Francesca T. Royster, author of ‘Black Country Music: Listening For Revolutions’, shares an often overlooked black presence in the country

Francesca T. Royster’s new book “Black Country Music: Listening to Revolutions” explores the rich, and mostly hidden, history of black musicians writing and recording in the genre of country music. Growing out of “hillbilly music” in the early 1920s, country music presented itself as being predominantly white-centric, both through its most famous artists and its fan base. “Black Country Music » seeks to illuminate how misguided this portrayal is and demonstrate how black musicians created and shaped country music similarly to rhythm & blues and rock and roll. Through Royster’s writing, we have a context for black musicians working in the genre and can gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the black experience as it relates to ideas of being Southern and the standard notion what country music is. I spoke with Royster about the book ahead of its appearance at the Louisville Book Festival this Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.

Where many other genres of music seem to have grown and grown from their original definitions, like grunge and alternative rock, hop-hop from rap, country music seems to have resisted this expansion. Do you think this is deliberate?
This is my impression. I mean, I think, like, Americana and the roots was a way to capture some of the different feelings and styles and traditions of country music and of course bluegrass. But it seems like the result is there’s more expansion and style, and maybe a bit more flexibility in terms of, you know, who’s allowed to play in Americana and roots, and then also as a sort of historical recognition. The result is that it also confirms that the country is this very specific thing. There are also these kind of subgenres in country like traditional country or country-politan or bro country and hick-hop, but I think the flexibility – it’s very hard to break into as as a crossover, or as someone trying to follow a trend in the genre. To me, I feel like some of these artists who try to do that in the country then get relegated to Americana or roots. Although, you know, I wouldn’t say relegated because that makes it feel like they’re not good spaces. But I think the result is just that. This allows country as a genre to be more limited in terms of what it does.

It seems to me that country is the last genre of music that still has such obvious control. Do you feel that the music is so deeply rooted in the southern part of the United States, which has always been considered the most racist, or in the most overtly racist part of the United States which has kept the access control ?
I feel like this genre was grounded in some sort of logic of segregation, which I talk about in the book as how it sets itself apart from black audiences. In the 1920s, when the genre was coined more or less by talent scouts and record companies, they distinguished hillbilly music as a kind of white music aimed at white audiences, and “race” music, you know, blues, rhythm and blues and jazz for black audiences. I think part of the story of access control is this assumption of, you know, who’s going to be the most profitable audience for this music. But also, I think there were ideological messages, tied to early country music in the way the country was marketed. That kind of connection goes back to this feeling that you’re describing, which is, you know, kind of a connection between country music and a very static nostalgic idea of ​​whiteness in the South. If there were black artists they were caricatures like the kind of recognition of black music was in this more cartoonish notion of minstrelsy or blackface and the ideas of an old South and there was very little room for contemporary black artists in this vision. Also, how white audiences and marketing to white audiences have been bolstered, or how country music has been used in particular political campaigns, like supporting segregationist politicians – George Wallace, for example. In the beginning, you know, one of the most marketable and successful country or hillbilly artists, Fiddlin’ John Carson, also performed for KKK rallies. So there’s kind of a way that country music has been enlisted to support white supremacy. And even if it doesn’t happen as explicitly, I think there’s still this idea of ​​how country music is used to support some sort of nationalistic message. A pro American message that is, in kind of the main topic, you know, a white topic, and so I think that also contributes to the feeling of black artists and black fans to be unsuitable because of this story as well.

What prompted you to write on this subject? Was it your love of country music and growing up with that in your life? Or were there other reasons?
Well, part of that was meeting black artists that I loved having those country music experiences like Tina Turner and Ray Charles and just being curious that it’s really hard to find his album. His country album may be out of print. Finding Ray Charles isn’t as hard and there has been more recognition recently since he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But we never talk about Tina Turner as a country music artist or someone who produced country music even though she herself is from the country and made this album. So that was part of it and then when I was living in Nashville with my parents my dad played on country music albums as a percussionist in the 70s. Recently I interviewed him on the house and the community, and he started talking about what it was like playing in the studios or playing clubs with country artists. It was interesting to me that even though I knew he did that, I completely deleted it as a memory and you know, I just didn’t have it, as someone who writes and makes research on black music and performance, I really hadn’t found much on black country, although I think it’s a phenomenon. So it made me curious, and it was really thinking about my own family’s involvement in that scene, because I mean, we listened to a lot of different genres of music when I was young. We were a nice musical family in terms of records and stuff. And me, you know, I was kind of taught this idea that there was no music that was out of my reach, or that I shouldn’t listen to, but as I got older, I definitely felt those clumsiness or out of bounds messages. It was reinforced by black friends and family, but also by being in spaces that were country music spaces and really feeling like an outsider. I always find myself, like, interested in my own kind of experience of the culture where I feel out of place or feel uncomfortable, and then I try to understand it as a historical and social phenomenon . I’m also trying to learn more about music, because I feel like I’m almost stuck listening to really country music. It was really hard for me to hear the depth of country music, especially really contemporary country music, so I wanted to explore why it felt like a taboo and why it’s not part of stories like black music that I have read.

Francesa T. Royster speaks during a panel at the Louisville Book Festival Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. with Stephen Deusner titled “Integrity, Nuance, and Performance in the Music of the American South.” You can find more information about the Louisville Book Festival at www.louisvillebookfestival.com.

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