# Do black people in the south listen to country music? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 4, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328 "2006-01-04T02:11:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/21 "2006-01-04T13:16:22Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > When you break it right down, there’s not much real difference between gangsta rap and The Louvin Brothers - drug use, drinking, shooting, stabbing, gambling, and treacherous women. Hell, “Shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die” is pretty gangsta. > > If you doubt the parallels, take country back to its roots in Scottish and Irish folk, and listen to one of the innumerable versions of Whiskey In The Jar sometime: man robs cop at gunpoint. Takes proceeds of robbery back to girlfriend, gets drunk in a hotel room with her. Girlfriend dobs him in to cop, cop bursts in and gets shot. Man faces execution. Were some country music songs remade as hip-hop songs? I remember a song called “Islands in the stream” was remade as a hiphop song. I liked though. ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/22 "2006-01-04T13:21:15Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > Were some country music songs remade as hip-hop songs? > I remember a song called “Islands in the stream” was remade as a hiphop song. > I liked though. I liked it though. Sorry about the typo ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/23 "2006-01-04T16:07:33Z")
Well, to add to my personal anecdote, the Black guys I know listening to Country are mostly older fellows, from 40 to 60. One guy, as cowboy as could be (runs a stable) has two sons with him in the business, 20 to 30. They listen to Country when Pops is around, but will switch in a second when he leaves. What do they switch to? Get this… Classic Rock! A couple of the other older Black guys who I’ve heard listening to Country live here in the city but have very rural origins. Plus, this is Oklahoma. Very borderline as to whether it actually counts as the South, imho. I consider it more Midwest, but many Okies display a Southernism (or Texanism) that can’t be denied. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/24 "2006-01-04T16:20:51Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > Were some country music songs remade as hip-hop songs? I remember a song called “Islands in the stream” was remade as a hiphop song. I liked though. Man, I had to think about this, because I had never heard of a rap song called “Islands In The Stream.” So i downloaded the Dolly Parton/Kenny Rogers version and immediately recognized it. You’re thinking of “Ghetto Superstar” by Mya, Pras and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The lyrics were re-written (with the hook “Ghetto Superstar / That is what you are” replacing “Islands in the stream / That is what we are”) but they kept the tempo and melody mostly intact. Dolly Parton also inspired Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” Lauryn Hill redid Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” as a bonus track for “Miseducation.” ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/25 "2006-01-04T17:14:27Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Dolly Parton also inspired Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” “inspired”??? Dolly Parton wrote it. It is her song. Whitney’s is a poor cover of the original. (All 4 One also covered some country songs a while ago, but they weren’t as famous (neither the group or the songs)) ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/26 "2006-01-04T17:31:54Z")
Still, it is inimitably Houston’s cover version, too. I suspect you’re in a minority calling it “poor.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/27 "2006-01-04T17:39:56Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Still, it is inimitably Houston’s cover version, too. I suspect you’re in a minority calling it “poor.” **amarinth** may be in the minority, but he or she is nonetheless correct. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/28 "2006-01-04T17:48:16Z")
I don’t know any blacks that are big fans of “modern” country. But I’ve been to some festivals featuring older more “country western” and “folk” type music in the Atlanta area and there were many blacks there (all older) who enjoyed it. In general while I think years ago many blacks enjoyed (and participated in) the earlier forms of country music and the forms of music that helped bring country music into existence they haven’t jumped to the newer form of country, in large part because I think it’s become a genre that has less and less in common with the experiences of black people (urban or rural) these days. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/29 "2006-01-04T17:55:13Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > **amarinth** may be in the minority, but he or she is nonetheless correct. 🙂 Facts are correct. **amarinth** has a differing _opinion._ People are entitled to them, no matter how grosteque, bizarre, questionable in taste or far divorced from sane, healthy reality they may be. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/30 "2006-01-04T18:10:22Z")
But…but… **I** agree with **amarinth**! If that’s not enough for y’all, well, then I just don’t know what is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/31 "2006-01-04T18:11:20Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Still, it is inimitably Houston’s cover version, too. I suspect you’re in a minority calling it “poor.” The point being made was that to say Houston was “inspired” by Parton’s version is disingenuous – it is a very close to the original cover – we’re not talking Cowboy Junkies’ “Sweet Jane” to Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” we’re talking Gun’s n Roses’ “Sympathy for the Devil” to the Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.” In other words, it was a cover, much like the original, which reinforces the point some are trying to make-- that the two genres (R&B/Soul and Country) have much in common. As has been mentioned, both All 4 One and John Michael Montgomery did “I can love you like that,” and Babyface and Kevin Sharp did “Nobody knows it but me.” The Soul/R&B version and Country versions were damn near interchangeable. The thing is, I think the fact that these songs were cross over covers says nothing about the relationship between Country and Soul/R&B other than the fact that both are being heavily watered down by schmaltzy pop (which is what all songs mentioned in this thread are). Popular Country went the way of the Nashville sound and never came back, having absorbed elements of disco and mainstream pop to stay profitable. If anything, Y’alternative and Alt. Country are the closest things we have to the real deal aside from any purist revivalists. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/32 "2006-01-04T18:14:32Z")
Okay, okay, okay. I recant using the word “inspired.” Apologies to all of Dolly’s fans. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/33 "2006-01-04T18:22:43Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Okay, okay, okay. I recant using the word “inspired.” Apologies to all of Dolly’s fans. Now if only Whitney would apologise… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/34 "2006-01-04T18:31:40Z")
Most of the black guys that I know who listen to C&W were born before 1960 and grew up in small towns or in the country. There are still some black rodeos around [(here’s a touring one.)](http://www.billpickettrodeo.com/web/pages/2006schedule.php) They tend to be small town affairs, not as glitzy as the big city rodeos and (IIRC) focus on real riding skills (read: bull riding isn’t the main event.) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/35 "2006-01-04T18:45:49Z")
One of the most interesting moments in the _All-Star Tribute to Johnny Cash_ in 1999 was when Wyclef Jean did “Delia’s Gone”, a traditional song covered by Cash on one of the “American Recordings” CDs. It started out similarly to Cash’s version (substituting “Brooklyn” in the line, “I went up to Memphis, I met Delia there”), but then broke into a rap. I’m too old and/or too white to ‘get’ rap music, but I thought it was an interesting juxtaposition with Cash’s shot-a-man-in-Reno shtick. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/36 "2006-01-04T19:05:56Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Hell, “Shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die” is pretty gangsta. I’m pretty sure Ice-T said this (damn near word for word) in a Rolling Stone interview. It could have been Chuck D. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/37 "2006-01-04T20:40:44Z")
> [@whole bean](#): > > I’m pretty sure Ice-T said this (damn near word for word) in a Rolling Stone interview. It could have been Chuck D. As I recall, quite possibly incorrectly, it was during the media storm after his metal band Body Count put out _Cop Killer_: he pointed out, quite reasonably, that there wasn’t much difference between his “offensive” lyrics and that FM staple _I Shot The Sheriff_". Heh. I still have my original copy of that album, before the song was pulled off it: we used to get _very_ stoned and _ad lib_ Tolkienesque lyrics to it, substituting “orcs” for “niggas”. Elf Killer! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/38 "2006-01-04T21:45:18Z")
I don’t know any black folks whose _favorite_ music is country, but quite a few (especially musicians) are more familiar with it than I would’ve guessed. Didn’t Isaac Hays do a cover of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”? Last time I was in a country music bar (and this was in the 90s), everyone was doing the Electric Slide. Whether they were aware of its Philly R&B origins, I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/39 "2006-01-04T21:48:47Z")
Just another cross-over data point: Wyclef Jean did a song with Kenny Rogers on Wyclef’s album _The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book_ based on “The Gambler”. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328/40 "2006-01-04T23:29:40Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > As I recall, quite possibly incorrectly, it was during the media storm after his metal band Body Count put out _Cop Killer_: he pointed out, quite reasonably, that there wasn’t much difference between his “offensive” lyrics and that FM staple _I Shot The Sheriff_". > > Heh. I still have my original copy of that album, before the song was pulled off it: we used to get _very_ stoned and _ad lib_ Tolkienesque lyrics to it, substituting “orcs” for “niggas”. Elf Killer! I think you’re right on everything but the song reference. I am almost positive he said something along the lines of “‘shot a man in Reno just to watch him die’ damn that’s cold,” the referenced line of course coming from Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” “I Shot the Sheriff” ain’t so bad anyway. Everyone knows Sheriff John Brown always hated him and was aiming to shoot him down. That’s why he shot, he shot, he shot him down. Pure self-defense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-black-people-in-the-south-listen-to-country-music/338328.md?page=3)