Linda Martell

Emerging as one of the rare African-American women to achieve popularity as a country music performer, Linda Martell entered the world in Leesville, South Carolina. She first performed R&B material in clubs around Columbia before entering the country arena in 1969 through a contract with Shelby Singleton’s Plantation label. That summer her recording of “Color Him Father” climbed into the Top 25, an achievement that also marked her as the first black woman to perform on the Grand Ole Opry. Two additional singles, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and “Bad Case of the Blues,” each reached the Top 60 in 1970, after which her name never again appeared on the country charts.