Linda Martell Trivia | 55 facts about the country singer

Who is Linda Martell who is featured on Beyonce’s new album “Cowboy Carter”?

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about the singer and songwriter.

1. Linda Martell was born June 4, 1941
2. Her birth name was Thelma Bynem
3. She is an American singer
4. She became the first commercially successful black female artist in the country music field
5. She was the first to play the Grand Ole Opry
6. Martell was one of the first African-American country performers
7. Martell helped influence the careers of future Nashville artists of color
8. Born and raised in South Carolina
9. Martell listened to country, gospel and R&B music
10. In her teens, she formed a singing trio with her family titled Linda Martell and the Anglos
11. During the 1960s, the group recorded a handful of R&B singles and sang alongside other black performers
12. However, the group had little success and soon parted ways
13. Performing as a solo act, Martell was discovered singing country music on an air force base
14. This led to an introduction to producer Shelby Singleton
15. Singleton signed her to his Nashville label in 1969
16. The same year, the label released her country cover of “Color Him Father”
17. The song became a top 10 single on the Billboard charts
18. Her debut album followed in 1970
19. Martell made several appearances on country music television programs
20. She released two more singles with Plantation
21. She also made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry during this time
22. She later performed there 12 times
23. Following a series of business conflicts with her manager (Duke Raymer) and producer, Martell left her recording contract
24. She then retired from the country music industry in 1974 following a lack of success
25. Over the next several decades, she lived in various states and continued performing music
26. To make a living, she worked in public education and returned to South Carolina in the 1990s
27. Martell’s musical artistry combined elements of country, gospel, and R&B music
28. Writers at Ebony magazine characterized her voice as having “gutsy, emotional soul”, while also having a “background that is rich in gospel and rhythm and blues”
29. Martell herself drew similar connections when discussing the way she approached recording “Color Him Father” in the studio
30. Writer David Browne commented that she delivered the song in a performance that was “a little bit country and a little bit R&B”
31. When discussing her country style, Martell explained the storytelling aspect of the genre: “Country music tells a story…When you choose a song and you can feel it, that’s what made me feel great about what I was singing. I did a lot of country songs, and I loved every one of them. Because they just tell a story”
32. Katie Moulton of the Oxford American also highlighted Martell’s country intonation in an article
33. Moulton also compared her musical delivery to that of torch singers like Dusty Springfield and Dinah Washington
34. Martell was among country music’s first black artists to have commercial success
35. Her career in country music helped inspire careers of other black artists in the industry, including Kane Brown and Mickey Guyton
36. In 2020, Guyton recalled searching on the internet for “black women country singers” and was surprised to find Martell’s music
37. “I didn’t even know she existed…I felt really bad when I discovered that I didn’t know,” she recounted
38. Brown reflected similarly: “Color was a thing back then. It’s still a thing today, but it was worse back then. She was so brave”
39. Fellow black country artist Rissi Palmer commented to NPR that by creating her 2020 podcast she was “paying homage to the foundation on which my house is built, and that is Linda Martell”
40. Martell was honored with the Equal Play Award at the 2021 CMT Music Awards
41. It was given to recognize her work as a female black performer in country music
42. A tribute during the broadcast was given by Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens, Jennifer Nettles and Mickey Guyton
43. Martell has been married twice
44. At age 19, she first wed drummer Clark Thompson
45. The couple had three children
46. In 1966, the pair separated and she later remarried business owner, Ted Jacobs
47. Jacobs also brought one child from his first marriage and the family lived in Nashville while Martell was signed to Plantation Records
48. She discussed her domestic life with Ebony magazine in 1970, explaining the challenges associated with being a traveling performer while also being a wife and mother
49. “I’m used to spending time with my family,” she recalled
50. After leaving the country industry, Jacobs and Martell separated
51. Jacobs’ business partner and Martell then started a romantic relationship
52. Together, the couple traveled and lived in several states before Martell returned to South Carolina
53. In 2004, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent radiation treatment
54. Making a full recovery, she later moved in with one of her children in South Carolina
55. She has only one album to her credit due to the difficulties of being a Black woman in the country music industry