Who say country music is for white men only? Yeah?
Just ask Lil’ Nas X, “Old Town Road”
Jimmy Allen “All Tractors Aren’t Green”
Darius Rucker, “That’s the way to rock my momma”
BB King, “Patches”
Rhiannon Giddens, Mickey Guyton, Charlie Pride, DeFord Bailey, Big Al Downing, Dr. Cleve Francis.
But hey — Willie Murrell and George Jones, they got some soul with them too? Don’t they?
Author’s Note: I could be playing country, jazz or blues in this photograph. Music in the wee hours, when it’s dark and lonely, and it reaches out and makes you feel like you belong to something beautiful. Life has a network of energy to it. A homeless man walked past me recently and looked like his pants were falling off. It looked like he was untethered from life, and I’m thankful that it’s not me today. Music is still giving me this charge and makes me want to wake up and get up the next day and do it all again. Music is always right there with me; it informs my poetry, it informs my writing, and it informs my prayers. And, that’s why I write these little pieces; it’s what motivates me.
