Once you get past
Charley Pride
and
Stoney Edwards
, you'd be hard-pressed to name an African-American country music star of the '60s and '70s (or any decade, for that matter), but for a brief moment
Linda Martell
seemed poised to crack two glass ceilings at once.
Martell
was the first African-American woman to sing on the Grand Ole Opry, and she managed to land two singles in the Country & Western Top 40 in 1969 before she quit the music business to raise a family.
Color Me Country
was
's first and only album, and while it's by no means a lost classic, it's a fine set of songs from a singer who clearly had the talent for bigger things. The set includes
's versions of "Color Him Father" and "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," both of which hit the Billboard C&W charts, and her rich, smooth voice does wonders with
the Winstons
' hit about accepting your new stepdad (which fares well in a subtle C&W arrangement fortified with pedal steel) as well several brokenhearted weepers on board ("I Almost Called Your Name" could almost pass for a classic
Patsy Cline
number).
even displays some credible yodeling skills on the leadoff track, "Bad Case of the Blues," and "There Never Was a Time" is a heart-tugging tale of hard times that shows a strong
Merle Haggard
influence and shows
could handle a broadly emotional tune without sounding sappy or overly theatrical.
also had a career as an R&B singer, but
clearly aims to sell her to the C&W market, so she doesn't get to show off her soulful side on this set, but as a country vocalist, she was clearly above average, and with better promotion and production (
Shelby Singleton, Jr.
's studio skills are average at best), she might have become the female
. That was not to be, but
makes it clear that wasn't because of a lack of talent, and this is a fascinating and entertaining curio from a forgotten country music pioneer. ~ Mark Deming