I just finished a fine new book about the women of country music, Her Country, How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be, by Marissa R. Moss, a superb Nashville-based music writer. I used her Rolling Stone reporting on the Highwomen extensively in my 2020 blogpost on that fine supergroup (A Deeper Dive Into The Highwomen).
Focusing on Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and Mickey Guyton, Moss tells the story of the struggles that women have had to go through in the last twenty years to get played on country radio, once abundant with the likes of Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, etc., etc. Between consultants telling radio programmers that their audience only wants to hear one female artist per hour, sexual harassment from DJs and programmers, and resistance to weed- and gay-friendly lyrics (Musgraves) or Black voices (Guyton), these three and many other women have had to force their way into the national conversation.
As a reporter covering the Nashville scene for the past decade, with close access to all these artists, Moss presents a compelling story of the rise of these artists and many others including Miranda Lambert, Brandy Clark and Brittney Spencer. I found her description of the Nashville music scene especially fascinating, how the musicians agree to write together during the day, then play together in clubs and living rooms at night; how singer/songwriters face the choice of having their best work covered by established artists or hold on to the song for their own breakout vehicle.
Until reading this book I never realized how the banishment of The Chicks from country radio after lead singer Natalie Maines blasted George W. Bush for the Iraq invasion was so profoundly received in Nashville, forcing progressive country singers there to "shut up and sing" for years.
Of course the story of women in country music is a work in progress and I found two areas that I would like to see Moss (or someone else) explore further:
The first is the economics of country music and the reliance on country radio airplay. Several of the artists mentioned in the book broke through using non-traditional channels such as Spotify, Apple Music, SiriusXM Radio, or Country Music Television. Can a country singer thrive financially without airplay on mainstream country radio? Many country-adjacent Americana artists like Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell seem to be doing okay, although I don't have career earning figures at my disposal compared to, say, Tim McGraw.
The second question I have concerns the fact that Musgraves, Morris and Guyton are Texans, as are Miranda Lambert and Highwoman Amanda Shires. Why did these women have to leave Texas for Nashville to make it? As an Austin resident for almost four decades, I have become used to country radio ignoring our biggest stars like Kelly Willis, Joe Ely and Robert Earl Keen. I rarely hear the new breed of Texas country artists like Josh Abbott, Cody Johnson or Midland on traditional country radio. Since Willie Nelson fled Nashville in the early '70s for Austin the Texas music scene has flourished and has had a definite impact on Nashville country but hasn't lifted many local artists to national prominence. What's your take on that Marissa?
