Black Women Finally Getting Country Music Recognition By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Black artists have always been active and vital in country music circles, despite a long-running mythology that only whites have written and performed it. The prevailing line peddled for decades was that until Charley Pride came along and Ray Charles did a couple of albums, Blacks, with the notable exception of harmonica ace/vocalist Deford Bailey, had largely ignored country music. That notion was widely believed despite the fact Black string bands, songwriters, and vocalists had been influencing and having a huge impact on country music from its…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Volunteers head into Friday’s SEC Tournament game coming off one of their better performances of the season, a regular season home finale triumph over the Florida Gators Sunday. The 65-54 victory secured a double bye for the Volunteers, concluded their SEC regular season slate with a 10-7 mark (17-7 overall), and provided them with a rest until Friday. Then they will play either Florida again, Texas A&M or Vanderbilt. Though they had a tepid first half, in the second half Tennessee reverted back to their early-season form, playing strong defense and getting…
For decades the Southeastern Conference was a bastion of segregation athletically. But this season the SEC achieved a landmark that puts all the other Power 5 conferences to shame. There are only 13 Black women coaches in all these leagues. SEVEN of them are in the SEC. Earlier this year Kentucky made Kyra Elzy the seventh Black woman leading an SEC program. They joined Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina and LSU. Sunday South Carolina and Georgia battled each other for the SEC title, with South Carolina emerging victorious 67-62. It was the first time in SEC history…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Ralph Peterson Jr., a drummer, bandleader, composer and educator whose lunging propulsion and volatile combustion were hallmarks of a jazz career spanning more than 40 years, died last week in North Dartmouth, Mass. The cause was complications from cancer, his manager, Laura Martinez, told NPR Music; Peterson had been living with the disease for the last six years. He was 58. Peterson was a marvelous rhythmic force, and a gifted mentor for young jazz musicians. He was featured in many contexts. These included albums by trumpeter Terence Blanchard and saxophonist Donald Harrison, heading bands…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Though he wasn’t a native and didn’t relocate here until 2000, swing mainstay and prolific drummer Duffy Jackson quickly became part of Music City’s jazz scene. Jackson, who passed March 3 at 67, became a familiar face at both the Nashville Jazz Workshop and also Rudy’s Jazz Room, playing small sets, offering encouragement to other musicians, and generally lighting up the place wherever he was either playing or just in the vicinity. His death came from complications due to hip surgery according to his sister Sandra Anton in a repor featured on the WBGO…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — One of reggae’s greatest songwriters, lyricists and artists has died. The great Bunny Wailer, a founding member of Bob Marley’s Wailers died early Tuesday at 73. His manager confirmed Wailer’s death to the Jamaica Observer. “He died about 8:00 this morning. I’m still right here with him,” his manager, Maxine Stowe, told the Observer from the Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston. No cause of death was cited, but Wailer had suffered a second stroke last July. He was born Neville Livingston, and until Tuesday was the final surviving member of the Wailers. Bunny Wailer,…
It’s no longer a news story or a big deal today to see Black faces on a sports telecast, either a game broadcast or a studio show. Nor does anyone even blink when women are part of a studio or game team. But that certainly wasn’t the case as recently as the ‘70s. Longtime cornerback and broadcaster Irv Cross died on Sunday near his Minnesota home, the Philadelphia Eagles announced. CBS made headlines back in 1975 when they announced a change in the lineup for their marquee studio show “The NFL Today.” That was the year that former Philadelphia Eagles…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Titans will be in the market for at least one and possibly two wide receivers this off-season, and they will also be looking for new faces in the defensive backfield. The revamp began last week as three players were cut, including one who’d previously been thought to have been a significant upgrade at the time, and another who ended up starting five games last season before getting injured. Adam Humphries had enjoyed good years as a slot receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but was mostly a disappointment during his two seasons for…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Only days after being attacked for having no Black members, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) awarded four Blacks Golden Globes Sunday night, and three won in film categories for the first time in 14 years. The night was started by Black winners in both film and television, but the overall report for the HFPA is not very encouraging. The evening began with wins for Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) for supporting film actor and John Boyega (“Small Axe”) for supporting TV actor. Boyega was the only person of color to win…
The late Perry Wallace was a true trailblazer at Vanderbilt in many ways. On the basketball court he proved that Blacks could excel and helped smash the barriers of ignorance that had kept them prohibited from being on SEC campuses for decades. Off the court he was an academic success, showing that you could combine greatness on the court with accomplishments off it. He also underwent a lot of turmoil and struggles during his Vanderbilt tenure, something chronicled in Andrew Maraniss’ exceptional book “Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the collision of race and sports in the South.: Now the United…