2008.09.25
Darius Rucker atop the country charts this week
To me, this is some of the most interesting and exciting news since I heard that Rucker's former band, Hootie and the Blowfish, were breaking up. I hated that band, so saccharine and predictable -- but with big, smooth vocals, courtesy of Rucker.
Now, Rucker is atop both the country singles chart ("Don't Think I Don't Think About It") and the country albums chart ("Learn to Live"), according to billboard.com.
If you haven't yet heard "Don't Think ...", go to Rucker's myspace page. I don't love it, but it's not bad. The album is pretty good, too.
What's so cool is the historical significance of it all. Not since Country Music Hall of Fame Member Charley Pride ("Kiss An Angel Good Morning", "Is Anybody Going to San Antone") has a black artist been this prominent in the country charts.
Granted, Rucker has a long way to go before he catches up to Pride's phenomenal-for-any-singer run in Nashville. Pride had at least 30 No. 1s between 1969 and 1984, and he sold millions of records, hitting platinum sales (at least one million copies) on at least four albums.
Still, it's always a good thing to see a black musician up in the country charts. It reminds you of people like Rufe "Tee-Tot" Payne, who taught Hank Williams much of what he knew, including the bluesy themes that dominated Williams' broken-hearted, tough-times country music classics.
DeFord Bailey is practically forgotten, but the early 20th-century harmonica player was the first black member of the Grand Ole Opry. Bailey was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005, more than 20 years after his death.
He and Pride are the only two African-Americans in the hall of fame.
So, here's a good place to start the discussion of African-American contributions to country music. Pete Johnson, where are you?
Meanwhile, check out some interesting reading:
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/525698.html
Well, this might be a topic that takes people off guard a little. Besides an extensive black influence, how far do we go in citing black interest in Country music? Heck, when the Country Music Hall Of Fame did an exhibit on Nashville R&B a couple years ago, they even included Jimi Hendrix, just for his time spent playing weekends in Nashville clubs as a paratrooper at Fort Campbell(!). Before adding names, I'd also love to see who other readers will mention as black performers with country interest. I haven't read the links yet, but I do note that Akon is listed.
As for contemporary country, I think it was Darius Rucker's rock pedigree that makes his country success possible. The only other contemporary black face I'm aware of is Cowboy Troy from the Big & Rich Muzik Mafia, and it's telling that they are known for their incorporation of hip hop into country. As do other popular styles, corporate country sells something more than music, IMO.
I wonder how others feel about the Carolina Chocolate Drops? Admittedly a bit academic in their approach, they at least play in a pre-corporate style. Whereas today we think of country as fiddle, banjo and guitar music, and jazz as more of a horn and piano music, we easily forget that it came about from a 180 degree crossover, as whites adopted African instruments and musical values, and blacks adopted European instruments and musical values.
As a musical history geek, I tend to think of obscurities. Maybe the first integrated recording was white Confederate vet Polk Miller with the black Old South Quartette. A black guy, Leslie Riddle, taught Maybelle Carter the brush stroke on guitar, and blues guys like Brownie McGhee also had to play lots of oldtime stuff to earn their dimes, long before he played with Woody Guthrie.
Comment by Pete — September 26, 2008 @ 4:05 pm