Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' spotlights Linda Martell, Black country music pioneer
Beyoncé’s new album, “Cowboy Carter,” has shined a light on Linda Martell, a Black country music pioneer that many people may not know.
Beyoncé’s new album, “Cowboy Carter,” has shined a light on a country music pioneer that many people may not know.
One of the album’s tracks is called “The Linda Martell Show,” which is an intro to the song “Ya Ya.” Martell appears on that track, as well as the song “Spaghetti.” Though Linda Martell, 82, has a long history in country music, many who are unfamiliar with her name and her vocals, are asking the question: Who is Linda Martell?
Read on to learn more about the country music pioneer.
In 1970, Martell released “Color Me Country” which featured the hit “Color Him Father,” a cover of a song by The Winstons. The album also included such popular songs as “Bad Case of the Blues,” “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and “You’re Crying Boy, Crying.”
Rolling Stone said that her album, which was described as “a mix of honky-tonk spunk and heartbreak balladry, all infused with her roots in gospel and R&B,” led Martell to become the first solo Black woman country artist to play the Grand Ole Opry.
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