Without its African and Creole influences, country music would surely sound quite different--or not exist at all. Royster scratches away the genre's whitewashed patina and traces the lineage of country music to Black, Mexican, and Native people, among others. In rich conversations with contemporary artists like Darius Rucker and Lil Nas X, Royster examines the evolution of Black country music while recognizing--and in some cases introducing--the artists who preceded them.--Liz Doupnik "W Magazine" (4/3/2024 12:00:00 AM)
In a sense, this book is itself Afrofuturist: the author created the future she wanted by listening for revolutions. She found them.-- "The Journal of Popular Culture" (11/17/2023 12:00:00 AM)
Francesca T. Royster's prose deserves consideration regardless of this book's novelty. It is well-researched as well as sensuous and personal, and the insights about artists ranging from Lil Nas X and Rhiannon Giddens to Tina Turner and Beyoncé are incisive. . . This work is strong and adds much to the study of country music, race, and American music.-- "Pop Matters" (7/18/2023 12:00:00 AM)
A compendium that studies the history and future of African-American achievement in the genre.-- "The Tennessean" (2/25/2023 12:00:00 AM)
Today, black singers and songwriters are producing some of the most interesting country music around: Mickey Guyton, Amythyst Kiah, Rissi Palmer, Brittney Spencer--to name a few. They are the latest wave in a long and complicated history of black involvement in and influence on country music, as expertly detailed by Francesca T. Royster in Black Country Music.-- "Wall Street Journal" (2/24/2023 12:00:00 AM)
Country music encompasses so much more than one would be led to believe by what's being promoted and by what has been written and rewritten about countless times. Thankfully, Francesca Royster's new book tells the story of Black songwriters/performers/fans in the white male-dominated world of popular country music. It's a history that has been obscured, hidden, white-washed, overlooked and outright denied for way too long. This is a really fantastic and inspiring book that opens up a whole new world of country and folk music. If you think you know it all you don't!-- "Southern Bookseller Review" (1/1/2023 12:00:00 AM)
Black Country Music follows the author on an observational and historical journey through the racially divisive undertones of American country music...This book is just as personal as it is a well of knowledge regarding the history of the Black country tradition and the artists who contribute to it, past and presence.-- "New York Amsterdam News, "Best Black books of 2022"" (1/5/2023 12:00:00 AM)
Black Country Music is an exhilarating book, and Royster's ingenious blend of memoir and analysis showcases the emerging artists and fans that she affirms are 'changing what country music looks and sounds like.'-- "No Depression" (12/22/2022 12:00:00 AM)
A thoughtful and thought-provoking read...I found Royster's explanations to be very accessible and moving, and I would happily read more from her. I hope her work is widely read now and in the future by country music fans from all kinds of backgrounds.-- "Book Riot" (2/3/2023 12:00:00 AM)
Royster addresses the dismissal that Black country music artists and fans feel within this community, combining memoir writing with journalism as she focuses on specific Black artists helping to create space in a genre that appears too willing to neglect its own roots...In Black Country Music, the featured artists are sometimes surprising (Tina Turner, Beyoncé), but in sharing their efforts in the genre, the Black community can reclaim country music as part of their present.-- "SPIN, "Best Music Books of 2022"" (12/28/2022 12:00:00 AM)
Black Country Music arrives as mainstream country music continues to grapple with its longstanding marginalization of minorities. Along with artists that broke through to country radio, like Charley Pride and Darius Rucker, [Royster] spotlights a new generation of artists, including Our Native Daughters, Allison Russell and Leyla McCalla, while explaining the industry's need to take an honest look at inclusion -- and the genre's lackthereof.-- "The Boot, "10 Best Country Music Books of 2022"" (12/6/2022 12:00:00 AM)
[A] groundbreaking work...Black Country Music is a must-read for any music fan.-- "Texas Monthly" (11/25/2022 12:00:00 AM)
An important examination on the erasure of Black voices and music expression in the world of American country music.-- "New York Amsterdam News" (12/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)
Provocative and illuminating...Every fan of country and Americana music should read this book.-- "No Depression, "2022's Most Memorable Music Books"" (12/15/2022 12:00:00 AM)
Royster examines not just the erasure Black artists have faced in country music, but the many ways they are reclaiming their presence in it. At the same time, she also interrogates her own relationship with country music as listener, fan, and banjo player...Royster explores the spaces Black country artists are carving for themselves.-- "JSTOR Daily" (11/23/2022 12:00:00 AM)
Black Country Music delves deeply into the tensions, pleasures, and contradictions that Royster, as a Black queer woman, finds in country music as a genre and a cultural signifier. The book weaves history, criticism, and memoir into an elegant narrative that challenges assumptions about what country music can be.-- "Chapter 16" (9/26/2022 12:00:00 AM)
Black Country Music is an astounding work of musical history and cultural reckoning...This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys country music, music writing, Black history, and Afrofuturism.-- "Bearded Gentlemen Music" (10/3/2022 12:00:00 AM)
An original, timely and much-needed entry in the long-overdue national conversation on representation and accountability in the country music industry.-- "Los Angeles Times" (10/7/2022 12:00:00 AM)