Linda Martell

A pioneering force hailed as the unsung hero of the genre, Linda Martell was the first commercially successful Black female artist in country music. She had the highest peaking single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart at #22, “Color Him Father,” by a Black female country artist in the history of the genre in 1969, until Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ’Em” debuted at #1 in February 2024. The song was featured on her first and only album, Color Me Country, which climbed to the Top 40 of the Billboard Top Country Album chart and featured three charting singles. Martell went on to become the first Black female artist to perform on the Grand Ole Opry stage and went on to make 12 total appearances.

Though the album was deemed a success, Martell’s talent and tenacity still faced racism by audiences shouting racial slurs at nearly every live show. With her final single underperforming, she found herself shelved by her label and essentially blacklisted by “the town” resulting in her departure from country music 1974.

Martell blazed trails many never thought possible in the 1970s and her work continues to shape the country genre today. In 2021, CMT recognized her with the Equal Play Award and most recently, she had two placements on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter record with “THE LINDA MARTELL SHOW” and “SPAGHETTI,” further ensuring her music, story and legacy are always remembered. This Fall, her groundbreaking story will be highlighted in her documentary, “Bad Case of the Country Blues”