BONUS TRACKS: Box Set Celebrating Black Country Artists Gets 21st-Century Update

An undated promotional photo of Cleve Francis. (Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

A quarter century ago, country musician Cleve Francis and college professor Nelson Wilson saw a gap in the story of country music that was being presented to mainstream audiences. To help tell a fuller story, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Warner Music Nashville worked together on a box set celebrating the contributions of Black artists to the genre. From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music, originally released in 1998, will get an update with the release of an expanded edition on May 31. The new version offers 82 songs across four CDs, with an entire disc (“Reclaiming the Heritage”) devoted to artists who have emerged since the original release. The original’s essays by scholars and journalists are joined by new essays from Rhiannon Giddens and Rissi Palmer. With the expansion coming in the digital age, the set will be augmented online by archival photos, videos, historical notes for each song, and resources from the museum’s archive starting May 31. A free concert celebrating From Where I Stand is slated for June 18 at the CMA Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, featuring Palmer, Miko Marks, Hubby Jenkins, The War and Treaty, and more. Find info on the concert and check out the full track listing and more info for From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music here.

If you like a little country in your rock-and-roll (and if you’re reading No Depression, you probably do), then you have Duane Eddy to thank for that fortuitous merger of flavors. Eddy, who died earlier this week of cancer at age 86, showed off his electric guitar prowess on hits including “Peter Gunn” (the title song for the detective TV series) and “Rebel Rouser.” The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted Eddy in 1994, credits him with having “invented twang.” Read more about Eddy and how he created his signature sound in this remembrance in The Washington Post.

It’s Friday, which is something to celebrate all by itself. But it’s also Bandcamp Friday — the 40th one since the platform started the program to help support musicians during the pandemic in 2020. To celebrate the milestone, Bandcamp has been hosting online listening parties all week. The last one is today at 2 p.m. ET with Mdou Moctar, celebrating the release of their new album, Funeral for Justice. Find the link to tune in here. Of course, the best way to celebrate this and any Bandcamp Friday is to purchase music from your favorite artists. Bandcamp will waive its share of revenue, maximizing the financial impact of your purchase for the artist. After today, Bandcamp Fridays are taking a break for the summer. The next one is Sept. 6, followed by Oct. 4 and then Dec. 6.

WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO

Here’s a sampling of the songs, albums, bands, and sounds No Depression staffers have been into this week:

New Dangerfield — “Dangerfield Newby”
American Aquarium – “Crier,” from their new album, The Fear of Standing Still, coming in July
AJ Lee and Blue Summit – “Hillside,” from their new album, City of Glass, coming in July
Evan Honer – “idk shit about cars”
The Damnwells (feat. Morgan Wade) – “Easy Tiger,” from their new album, Bad at Beautiful, coming this summer
Joy Oladokun – “Questions, Chaos, and Faith”

Malin Pettersen – “The Speed of Life,” from her new EP, Seasons, coming in September
Taylor McCall – “Mellow War”
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives’ Tiny Desk Concert
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – “Good 4 U” (Olivia Rodrigo cover)
Jackson C. Frank – “Blues Run the Game”
Riders of the Canyon – “Fading Lights”
Kelsey Waldon (feat. Margo Price) – “Traveling the Highway Home,” from Waldon’s new album, There’s Always a Song, coming May 10
Maggie Gently – “Breakthrough,” from her new album, Wherever You Want to Go, coming in June
Cris Jacobs (feat. Billy Strings) – “Poor Davey”