My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Fut

<b>Alice Randall, award-winning professor, songwriter, and author with a "lively, engaging, and often wise" (<i>The New York Times Book Review</i>) voice, offers a lyrical, introspective, and unforgettable account of her past and her search for the first family of Black country music.</b> <p/>Country music had brought Randall and her activist mother together and even gave Randall a singular distinction in American music history: she is the first Black woman to cowrite a number one country hit, Trisha Yearwood's "XXX's and OOO's". Randall found inspiration and comfort in the sounds and history of the first family of Black country music: DeFord Bailey, Lil Hardin, Ray Charles, Charley Pride, and Herb Jeffries who, together, made up a community of Black Americans rising through hard times to create simple beauty, true joy, and sometimes profound eccentricity. <p/> What emerges in <i>My Black Country</i> is a celebration of the most American of music genres and the radical joy in realizing the power of Black influence on American culture. As country music goes through a fresh renaissance today, with a new wave of Black artists enjoying success, <i>My Black Country </i>is the perfect gift for longtime country fans and a vibrant introduction to a new generation of listeners who previously were not invited to give the genre a chance.<br><br><b>Author:</b> Alice Randall<br><b>Publisher:</b> Atria/Black Privilege Publishing<br><b>Published:</b> 04/09/2024<br><b>Pages:</b> 288<br><b>B