments.

Willie Jones is a country singer from Shreveport, Louisiana. He auditioned for the X-Factor in 2012 and has written several songs about racial injustice. He released his album “Right Now” in 2021, which included songs such as “American Dream” and “Back Porch.”

Mickey Guyton is from Guyton, Texas. She was nominated for New Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2016 ACM Awards. Her 2021 song “Black Like Me” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance.

The War and Treaty is a duo of the couple Tanta Blount-Trotter and Michael Trotter. They made their debut as a duo in 2017 with their album “Down to the River.” They have opened for John Legends on tour and performed at the ACM awards and the Grand Ole Opry. They have released albums such as “Hearts Town” and “Healing Tide.”