There’s been a flood of stellar performers from country’s “fringe” stopping in Madison. Americana acts were quick to return to the road when venues reopened and Madison features many low- to mid-sized clubs that are eager supporters.
4:12 pm UTC Feb. 16, 2021
Country music trailblazer Charley Pride
Photo: Ricky Rogers, The Tennessean, Illustration: Brian Gray, USA TODAY Network
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As the National Museum of African American Music opens its doors, journalists from the USA TODAY Network explore the stories, places and people who helped make music what it is today in our expansive series, Hallowed Sound.
Intertwining Black and white communities shaped country music.
Decades before Entertainer of the Year trophies and heated competition for radio placement, the fiddle descending from European immigrants and the banjo created by African slaves melded in the American South.
The not-singing bird
With endless silence. David Olney
People say it was a poetic exit. I assure you, NOBODY wants to die onstage figuratively or literally. On Jan. 18, Americana pioneer, singer-songwriter, recording artist, pre-pandemic streamcaster, actor, and my longtime client and good friend David Olney died of an apparent heart attack midsong. He was center stage between Amy Rigby and Scott Miller at the 30A Songwriter Festival in the Florida panhandle. His last words: “I’m sorry.” His mantra, however, was, “Always be true to the song.”
Understanding the covenant between the audience and performer, David earned rapt attention from folks wondering how to classify what they were witnessing. Was it country? Folk? Blues? Vaudeville? Scottish newspaper
Died: December 12, 2020. CHARLEY Pride, who has died aged 86 from complications of Covid-19, was a country singer who broke the mould several times over. His honey-sweet, easy-going voice on deep-fried classics such as Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’ and Crystal Chandelier saw him sell millions of records and become successful all over the world. He released more than 50 albums, and scored 29 No.1’s in the Country music chart. During his 3- years with the RCA label, only Elvis Presley sold more records than he did. As a black artist operating within what has historically been a predominantly white genre, his talents came to the fore during an era of institutionalised racism, and his early records were issued without a picture of him. He was only the second artist of colour to become a member of the home of country royalty, the Grand Ole Opry.