How many black country singers are there? A list of the top 20 in the industry
For a long time, country music has long been seen as a culture for the white community. As a result, it is hard to imagine black artists whenever the genre comes up. So, are there any famous black country singers?
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The idea that country music is just for white people could not be further from the truth. There are several black country singers in the industry whose contribution has helped evolve the music genre to great heights. And while these artists have often been overshadowed, they are starting to gain widespread recognition.
Top 20 black country music stars
Black people have always been tenacious. Their tenacity and ability to break down stereotypes and challenge the status quo have not been excluded from the country music genre. Below is a look at the top 20 black country music singers who are (or have been) rocking the industry:
1. Charley Pride
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- Full name: Charley Frank Pride
- Date of birth: March 18, 1934
- Place of birth: Sledge, Mississippi, USA
- Years active: 1952 – 2020
- Died: December: 12, 2020 (86)
Charley Pride was a former singer and one of the most popular country singers. He was one of the best-selling RCA records artists since Elvis Presley in the 1970s. He also had three Grammy Awards to his name. On top of that, he was a former pro baseball player.
2. Aaron Neville
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- Full name: Aaron Joseph Neville
- Date of birth: January 24, 1981
- Age: 81 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
- Years active: 1960 to present
Aaron Neville is an American singer famous for his R&B and soul songs. However, his work also involved country music, and he even won a Grammy Award for best male country vocal collaboration in 1994. Neville also has four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the USA.
3. Rissi Palmer
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- Full name: Rissi Palmer
- Date of birth: August 19, 1981
- Age: 40 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Sewickley, Pennsylvania, USA
- Years active: 2007 to present
Rissi Palmer is one of the top black female country singers. She made history by becoming the first black woman to feature in the Billboard's Hot Country Chart since 1987 with her song, Country Girl. She has also been working tirelessly to promote other artists of colour with her show, Color Me Country Girl.
4. Stoney Edwards
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- Full name: Frenchie “Stoney” Edwards
- Date of birth: December 24, 1929
- Place of birth: Seminole, Oklahoma, USA
- Years active: 1970 – 1992
- Died: April 5, 1997 (67 years)
If you have ever wondered who is the top black country singer, Stoney Edwards is at the top of the list. He is one of the pioneers of black country music artists, having peaked around the 1970s. He is famous for having three top 40 Country hit songs, despite the heavily white-dominated country music scene during his time.
5. Blanco Brown
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- Full name: Bernie Amey III
- Nickname: Blanco Brown, Blanco "The Ear"
- Date of birth: March 24, 1985
- Age: 47 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
- Years active: 2015 to present
Blanco Brown is another black singer taking the country music scene by storm. He is a singer, songwriter, and producer who worked with other top artists like Pitbull and Chris Brown. His debut single was in 2019, The Git Up, which was a hit and reached the top of the Hot Country Songs chart.
6. Cleve Francis
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- Full name: Cleveland Francis
- Nickname: Cleve Francis
- Date of birth: April 22, 1945
- Age: 76 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Jennings, Louisiana, USA.
- Years active: 1990 to present
Cleve Francis is another legendary black country music artist. A former cardiologist, he left his medical career to make music. He has recorded five albums and boasts of four impressive Billboard Hot Country Song charts.
7. Kane Brown
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- Full name: Kane Allen Brown
- Date of birth: October 21, 1993
- Age: 28 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
- Years active: 2014 to present
If you have ever wondered who is the black guy that sings country, Kane Brown is one of the top male country artists. He is one of the hottest commodities in the industry right now, with six hit No. 1 songs on country radio. On top of that, his first album was certified double platinum, with his second also going platinum.
8. Mickey Guyton
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- Full name: Candance Mycale Guyton
- Nickname: Mickey Guyton
- Date of birth: June 17, 1983
- Age: 38 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Arlington, Texas, USA
- Years active: 2011 to present
Mickey Guyton is an American singer who specializes in R&B and country music. She is especially famous for her 2020 hit song, Black Like Me. Guyton also made history as the first black woman to reach No. 1 on the Canada Country chart. She is also the first black woman to receive a Grammy nomination for best country solo performance category.
9. Darius Rucker
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- Full name: Darius Carlos Rucker
- Nickname: Darius Rucker
- Date of birth: May 13, 1966
- Age: 55 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Charleston, South Carolina, USA
- Years active: 1986 to present
Darius Rucker is one of the top black male country singers. He first started as a lead vocalist in a rock band and released five albums with the band. He then switched to country music as a solo artist. He has won multiple awards, including a Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance in 2013.
10. Petrella Bonner
Source: Twitter
- Full name: Petrella Ann Bonner
- Nickname: Petrella
- Date of birth: April 1947
- Place of birth: Garland County, Arkansas, USA
- Years active: 1988 to present
Petrella is another sensational black country music artist. She famously refers to herself as "the first lady of country soul," a name that has caught on. She is an impressive artist with a total of seven studio albums. On top of that, several of her songs have been featured in the Top 100 Country Singles chart.
11. Miko Marks
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- Full name: Miko Marks
- Place of birth: Flint, Michigan, USA.
- Nationality: American
- Years active: 2005 to present
- Instruments played: Acoustic guitar
Miko Marks is another sensational female black country music singer. She burst into the scene in the early 2000s as a promising start and even won the 2006 New Music Weekly Award for Best New Country Artist. However, she found it hard to thrive in a primarily white country music scene as a black artist. Nevertheless, after a hiatus of several years, she is back again with a new album that she released in 2021.
12. Jimmie Allen
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- Full name: James Edward Allen
- Nickname: Jimmie Allen
- Date of birth: June 18, 1985
- Age: 36 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Milton, Delaware, USA
- Years active: 2017 to present
Jimmie Allen is another star of the country music scene. He has one album, Mercury Lane, which peaked at No. 11 on the US Country chart. In addition, he won the 2021 Country Music Association award for New Artist of the Year, becoming the second black artist to bag the award after Darius Rucker.
13. Brittney Spencer
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- Full name: Brittney Spencer
- Date of birth: September 8, 1988
- Age: 33 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Years active: 2020 to present
Brittney Spencer is an American country music artist taking the Nashville scene by storm. She was born in Baltimore and moved to Nashville in 2013 with a dream of becoming a country music star. Instead, she became famous after a viral Twitter video where she was performing the cover of the country song, The Highwomen. She has since released her extended play album and several singles.
14. Tina Turner
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- Full name: Ann Mae Bullock
- Nickname: Tina Turner
- Date of birth: November 26, 1939
- Age: 82 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Brownsville, Tennessee, USA
- Years active: 1957 to present
Tina Turner is an American-born Swiss singer and actress. Her music falls under several genres, including Rock, R&B, pop, and soul. However, she is also one of the top country singers, and her 1974 debut album, Tina Turns the Country On! was full of country songs.
15. Willie Jones
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- Full name: Willie Jones
- Date of birth: September 23, 1994
- Age: 27 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
- Years active: 2021 to present
Willie Jones is a rising talent on the country music scene. However, he has been in the music industry for several years. He competed in the X Factor in 2022, where he attracted widespread recognition. Later, he turned into a social media influencer, his content focusing on music. Jones recently signed a deal with Sony Music Nashville and revolutionised country music by blending the genre with hip hop.
16. Yola Carter
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- Full name: Yolanda Claire Quartey
- Nickname: Yola/ Yola Carter
- Date of birth: July 31, 1983
- Age: 38 years
- Place of birth: Bristol, England
- Years active: 2016 to present
Yola Carter is a British singer and songwriter dubbed "The queen of country soul." She is a revolutionary black country star who fuses country music with soul. She has two studio albums to her name. The British country singer also received four Grammy nominations in 2020.
17. Shy Carter
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- Full name: Blake Anthony Carter
- Nickname: Shy Carter
- Date of birth: August 21, 1984
- Age: 37 years
- Place of birth: Memphis, Tennessee, USA
- Years active: 2007 to present
Shy Carter is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. He started his singing career in the pop scene, quickly making a name for himself. However, he has since switched to country and R&B songs – the kind of music he grew up listening to.
18. Madeline Edwards
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- Full name: Madeline Edwards
- Place of birth: California, USA
- Nationality: American
- Music genre: Jazz, R&B, and country
- Years active: 2021 to present
Madeline Edwards is an American singer and songwriter hailing from California and Texas. She is another black singer revolutionizing the country music industry by fusing it with other music genres – jazz and soul. While she has been making a name for herself in the music scene for a while, she gained recognition when she performed during the 2021 CMA awards alongside Brittney Spencer and Mickey Guyton.
19. Cowboy Troy
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- Full name: Troy Lee Coleman III
- Nickname: Cowboy Troy
- Date of birth: December 18, 1970
- Age: 51 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Victoria, Texas, USA
- Years active: 1999 to present
Cowboy Troy is an American singer and songwriter. He is another legendary black artist famous for his country rap music. He jumped into the music scene in the early 2000s and became the second black singer to perform at the Country Music Association Awards in 2004. He is a highly successful artist with seven studio albums.
20. Amythyst Kiah
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- Full name: Amethyst Kiah
- Date of birth: December 11, 1986
- Age: 35 years (as of 2022)
- Place of birth: Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
- Years active: 2013 to present
Amythyst Kiah is an up-and-coming American singer who makes alternative country-blues music. She is also a composer, guitarist, and banjoist. She has three albums to her name but is most famous for her single song, Black Myself, which she released in 2021. She has also been on several tours across the US, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
For a long time, black country singers have experienced a hard time trying to make headway in the country music scene. However, several artists have made a name for themselves despite the challenges. The above are some of the top 20 black country music artists, who have taken the industry by a storm, and are shaping it towards a better future.
Yen.com.gh shared an interesting piece about the richest musicians in Ghana. These artists have seamlessly cemented their places in the global music sector. As a result, they have managed to bag huge sums of cash from their hard work, talent and commitment to their careers.
The richest musicians in Ghana make money through music royalties, shows and live performances. In addition, the rise of social media platforms have also come in handy as they also earn through sites such as YouTube, Spotify and Boomplay.
Source: YEN.com.gh
