San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
THE WOMEN OF COUNTRY
When you look back on the past few decades of country music charts or the headlines of popular country music festivals, you won’t find a lot of women. You’ll find even fewer queer people and people of color.
In 2019, just 10 percent of radio airplay and chart positions were women, according to an analysis by musicologist Jada E. Watson and CMT’S Equal Play project. Women of color are “nearly absent” from radio play, Watson wrote in another analysis, making up just 0.06 percent of airplay in the past decade.
But there’s another story not told by these mainstream statistics, says veteran music journalist Marissa R. Moss. It’s revealed when Kacey Musgraves sells out arenas, or Mickey Guyton becomes the first Black woman to be nominated for best country solo performance at the Grammys, or when Maren Morris achieves massive crossover success.
“There’s bro country and then there’s her country,” Moss says.
Moss explores that contrast in a new book, “Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be.” In it, she examines the past two decades of country music through the distinct careers of Guyton, Musgraves and Morris — exploring how women, queer people and people of color have charted space for themselves in an industry that was never built for them.
Ahead of the book’s release earlier this month, we asked Moss to make us a playlist that charts this recent history. The result is an (extremely) condensed starter kit of some of the best country songs of the new millennium, for fans and skeptics alike. It’s pared down from the roughly 50song playlist she included in the back of the book.
“It’s kind of a cliché, but people always talk about country music being three chords and the truth,” Moss said. “It’s the women now who are telling those truths.”
Her commentary, edited for length and clarity:
‘Truth No. 2’ by the Chicks
There’s a line in this song that hummed in the back of my brain while I wrote this book, and that was: “You don’t like the sound of the truth coming from my mouth.” That to me is what this book is, and it says everything about who the Chicks are. Nashville hadn’t seen something like the Chicks in so long, or ever, you could say.
‘Country Girl’ by Rissi Palmer
Rissi came to Nashville around the same time as the Chicks as a terrific singer, a great songwriter, the whole package of someone who should have succeeded in mainstream country music at the time. But it says a lot about country music that Rissi wasn’t more successful in that moment and that the next time we talked about a Black woman in country music on a mainstream scale wasn’t until Mickey Guyton, over a decade later.
But also, Rissi has found her own place and path. She has a show called “Color Me Country” on Apple Radio that is really shaping the genre.
Note: This song isn’t available on Spotify, but you can listen to it via Soundcloud.
‘Merry Go ’Round’ by Kacey Musgraves
It’s almost impossible to pick one Kacey Musgraves song, but I chose this one because it was her first single at such an important moment. It came out in 2013 at a time where country music was very saccharine, very focused on partying, red Solo cups and trucks.
You’re supposed to come into country music with a nice little tune that goes down easy. But Kacey came in with this song that was full-on hard truth. She came in so certain about who she was, who she was going to be and who she could possibly make angry along the way, and she did not care.
‘Hold My Hand’ by Brandy Clark
One thing Kacey became known for right away was her support of the queer community, but one thing that made those choices more deeply impactful was that she was writing with queer songwriters like Brandy Clark. Brandy’s album “12 Stories” came out the same year as Kacey’s first album, “Same Trailer Different Park.” It’s interesting to look at how radio and mainstream country have embraced or not embraced Brandy Clark over the years as a queer artist.
‘Weed Instead of Roses’ by Ashley Monroe
Ashley Monroe is known to most people as part of the Pistol Annies with Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley, but she’s also put out solo albums, including this one, “Like a Rose,” in 2013, that was just exquisite. Her voice is such a pristine country sound, and she’s such a brave songwriter.
‘Tin Man’ by Miranda Lambert
Miranda is such an important part of the story. She will get her own biography or memoir or something someday and tell her own story, because she’s such a crucial not just woman in country music, but artist in this genre.
If you haven’t gotten into Miranda Lambert for whatever crazy reason yet, you should fix that for one, but this song is the perfect way to get sucked into the world of Miranda Lambert and what she can do as a songwriter and a singer.
‘Girl’ by Maren Morris
the song that introduced Maren’s sophomore album of the same title, “Girl” marks a seminal point for Maren. A lot of people have success on their first album and then play it a little safe on that next one — success tastes nice, you know? But Maren really doubled down on who she was even more when she got to “Girl.”
Maren has talked about being inspired by the fact that there are a million songs by dudes with the word “girl” in the title, and this was Maren reclaiming that.
‘Hands of Time’ by Margo Price
For the book, I focused on people who operated within the structures of mainstream country music and Music Row. But Margo decided that wasn’t for her at all and never really made a go at it. She’s made her own career outside that mainstream where she does, says and makes the kind of music she wants, while still selling out three nights at the Ryman Auditorium here in Nashville and sings with Willie Nelson and is also on the board of Farm Aid.
‘Crowded Table’ by the Highwomen
I love what the Highwomen represent, which is just women in country music. They’re a supergroup composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires, who came together to push this conversation about inclusion in country music. But even in a vacuum, the album is incredible. This song, specifically, was another hum in the back of my mind while I wrote the book: that country music should be a house with a crowded table and a place by the fire for everyone.
‘You’re Not Alone’ by Our Native Daughters
While we’re talking about the
Highwomen, it’s always important to talk about the work of Our Native Daughters, another supergroup composed of Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla Mccalla and Allison Russell. Around this time, Our Native Daughters was driving a conversation about the Black foundation of country music, the roots of its instruments like the banjo, and the discrimination and tokenization that Black women in country music face.
‘A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega’ by Ashley Mcbryde
Ashley is an incredible songwriter. With this song, she’s created this whole world. You can see it like a movie in your head. But it’s also so personal at the same time. I think if she were a dude, she’d have like eight No. 1’s by now.
‘What Are You Gonna Tell Her?’ by Mickey Guyton
Mickey is another central figure of the book. Despite putting out her debut album late last year, she came to Nashville a decade ago, which was pretty outrageous and was not her choosing. It says so much about how Nashville is built and its unwillingness to embrace a Black female artist.
There’s this thing in Nashville every year called the Cross Country Radio Seminar showcase. Mickey first sang at it a decade ago and then again in 2019, when she still hadn’t put out an album. I was sitting up in the stands at the Ryman as she sang this song. It was devastating. She’s out there singing to these radio executives and programmers who never played her songs.
I was sitting next to my friend Laurie and we were both crying, but surrounded by dudes shoving their lunches in their mouth. But in that moment, it was really like, well, maybe it’s never going to speak to you, but fine. We deserve music that speaks to us. Black women deserve music that speaks to them.
‘Little Obsessed’ by Valerie Ponsio
Country music has had a real love affair with Latin culture: singing about tequila, Mexico and the border. But at the same time that country musicians love singing about those things, the industry should allow Latinx artists like Valerie into the country music space.
I love this song because it’s a little folky. It has a great country hook with that classic play on words, which I love.
‘Judas’ by Joy Oladokun
I wanted to end on some notes on what the future of country music can look like. Women and nonbinary artists can lead the industry into a direction that represents all of America, not just the chosen few. While Joy isn’t a traditional country artist, she works in Nashville and exists in this countryadjacent space. She’s probably my favorite new artist right now. And this song is just gorgeous. It transcends genre, but it still speaks to me like the best country music does.
‘Sober & Skinny’ by Brittney Spencer
When I think of someone who’s really cracking open the mainstream country music space, Britney Spencer is that future for me.
This song takes country music traditions and filters them through such a modern eye. It talks about so many things at once: body issues, the way society judges people, what it feels like when somebody doesn’t appreciate you for who you are. If we’re beginning with where we’ve come, I wanted to end on where we’re going.