Country music is one of the world’s most listened-to music genres today. It is known for its ballads and dance tunes. Its simple form, folk lyrics, and harmonies are accompanied by string instruments such as electric and acoustic guitars, steel guitars, banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas. Since its emergence in the early 20th century, traditional country music has been dominated by white performers and the listening audience’s demographic. Black artists have not let this deter them from making country music. They have been making awesome country music over the decades, making names for themselves while at it. Here are the 11 famous Black country singers to add to your music streaming platforms.

Lesley Riddle

Lesley Riddle was an African American musician who had an enormous impact on the beginnings of country music. Riddle was born in Burnsville, North Carolina. While he recovered from his right leg being amputated, he took up the guitar, developing an innovative picking and slide technique. Soon, he collaborated with other musicians from Sullivan and Scott counties, including Steve Tarter, Harry Gay, Brownie McGhee, and John Henry Lyons. Although Riddle has several studio recordings, he is best known for associating with the Carter Family. Riddle appeared at folk festivals and contributed to a series of studio albums during this time, though he never rose to the prominence of other country artists.

Rhiannon Giddens

Rhiannon Giddens burst into the spotlight in the early 2000s with her country, blues, and folk band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops. She has collaborated with dozens of prominent artists and woven her talent into multiple genres. Giddens makes it her mission to bring to life the lost sounds of past slave cultures and African-American traditions in Appalachia and the South. She received several Grammy Awards and a MacArthur Fellowship, which join her impressive list of other honors in and out of the country music genre. Giddens plays fiddle and banjo and arranges much of the music she performs. Most recently, Giddens’ voice moved from the musical stage to TV, providing the soundtrack for shows including Nashville and Parenthood.

Cowboy Troy

Troy Lee Coleman III, the performer who goes by the stage name Cowboy Troy has made his mark on the subgenre of country rap. He got the name Cowboy Troy in college after a friend used the phrase to distinguish the cowboy-hat-wearing Coleman from his other friends named Troy. He first became famous with his 2005 song, “I Play Chicken With The Train.” Since then, he has had two other singles reaching the Billboard charts. After temporary stints as a judge on CMT’s singing competition, Nashville Star, Cowboy Troy returned to the studio with his 2018 album, Laugh with Me.

Mickey Guyton

Candace Mycale “Mickey” Guyton is a country music artist from Texas. In 2020, after the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, Guyton released “Black Like Me,” which speaks to her experiences as a Black woman in country music. Since arriving on the scene, Guyton has skyrocketed into superstardom and has taken country music to new heights with her unique sound that infuses the genre with pop and R&B influences. Her debut album, Remember Her Name, was released in September 2021 to rave reviews. Guyton was the first Black nominee for Best Country Album at the Grammys. Guyton holds the honor of being the first African-American to ever perform at the American Country Music Awards. Guyton has been named Time Magazine’s 2022 Breakthrough Artist of the Year. She is the inaugural winner of the prestigious honor.

Kane Brown

Though still relatively new on the scene, Kane Brown is making waves in country music with chart-toppers like "Heaven" and "One Mississippi". Brown released his second album, Experiment, in November 2018, which became his first number-one album on the Billboard 200. Brown made history at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards when he became the first male country music star to perform live in the ceremony’s 38-year history. In 2021, Brown became the first Black person to win Video of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, which he won for "Worldwide Beautiful." He performs in a modern pop-country style, writing much of his material. He delights fans with his soulful singing as well as his quirky personality.

Petrella

Petrella Ann Bonner, the self-proclaimed “First Lady Of Country Soul,” grew up in Arkansas and continued her education in Missouri. She began her career singing in the choir at church, like many artists from the South. Signed in 1989 to Ridgewood Records, the singer-songwriter has released seven albums, with her most famous single being the 2008 Billboard hit “I Want to Know You Forever.” She was named Songwriter of the Year in 1994 by the Tennessee Songwriters Association. In 2013 Petrella formed a band in Arkansas to tour Arkansas and help raise money for “Every Child is Ours” in Northeast Arkansas. In 2021, Petrella’s 8th album, Song of Many Colors, with lead-off single "Bebop Hoedown", scored 164,781 streams on Spotify.

Darius Rucker grew up in a small house in Charleston, South Carolina. Before becoming a successful solo country artist in his own right, Darius Rucker first rose to prominence as the frontman for the band Hootie & the Blowfish, where he had his multiplatinum success as the lead singer. In November 2020, he continued to inspire a new generation of artists by becoming the first Black co-host of the CMA Awards since Charley Pride in 1975. Among many efforts, he’s raised over $2 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, serving as an ambassador and hosting frequent benefit concerts after he was inspired by visiting the facility in 2008. Rucker is also a national chair for the National Museum of African American Music, which opened in Nashville in 2021.

Related article:

9 Black Museums to Visit Across the U.S

May is Historic Preservation Month and we want to highlight museums and memorial sites and centres which highlight the good and the bad of African American history. Visit these significa... Read More » 

Brittney Spencer

Brittney Spencer is paving her path in the music industry and making significant waves. Spencer received special attention following a viral Twitter video showing her singing a cover of a song by The Highwomen. The footage drew praise from fellow country artists and prompted the release of her first extended play, "Compassion", and multiple singles, most popularly 2021’s "Sober & Skinny". She headlined BottleRock as a member of The Highwomen and has performed with Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit and Reba McEntire. Spencer opened for Willie Nelson, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Brandi Carlile, and more in 2022.

Cleve Francis

A cardiologist, Cleveland Francis first left his medical career to become a country musician. He was active in entertainment for less than fifteen years before returning to work as a cardiologist again. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Francis recorded five studio albums, and his songs made the Billboard charts four times. He became semi-famous in country music with his hits "Love Light", "You Do My Heart Good", "Walkin’", and "How Can I Hold You." 

Linda Martell

Linda Martell became the first commercially successful Black female artist in the country music field and the first to play the Grand Ole Opry. As one of the first African-American country performers, Martell helped influence the careers of future Nashville artists of color. Born in 1941 in South Carolina, Martell listened to country, gospel, and R&B music. Martell was discovered singing country music on an air force base. In 1969 the Nashville label released her country cover of "Color Him Father". The song became a charting single on the Billboard charts, and her debut album followed in 1970. In the mid-2000s, Martell retired from her public school career and last performed publicly in 2011 with her band, Eazzy. Martell was honored with the Equal Play Award at the 2021 CMT Music Awards. It was given to recognize her work as a Black female performer in country music.

Charley Pride

Charley Frank Pride was an African American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. Born in Sledge, Mississippi, this singer was a self-taught guitar player who started playing when he was 14. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley. Pride started as a professional baseball player before his long-awaited career in music. His song, "Kiss an Angel Good Morning", was a mega-hit in the 70s and proceeded to release hit after hit well into the ’80s. He was among country music’s first black singers, plus the most iconic. He won the Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association Awards in 1971 and a Grammy for “Best Country Vocal Performance, Male” in 1972. Pride died of COVID-19 in Dallas, Texas, in December 2020 at 86 years.

Related articles:

All-Time African Most Influential Musicians

African music has been an integral part of the culture for centuries, and many great musicians have emerged from the continent. Read More »