Give up?
It's Charley Pride. A black American. After failing to make it as a professional baseball player, Pride decided to dedicate his life to forging a career in country music. Now at 67-years of age, he has had more than 36 number one country singles, including Kiss An Angel Good Morning and Is Anybody Goin' To San Antone. He is an artist who, since the 60s, has sold over 70 million records around the world during his career. Pride is a celebrated musician and singer who this year, celebrates 40 years in the music industry. Although black musicians have been playing country since the 1920s and 30s, including performing on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, no other African-American, before or since, has managed to continue breaking down the barriers in country music and achieve the big time success Pride enjoyed.
Some wonder, how did Pride do it? In part, his record label used smart, if not controversial, marketing tactics. For example, his record label's initial promotional materials purposely lacked photos of Pride. This, they hoped, would avoid discouraging white audiences, promoters, and DJs. In fact, it wasn't until his third album that the face of Charley Pride was revealed to the world. But by this time, he had earned fans all across the U.S. and abroad. And at concerts, Charley Pride says, “Once people heard my singing they said they didn't care if I was green.”
So, why haven't there been more famous black country music singers and stars?
Well, it certainly isn't from lack of desire. Many black singers and musicians claim they've pursued country music only to find doors slammed in their faces once they show up to meet with execs at record labels. Music Journalist Martin Hodgson explains why this is so: “When you speak to black musicians, you hear stories about them sending off their demo tapes to a record company. The record company says ‘come in’, but when they turn up and they see that the singer is black, a certain coolness enters the whole conversation.”And, it certainly isn't from lack of an audience. Many whites claim they would welcome black country singers who adhered to the traditional country music style. And many blacks, including those from the Caribbean and from certain African countries like Kenya, love country music. Yes, even in the U.S., there's a silent group of closet country music lovers which includes black Americans. In fact, a poll taken in the 90s found that 25% of African-Americans listen to and enjoy country music.
Identifying an opportunity to evolve the face and color of country music while opening doors for African-American singers, a Nashville-based Black Country Music Association (BCMA) was established in 1997. Up ‘til now, it has met with limited success.
Article Continues: Read A Brief History of Black Americans in Country Music