That may be, but country radio is not in the music history business. The music is all there for the musicologists who want to study it. Country radio just plays the hits and focuses on the core audience.
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Beyonce Country Project
- Thread starter TheBigA
- Start date
That may be, but country radio is not in the music history business. The music is all there for the musicologists who want to study it. Country radio just plays the hits and focuses on the core audience.
Black artistry is woven into the fabric of country music. It belongs to everyone | Rhiannon Giddens
With Beyoncé becoming the first Black woman to top the US country charts, musician Rhiannon Giddens, who plays banjo and viola on Texas Hold ’Em, explains how capitalism and racism warped the genre
www.theguardian.com
Sort of dismissive. Without Rhiannon Giddens the song that is the subject of this thread wouldn't sound country at all. Don't underestimate Rhiannon Giddens.
Keep in mind Rhiannon Giddens was already on a hit song that got played on country radio:
Eric Church (Feat. Rhiannon Giddens), 'Kill a Word' [Listen]
Not many country singers have Eric Church's courage to release a song like Kill a Word, his third single from the Mr. Misunderstood album.
tasteofcountry.com
I really don’t think this can be blamed on “the public”. Listeners either like or dislike a song, based on how it sounds. If they don’t like the style of a particular artist, it really is not an issue of race but, instead, an issue of taste.
Certainly this kind of effort should be encouraged. It broadens the choices music consumers have and can even pull a whole genre out of a runt. The best example is how Motown revived Top 40 in the earlier 60’s when that format or genre was in a lull following the payola scandals and an excess of novelty songs: “The Bristol Stomp” anyone?
I think that the radio research will be quantitative… “how much do you like it?” and not perceptual. The label may do perceptual to find out why a song is liked or not, but I have never heard of a station taking the immense expense to find out why a person likes or dislikes a song.
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It depends. Certainly if the song doesn't succeed at country radio, the critics will blame racism, and cite the chart history of black women, or women in general. But when an artist performs, they put the whole package on display. That's the lesson of The Voice. The coaches pick their team based only on the voice, not appearance. That's not the case with this song.
Thank goodness for YouTube and streaming. People are exploring and musical tastes are changing and expanding. Young and very talented artists are performing in every genre.
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Oh for some people it is most definitely an issue of race. Sure, some people simply will or won’t like a song, but there’s no pretending there aren’t deep racial divides still out there. Admitting it? Not so much. But it is most definitely alive and well, sadly.
Sometimes. The way YouTube and Pandora work is they take your taste, as demonstrated by existing songs you like, and find what they consider to be similar songs. 'If you like this, you might also like this.' So they kind of keep you in the same silo. Sometimes new music can be imposed on you by the curator. At least that's the hope of record labels. They spend a lot of money trying to get their music into YouTube, Spotify, and Pandora. The option of hearing music outside of your genre could just as easily be done by changing the radio station.
What I see on this board is most users aren't interested in new performers or music they haven't heard. They want to hear their favorite classics. In the case of this thread, which is country music, there's a lot of attention given to breaking new artists and new styles of music. In fact, the #1 song this week is by a new artist.
Point taken, as it seemed to take a long time in country music to get another black artist, after Charlie Pride, to hit the charts, but I'm not so sure that the issue -- at least among the music fans -- was primarily race based.
I think the racism that still pervades sectors of this country somewhat gets bypassed when it comes to music and music genres. Look at Michael Jackson, Prince, Beyonce, Drake, or even Lil Nas X doing that popular collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus.
It seems that even people who have racist tendencies historically still listen to music by black artists. It's always been that way, even during the early rock years, or during the swing years long before that.... A very curious American cultural trait.
Glad to see that Beyonce is getting airplay, and actually embraced country music.
I was in a restaurant yesterday that had the local country station on the P.A. in the dining area. Nearing the top of the hour for the drive-time music block, this song popped on.
Now, I've not been a fan of country in 30 years, so I simply don't hear a lot of current stuff at all.
T'was an interesting song to hear, especially after just following along this thread on the forum.
Now, I've not been a fan of country in 30 years, so I simply don't hear a lot of current stuff at all.
T'was an interesting song to hear, especially after just following along this thread on the forum.
I've warmed up to it considerably. It's a fun track with more than a little soul/gospel influence, albeit lyrically weak. Better this than that Applebee's song "Fancy Like" any day. (Look it up on YouTube, kw. It's truly awful.) Is it a cheatin' song with weeping steel guitar? Is it a ballad about a showdown in the Old West? A fast-paced ditty about driving an 18-wheeler in a snowstorm? No, and the country music traditionalists -- not all of whom are closeted Klansmen, by the way -- will never accept "Texas Hold 'Em" as a country song, nor will they ever accept Beyonce as a "real" country artist unless (maybe) she records songs with those traditional country themes on her upcoming album.
A few years back I was at a FGL concert which featured Nelly. The crowd was 100% white, and the greatest reaction in terms of applause, standing up on their seats, yelling and singing along was when the songs with Nelly were performed.
I had a similar experience at a multi-artist country festival when Lil Nas X showed up and did Old Town Road. They knew every word.
Berry Gordy Jr wasn't about making black music, he was about making popular music with black artists.
Interview with CMT's Leslie Fram on how lines between genres are blurring:
www.insideradio.com
Of course Leslie is a former PD of several alternative rock stations, and even appears on 99X in Atlanta.
Pop Goes Country: Line Between The Genres Blurs.
The country music boom of 2023 looks to continue this year, bolstered by crossover country-first artists like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen and joined by pop-chart veterans Beyoncé and Post
Of course Leslie is a former PD of several alternative rock stations, and even appears on 99X in Atlanta.
Like Billy Ray Cyrus on "Old Town Road". And whoever played the instruments when he was singing.
^^^ My newest favorite singer was also a part of that song and I've seen clips of him singing it in his shows. I love Mason Ramsey so much! 
God bless you and him always!!!
Holly (a girl who has tickets to his March 22nd show)
God bless you and him always!!!
Holly (a girl who has tickets to his March 22nd show)