Country Update BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS DECEMBER 14, 2020 | PAGE 1 OF 23 INSIDE BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE [email protected] The Impact Of If We Make It Through December: Charley Pride Page 4 2020 Hindsight Starts With COVID-19 Chris Lane’s We find ourselves at the end, according to some pundits, of It. Has. Been. Bad. ‘Big, Big’ Moment the worst year ever. But 2021 is another year, and there is reason for optimism. Page 5 Thanks to an erratic government response, COVID-19 has For starters, the rollout of the first vaccines brings a hazy prom- killed nearly 300,000 Americans, unemployment remains ise of future tours. high, major cities are beset by lengthy food lines, and one-third Plus, country music is establishing its next wave of stars, and Palomino of citizens are likely to face eviction or foreclosure in the next some areas of the business are demonstrating their adaptabil- Rides Again two months, accord- ity, a necessary trait Page 14 ing to U.S. Census for survival. Bureau projec- L e a d i n g t h a t tions. Add in racial new-artist class tensions, a soaring are Luke Combs, Darius Rucker national debt and Gabby Barrett A Big-League Star the increasing toll and Morgan Wal- Page 14 of climate change, len. Combs, who and… well… can we topped eight of just get to 2021? Billboard’s year- Makin’ Tracks: This year has end country charts ‘Famous Friends’ naturally been a for the second year Young, Brown challenge in country in a row, has now Page 20 music, too. COVID- spent 35 weeks at 19 decimated the PRINE BARRETT DIFFIE No. 1 on Top Coun- concert sector try Albums with his Country Coda: in particular, with cancellations causing some venues to sophomore LP, What You See Is What You Get, and is the only Ernest Tubb’s permanently close, leaving road crews and musicians without country act to rule for at least that long with each of his first ‘Blue Christmas’ an income and frustrating a large amount of artists unable to two albums. His “Forever After All” likewise became the first Page 23 pursue part of their dream at the peak point in their career. To track by a solo country male to debut at No. 2 on the all-genre add insult to injury, three artists of significance — Songwriters Billboard Hot 100. To our readers: Billboard Country Hall of Fame member John Prine, modern honky-tonk singer Barrett’s inaugural single, “I Hope,” has now spent a cool Update will publish its next issue on Jan. 11, 2021. For 24/7 music Joe Diffie and Country Music Hall of Fame member Charley 20 weeks atop Hot Country Songs, appropriate since the anger coverage, go to billboard.com. Pride — died from COVID-19-related complications. in its lyrics mirrors the level of revenge many would like to exact BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE DECEMBER 14, 2020 | PAGE 2 OF 23 on 2020. The song’s life was extended by a Charlie Puth collaboration, and it ultimately became only the fourth track to hit the summit on both Country Airplay and the all-genre Radio Songs chart. Wallen, fresh off his best new artist victory at the Country Music Associa- tion Awards, became the first act to debut two separate titles (“Somebody’s Problem” and “Still Goin Down”) within the top 10 on Hot Country Songs in the same week. The genre’s ability to adjust — albeit sluggishly, in some regards — taps into the creativity inherent in music. The most obvious adaptation came with the widespread use of Zoom, a program that many (likely most) had never heard of at the start of the year. Executives have essentially mastered the art of working from home via video hookup, even if it does create a level of fatigue. Live online platforms have also proved valuable for concerts, for benefits, for writing songs and even for recording sessions, providing a new avenue of con- Carrie Underwood (center) was recognized as Pandora’s most- nection when isolation is a necessary part of most lifestyles. streamed female country artist during a Dec. 8 performance on On-demand streaming in country is up more than 6% over 2019, and TikTok Pandora LIVE. She’s flanked by Pandora head of country Beville has emerged as a new vehicle for artist development in the genre. Trey Lewis, Dunkerley and SiriusXM host Storme Warren. Priscilla Block, Andrew Jannakos and SarahBeth Taite all made Hot Country Songs chart debuts with TikTok breakouts, while several acts — including Sony Music Nashville’s Jaden Hamilton and Warner Music Nashville’s Robyn Ottolini — parlayed exposure on the platform into major-label deals. After years of gross underrepresentation, women made strides at country radio, though the results were mixed. The current Country Airplay chart, for example, boasts one or more females on six of the top 20 singles, a major gain from two years ago when the corresponding chart (dated Dec. 15, 2018) did not feature any women in that same range. Not that the issue is resolved: The year-end Top Country Airplay Artists list is solidly male in its first 15 spots, with Maddie & Tae finally offering femme harmonies at No. 16. Similarly, advances could be felt in minority representation. Following the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, country’s Del McCoury (right) performed on the Grand Ole Opry along with awareness of its lack of Black representation in both the creative and executive mandolinist Ronnie McCoury on Dec. 5 as the WSM-AM Nashville ranks was heightened. A segment of the business became more vocal about the show celebrated the 75th anniversary of the birth of bluegrass. disparity, and the Country Music Association’s awards show offered a notably larger Black presence on-screen, with Maren Morris using her final acceptance speech for a shoutout specifically to female artists of color, including Yola, Brittany Spencer and Rissi Palmer. Weeks later, Mickey Guyton’s “Black Like Me,” an emotional recount of her own experiences with discrimination, broke a barrier in the Grammy Awards as the first nomination for a Black solo female in a country category. While 2020 was tough, 2021 should be better, and there are signs that country is addressing some of its deficiencies. But don’t count on next year to be a walk in the park, either. Futurist David Houle, a keynote speaker at the 2012 Country Radio Seminar, has for several years characterized the 2020s New Quartz Hill artist Nate Barnes (center) paid a virtual office visit as the most disruptive decade in history. And the new year will likely not mark to the Billboard Country Update on Dec. 10. He’s joined by Quartz Hill some return to a prior status quo. vp publicity and integrated marketing Natalie Kilgore and Billboard “The only normal this decade,” he wrote here, “is abnormality.” Country Update editor Tom Roland. HOLLO. CHRIS MCCOURY: DECISIVE INTELLIGENCE. DELIVERED DIGITALLY. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DELIVERY DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE DECEMBER 14, 2020 | PAGE 4 OF 23 TOM ROLAND [email protected] The Legacy Of Charley Pride: How A 1963 Introduction Still Matters In 2020 For Charley Pride to present himself as a country singer at a Montana radio Country Music Hall of Fame membership in 2000, the Recording Academy’s station in December 1963 was an audacious move. Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 and the CMA’s Willie Nelson In the previous six months, Gov. George Wallace had refused to allow two Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. Black students to register at the University of Alabama until President John F. Once Pride became a leader in his field, he used his position to boost younger Kennedy called in the National Guard to protect them. A Ku Klux Klan mem- acts. Ronnie Milsap, Janie Fricke, Dave & Sugar, Sylvia and Neal McCoy ber had killed NAACP executive Medgar Evers in Mississippi. Martin Luther were among the artists he personally encouraged and/or actively promoted King Jr. had given his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. Four by giving them the opening slot on his concert tours. Black girls had been killed in a Birmingham, Ala., church bombing. And Ken- “Without his encouragement when I was playing the Whiskey a Go-Go nedy was assassinated in Dallas just months after he had submitted a bill to on the Sunset Strip in the ’70s, I might have never made it to Nashville,” said Congress that would provide protections against discrimination. Milsap after Pride’s death. Race was an American tinderbox. “There is a Neal McCoy because there was a Charley Pride,” said McCoy. Thus when Pride popped into KCAP-AM on Dec. 12, country singer Red “No other way to put it.” Foley — who was there to promote a concert — had reservations as the tall When Pride accepted the Willie Nelson Award in November from current Black man introduced himself and reached out for a handshake. hitmaker Jimmie Allen, the moment underscored the long-tail significance “Is this something pertaining to civil of the former’s foray into country. When RCA rights?” asked Foley, according to an account released Pride’s first single in 1965, the label in Pride: The Charley Pride Story. took numerous steps to sidestep his race. The The DJ, Elmer “Tiny” Stokes, vouched for record, “The Snakes Crawl at Night,” shipped Pride, and before the day was over, the singer without the usual PR photo; it branded him was able to perform two songs during the show Country Charley Pride on the label; and at the Helena Civic Center.