Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions (American Music Series)

After a century of racist whitewashing, country music is finally reckoning with its relationship to Black people. In this timely work—the first book on Black country music by a Black writer—Francesca Royster uncovers the Black performers and fans, including herself, who are exploring the pleasures and possibilities of the genre. Informed by queer theory and Black feminist scholarship, Royster’s book elucidates the roots of the current moment found in records like Tina Turner’s first solo album, Tina Turns the Country On! She reckons with Black “bros” Charley Pride and Darius Rucker, then chases ghosts into the future with Valerie June. Indeed, it is the imagination of Royster and her artists that make this music so exciting for a genre that has long been obsessed with the past. The futures conjured by June and others can be melancholy, and are not free of racism, but by centering Black folk Royster begins to understand what her daughter hears in the banjo music of Our Native Daughters and the trap beat of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.” A Black person claiming country music may still feel a bit like a queer person coming out, but, collectively, Black artists and fans are changing what country music looks and sounds like—and who gets to love it.

After a century of racist whitewashing, country music is finallyreckoning with its relationship to Black people. In this timelywork-the first book on Black country music by a Blackwriter-Francesca Royster uncovers the Black performers and fans,including herself, who are exploring the pleasures andpossibilities of the genre.

Informed by queer theory and Black feminist scholarship,Royster's book elucidates the roots of the current moment found inrecords like Tina Turner's first solo album, Tina Turns theCountry On! She reckons with Black "bros" Charley Pride andDarius Rucker, then chases ghosts into the future with ValerieJune. Indeed, it is the imagination of Royster and her artists thatmake this music so exciting for a genre that has long been obsessedwith the past. The futures conjured by June and others can bemelancholy, and are not free of racism, but by centering Black folkRoyster begins to understand what her daughter hears in the banjomusic of Our Native Daughters and the trap beat of Lil Nas X's "OldTown Road." A Black person claiming country music may still feel abit like a queer person coming out, but, collectively, Blackartists and fans are changing what country music looks and soundslike-and who gets to love it.

""What happens when we look at US country music through a black feminist and queer eye?" Francesca Royster suggests it reveals a group of mostly invisible fans and performers in a "white" musical genre, some of whom are intervening in that space in ways that are creative, risky and inherently "soulful." While loving country music can be an exercise in shaming and rejection for these fans, the music is also a space of creativity, resistance, and power. Royster contends that the pleasures country music offers some Black listeners can be connected to Eve Sedgwick's idea of queerness as "the open mesh of possibilities" within any group that "doesn't signify monolithically." That makes for a useful lens for exploring the ways that country music changes people as they listen, perform and consume, both as individuals and in community"-- Provided by publisher Contents Introduction. Where My People At? 1. Uneasy Listening: Tina Turner’s Queer Frequencies 2. Love You, My Brother: Darius Rucker’s Bro-Intimacy 3. How to Be an Outlaw: Beyoncé’s “Daddy Lessons” 4. Valerie June, Ghost Catcher 5. Can the Black Banjo Speak? Notes on Songs of Our Native Daughters 6. Thirteen Ways of Looking at Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” Conclusion. Black Country Music Afrofuturisms: Mickey Guyton, Rissi Palmer, and DeLila Black Acknowledgments Notes Index