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CMT Eye-Opening Documentary 'WAITING IN THE WINGS' Recognizes Black History Month and the Contributions and Current Role of African Americans in Country Music Feb. 21, 2004 on CMT.
Charley Pride, Ray Charles, Arsenio Hall, Hank Williams Jr., Naomi Judd Among Guests Young African American Artists Kimberley Locke, Trini Triggs, Vicki Vann, Rissi Palmer, Buddy and Tina Wright Are Profiled.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ - CMT recognizes "Black History Month" with an eye-opening documentary special WAITING IN THE WINGS, a historical and contemporary perspective on African Americans in country music. The CMT original special documents over a century of contributions of African Americans to country music and questions why the genre historically has included few African American recording artists. The documentary also profiles six young African American artists including "American Idol" finalist Kimberley Locke, Curb recording artist Trini Triggs, California songstress Vicki Vann, "Star Search" finalist Rissi Palmer, and musical Texas siblings 17-year-old Buddy and 15-year-old Tina Wright. WAITING IN THE WINGS premieres on CMT on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 8:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT* and includes interviews with Charley Pride, Ray Charles, Arsenio Hall, Hank Williams Jr., Naomi Judd, Marty Stuart, Wynonna, Chris Cagle, Cleve Francis, music insiders, historians and journalists.
WAITING IN THE WINGS traces the roots of African American influence on country music from the nation's early days including the split of southern music in the 1920s to become "Hillbilly Music" for white audiences and "Race Music" for black audiences.
The CMT documentary looks at the role black musicians played in shaping country music's pioneers including the legendary Hank Williams. At age nine Hank Williams learned to play guitar from local blues man Thomas "T. Tot" Payne. "Daddy's nine years old and getting guitar lessons ... if they hadn't met, there might not have been a Hank Williams," commented Hank Williams Jr. on the influence the African American musician had on his father. "I could just close my eyes and visualize them out on the street. Someone asked Daddy if he had any formal musical training and he said, 'I got all the training I needed from T. Tot.'"
Charley Pride, the most commercially successful African American in country music history, speaks candidly about the launch of his career during the Civil Rights movement. Pride, signed by RCA in 1965, scored 29 No. 1 hits from 1966-1992 including "Kaw-Liga," "Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'" and "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone." He was voted CMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 1971 and 1972. Remarking on the current state of African Americans in country music, Pride tells CMT, "It's pitiful to have to still be talking that way in 2003, but ... we have these built in, skin hang-ups and our cultural situation of 'them and us.' I think it's got to come down to a collective body of Americans. That's what we've got to do."
"American Idol" finalist Kimberley Locke, one of the six young artists profiled for WAITING IN THE WINGS, says Curb Records label head Mike Curb has a fresh approach to marketing the new singer. "Mike Curb said I'm not going to make you pick a genre of music, and that thrilled me. I was so excited to hear him say that, because that let me know he knew me as a singer; your ultimate goal is to have your music played on the radio ... and rather than pigeon hole myself into one genre of music, why not go for the gusto and see what I can do in any genre that I want to tackle." Added Locke about her future plans, "We don't want to try to have a country hit right off the bat but gradually, moving into that, I think that is a good way to introduce black artists to the country music world. We get in our comfort zones and people don't want to step outside of that, but a good song is a good song."
Naomi Judd, of the award-winning duo, The Judds and recently a celebrity judge on "Star Search," says, "We're all Americans. There's still an imbalance, and when I heard that CMT was doing this documentary, I thought well it's about time. There's segregation in country music. Programs like this go a long way," said Judd.
For
more information on WAITING IN THE WINGS, visit CMT.com
or cmt.com/shows/index.jhtml
.
CMT, America's No. 1 country music network, carries original programming,
specials, and live concerts and events, as well as a mix of videos by
established country music artists and new cutting-edge acts, including
world premiere exclusive videos. Founded March 6, 1983, CMT, owned and
operated by MTV Networks, reaches more than 72.8 million households in
the United States.
WAITING
IN THE WINGS will debut Saturday, Feb. 21 at 8:00 PM, Eastern; 7:00 PM,
Central; 9:00 PM, Mountain; and 8:00 PM, Pacific.
