By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — The final ingredient in a series of things that’s made 2021 a special year for country vocalist Mickey Guyton has arrived. Her debut LP “Remember Her Name” (Capitol) was released Friday and it’s another in a series of triumphs for Black women country artists. Guyton last week was featured on “The Today Show” in concert, and earlier she co-hosted the Academy of Country Music awards ceremonies. The LP’s first single “Black Like Me” was released last year following the death of George Floyd. Besides becoming her signature tune, the tune proved a turning point for Guyton.
She became the first Black woman to have a song nominated for a premier country Grammy award. She’s also part of an impressive group whose ranks also include Miko Marks, Valerie June, Yola, and Rissi Palmer. Guyton’s success has not only helped the others get deserving recognition, but placed attention on earlier Black women country artists like Linda Martell, now 79. who was recently interviewed by Rolling Stone.
Guyton’s “Remember My Name” contains other songs that explore issues of race and gender in urgent, memorable fashion. It also brought more attention to the issue of systemic racism within the country industry, one that got even more discussion in the wake of hugely popular vocalist Morgan Wallen’s racial slur that got Wallen temporary exile from country’s main stages, but didn’t negatively affect his record sales.
Of course the 38-year-old Guyton is anything but an overnight success. She’s been around over a decade, in fact signing with the very same label that’s just issued “Remember My Name.” Unfortunately, she’s also not getting much radio airplay thus far, despite getting Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music nominations. But that doesn’t really seem to bother her. She recently told the New York Times content was far more important than popularity for her as a songwriter.
“I can’t write songs that don’t mean something,” Guyton said.
Unfortunately despite its critical buzz and eventual Grammy nomination, “Black Like Me” didn’t get a lot of radio exposure. Hopefully the wave of publicity and acclaim that she’s getting for “Remember My Name” will give Mickey Guyton the sustained success that she deserves.
