2025 Black History Month: Legendary Living History: Linda Martell
This year, for Black History Month, I decided to learn more about influential Black women. Most of my posts focus on entrepreneurs and mothers, but this one's a little different. This is my third post in the series, about a living legend: Linda Martell. Linda's name may sound familiar to you --- Beyoncé recently thanked her in her acceptance speech when Cowboy Carter won Album of The Year (!!) at the 2025 Grammys!
Linda Martell was born Thelma Bynum in South Carolina, in 1941. She grew up as one of five children, and her father Clarence was a preacher. She grew up singing gospel music, and country music was also part of the family, as her father was a big Hank Williams fan.
As a teenager, Linda, her sister, and her cousin started an R&B group together called The Anglos. They performed around South Carolina and started to gain some notoriety -- a local DJ named Big Saul Greene looked at Linda (then still called Thelma) and said "Your name is Linda Martell. You look like Linda. That fits you," Greene told her. From then on, the group was known was Linda Martell and The Anglos. They recorded a single, A Little Tear (Was Falling from My Eyes), but it was not promoted and didn't sell. But, they stuck at it, and recorded several more singles, and performed backup vocals for well known R&B artists like the Drifters.
Shortly afterward, the group broke up, but Linda continued to sing. While singing at an Air Force Base in South Carolina, a furniture salesman named Duke Raynor offered to record a country demo for Linda. At first, she declined, thinking he was a "kook," but he was persistent, and she took him up on his offer. When she flew to Nashville, she also met with Shelby Singleton, who was a producer. Singleton convinced her to record a country record, which was a surprise to Linda -- up until then, she had mostly sang pop and R&B music.
Linda signed on with Duke and Singleton, who managed multiple labels. Linda's contract with Singleton was under his label Plantation Records, which included white and Black artists. From the beginning, Linda was under no illusions about the name, and confronted Singleton. She asked him why it was called Plantation Records. He said that there wasn't a specific reason. Interviewed in 2020 by Rolling Stone, Linda recalled that she said, 'Yes, there was.' He said, ‘Of course not.’ I said, ‘Yes. What you are telling me is that black people belonged on the plantation!’ Despite the offensive name, Linda signed the deal, and recorded her first - and only album - called Color Me Country.
The album was a hit! It spent two weeks on the Billboard country charts, and the single "Color Him Farther" peaked at #22 with 10 weeks on the charts. Linda was a star. She appeared several times on the Grand Ole Opry - the first Black woman to do so - and sang on the show Hee Haw. Reviews of her work were all positive, and Linda recalls being met by multiple standing ovations when she performed at the Opry.
Ebony magazine wrote in 1970: "…to see her onstage, tearing at the heart of a tune, sending seasoned country-western audiences into ecstatic shouts and applause is to see a star.”
Despite the praise for her talent, Linda faced incredible racism in the industry and society. She was heckled and called terrible names when she was performing. Singleton recognized that he had to be careful about where she could perform on tour, because of the overt racism that Linda faced when she was onstage.
Unfortunately, Linda had a messy separation from Singleton's representation. He told her he was prioritizing promoting another new promising artist, and would not promote Linda as much. She left for another label, and he promptly sued for commissions. "He blackballed me,” she says, a flash of anger taking over her face. “You heard the term? Well, he did that. So no one else would record me. It ruined my reputation in country music. Shelby had a lot of power during that time."
From there, Linda's story takes a dramatic turn. She left country music, and while she still found work as a singer, performing on cruise ships, her promise was not realized. She tried multiple different careers, at one point, opening a record store in New York City, and then moving back to South Carolina to be closer to her family - she had a blended family of four children. In South Carolina, Linda found work as a school bus driver. The school kids knew nothing of her past, and once heard her music. “They were amazed,” she says. “They said, ‘Who’s that lady? Is that you?’ ‘Yeah, baby, that’s me.’”?
Linda was living in relative obscurity until 2021, when she was awarded the CMT Equal Play Award, the first and only award that she received for her contributions to country music. Linda said for the award, "No matter how well your record was doing, the color of your skin stopped you from working in a lot of great places."
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Then, Beyoncé came calling! Linda was featured on the album Cowboy Carter on the track SPAGHETTII, which also featured Shaboozey. SPAGHETTII was nominated for a Grammy, which was Linda's first nomination.
"Genres are a funny little concept, aren't they? Yes they are. In theory, they may have a simple definition that's easy to understand, but in practice, well, some may feel confined."
Thankfully, there is work being done today to honor Linda and her contributions. Her granddaughter Quia Thompson has been working for years to tell her story, and raised more than $40,000 via a GoFundMe to fund a documentary about Linda's life.
Linda Martell is a living legend who made great contributions and sang for decades. We should all know her name - and be signing her songs - but sadly her career was cut short by systemic and unchecked racism, which persists today in our society and in country music. In fact, even Beyoncé's big win illustrates the ongoing oppression in the music industry.
There are many lessons from Linda's story. Some that speak to me today are:
Sources:
Technology leader driving excellence with delivery of solutions in fast-paced and ever changing environments | formerly at WSI, Apple, Gap
2 周Beyoncé’s album had me research the deep history and Black influence in country music. Truly inspiring and her Grammy win was well-deserved. Her album was my top album on my Spotify Wrapped 2024 ??