Alice Randall - My Black Country, Part 1

WYPL Book Talk

Book lovers know Alice Randall for her best-selling novels including The Wind Done Gone, Rebel Yell, Black Bottom Saints and others. But before writing prose, Alice wrote country songs in Nashville, including "XXXs and OOOs", which went to top the charts for Trisha Yearwood, making Alice the first African-American woman to write a number one country hit record. Her new book, My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future, interweaves her life story and the history of African-American musicians who helped make country music what it is today, despite attempts at sidelining or erasing their contributions. Also, the CD and vinyl of My Black Country: The Songs of Alice Randall is available from Oh Boy Records.