Linda Martell facts for kids

Linda Martell (born Thelma Bynem on June 4, 1941) is an American singer. She made history as the first Black female artist to achieve major success in country music. She was also the first Black woman to perform at the famous Grand Ole Opry. As one of the first African-American country performers, Linda Martell helped open doors for many artists of color who came after her.

Linda Martell grew up in South Carolina. She loved listening to country, gospel, and R&B music. When she was a teenager, she formed a singing group with her family called Linda Martell and the Anglos. In the 1960s, this group recorded a few R&B songs. They also sang with other Black performers. However, the group did not become very famous and later broke up.

Linda Martell then started singing by herself. She was discovered singing country music at an air force base. This led her to meet music producer Shelby Singleton. He signed her to his record label in Nashville in 1969. That same year, her country version of "Color Him Father" was released. The song became a top 25 hit on the Billboard music charts. Her first album, Color Me Country, came out in 1970.

Martell appeared on several country music TV shows. She also released two more songs with Plantation Records. During this time, she performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. She later performed there a total of 12 times. After some disagreements with her manager and producer, Martell left her record deal. She then stopped working in the country music industry in 1974. For many years after, she lived in different states and continued to sing. She also worked in public education to earn a living. She moved back to South Carolina in the 1990s.

In 2021, the CMT Music Awards honored Linda Martell with the Equal Play Award. In March 2024, she was featured on two songs from Beyoncé's album Cowboy Carter. One of these songs, "Spaghettii", earned her first Grammy Awards nomination.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Thelma Bynem was born on June 4, 1941. She was one of five children born to Clarence and Willie May Bynem. They lived in Leesville, South Carolina. Her father was a sharecropper, which meant he farmed land owned by someone else. Her mother worked long hours at a chicken slaughterhouse. To avoid helping with farm work, Linda learned to cook dinners for her family when she was just seven years old.

Her father was also a preacher, and this inspired her early love for music. She sang gospel music in church. She was also very interested in country music. Clarence Bynem often listened to Hank Williams's country music on the radio from Nashville, Tennessee. Linda Martell said in 1998 that they only knew country music until they were teenagers.

Linda, her sister, and her cousin formed a singing group called The Anglos. They performed R&B music in areas around Columbia, South Carolina. A local radio DJ, Charles "Big Saul" Greene, suggested she change her name from Thelma Bynem to Linda Martell. He told her, "Your name is Linda Martell. You look like Linda. That fits you."

Music Career Journey

1962–1969: R&B Songs and a New Direction

The Anglos Group

In 1962, The Anglos traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. There, they recorded their first R&B song. The group was renamed Linda Martell and the Anglos. Fire Records released their song "A Little Tear (Was Falling from My Eyes)" that same year. However, the song was not a big hit.

The group performed regularly. They also sang backup for other R&B artists like The Drifters and Jimmy Hughes. Linda Martell and the Anglos (sometimes called "The Angelos") released more songs on the Vee-Jay label. One of these was "Lonely Hours." A writer for Rolling Stone magazine described it as "simmering, forlorn girl-group pop."

The group recorded "Backfield in Motion" in 1964. Linda Martell's brother, Elzie Bynem, wrote this song. It was advertised as the main song, but later "Bad Motorcycle" became the more popular side. "Backfield in Motion" was noted as a promising new song. It even got played on the radio in Philadelphia.

The group eventually broke up after her cousin got married. Her sister also left the group soon after. Linda Martell then became a solo artist for the first time. For several years, she continued to sing R&B music.

Discovering Country Music

While singing country songs at an air force base in South Carolina, Linda Martell was heard by William "Duke" Rayner. He was a furniture salesman from Nashville. He offered to help her record a demo song. At first, Martell thought he was a bit strange and said no. But after he kept encouraging her, she agreed. Rayner then became her manager.

Rayner believed Martell could become famous in country music, especially after the success of Charley Pride, another Black country artist. He told Ebony magazine in 1970, "I figured that if I could find a colored girl that could sing country and western, I'd really have something."

Martell then flew to Nashville. She met producer Shelby Singleton and recorded a demo song. Singleton convinced her to become a country singer. Martell was surprised by this idea. She told Rolling Stone in 2020, "I was a little bit shocked! I was mostly doing pop. But he said, 'You gotta go country'."

1969–1974: Country Music Success and Challenges

On May 15, 1969, Linda Martell signed a management contract with Rayner. The next day, she signed with Singleton's Plantation label. Martell did not like the name "Plantation" because it reminded her of old slave plantations in the American South. However, she felt she had no other choice.

Soon after she signed, Singleton found songs for Martell to record. One of the first was "Color Him Father", a popular song by The Winstons. She recorded this song and ten others in one 12-hour session. "Color Him Father" was released as Martell's first song with Plantation in July 1969. It reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Her next song was her version of "Before the Next Teardrop Falls". This song later became a hit for Freddy Fender. Martell's version reached number 33 on the Billboard country chart in 1970.

In August 1970, her first album, Color Me Country, was released on Plantation Records. The album reached number 40 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Billboard magazine gave the album good reviews in 1970, saying her country singing style sounded real. Later, AllMusic also gave the album a good rating. Her last song to appear on the charts was "Bad Case of the Blues", released around the same time.

With her new success, Linda Martell got a booking agent named Hubert Long. He helped her get many entertainment opportunities. She appeared on TV shows like The Bill Anderson Show and Hee Haw in 1970. She also made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry radio show. Her manager played her new song for an official there. With her Opry debut, she became the first Black female artist to perform on the show. She eventually performed there 12 times.

In the American South, she was advertised as the "First Female Negro Country Artist." She performed with famous country artists like Waylon Jennings and Hank Snow. Martell later said that performing as a Black country artist was often difficult. She remembered white audiences sometimes shouted mean words at her while she was singing. She told Rolling Stone, "You're gonna run into hecklers, and I did...You felt pretty awful."

As Martell's country music career continued, the mean comments became less frequent but never completely stopped. These challenges caused her professional problems. In May 1970, her manager, Rayner, sued her for more money. Singleton helped to distract from the lawsuit. Singleton also told Martell that he would not promote her as much. He said that another artist on his label, Jeannie C. Riley, was selling more records.

Martell then left her contract with Plantation. She recorded some songs for a different record label. Singleton found out and threatened to sue that company. Martell said in 2020, "He blackballed me...It ruined my reputation in country music." After a few more years of limited success, Martell decided to leave the Nashville music industry.

1975–Present: New Paths and Recognition

After leaving Nashville, Linda Martell stayed active in other areas of music. For about 20 years, she sang in small clubs in different parts of the United States. This included places like California, Florida, and New York City. In these different places, Martell had various jobs. She entertained on a cruise ship and even opened a record shop.

In 1991, she moved back to South Carolina to be closer to her children. To earn a better living, she became a bus driver for her local school district. She also continued to perform with a band on weekends. They played at family reunions, weddings, and parties. Many people in her local area did not know about her past success. However, her co-workers at the school did. At one high school assembly, a principal spoke about her earlier work, saying, "Others study about black history. We have black history right here in our own school."

In the mid-2000s, Martell retired from her school job. She last performed publicly in 2011 with her band, Eazzy. In January 2014, a Swedish TV show called Jills veranda – Nashville (which means Jill's Porch – Nashville) looked for and interviewed Martell. The show's hosts traveled to South Carolina to meet her. They talked about her music and why she left her recording career. The hosts also performed some of her songs with her.

Linda Martell became a topic of conversation again in 2020. Country artist Rissi Palmer named her Apple Music podcast after Martell's 1970 album, Color Me Country. Palmer also supports Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) artists in country music through the Color Me Country™ Artist Grant Fund. In 2021, Martell's granddaughter started a GoFundMe campaign. It aimed to create a documentary about Martell's career and her challenges as a Black performer in Nashville.

In 2024, Linda Martell appeared on Beyoncé's country-focused album Cowboy Carter. She had two spoken-word parts on the songs "Spaghettii" and "The Linda Martell Show." On Instagram, Martell said, "I am proud that @beyonce is exploring her country music roots. What she is doing is beautiful, and I’m honored to be a part of it. It’s Beyoncé, after all!" In 2025, "Spaghettii" received a nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. This was Martell's first Grammy nomination.

Musical Style and Impact

Linda Martell's music combined parts of country, gospel, and R&B. Writers at Ebony magazine described her voice as having "gutsy, emotional soul." They also noted her strong background in gospel and R&B. Martell herself saw these connections when she talked about recording "Color Him Father." Writer David Browne said she sang the song in a way that was "a little bit country and a little bit R&B."

When talking about her country style, Martell explained that country music tells a story. She said, "When you choose a song and you can feel it, that's what made me feel great about what I was singing. I did a lot of country songs, and I loved every one of them. Because they just tell a story." Katie Moulton of the Oxford American also pointed out Martell's country singing style. Moulton compared her singing to that of torch singers like Dusty Springfield and Dinah Washington.

Linda Martell was one of the first Black artists to find success in country music. Her career helped inspire other Black artists in the industry, including Kane Brown and Mickey Guyton. In 2020, Mickey Guyton remembered searching online for "black women country singers." She was surprised to find Martell's music. Guyton said, "I didn't even know she existed...I felt really bad when I discovered that I didn’t know." Kane Brown also thought about her bravery: "Color was a thing back then. It's still a thing today, but it was worse back then. She was so brave."

Fellow Black country artist Rissi Palmer told NPR that by creating her 2020 podcast, she was "paying homage to the foundation on which my house is built, and that is Linda Martell."

Martell received the Equal Play Award at the 2021 CMT Music Awards. This award recognized her work as a Black female performer in country music. During the TV broadcast, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens, Jennifer Nettles, and Mickey Guyton gave a special tribute to her.

Personal Life

Linda Martell has been married two times. At age 19, she first married drummer Clark Thompson. They had three children together. In 1966, they separated. She later married Ted Jacobs, who owned a business. Jacobs also had one child from his first marriage. The family lived in Nashville while Martell was signed to Plantation Records. She talked about her home life with Ebony magazine in 1970. She explained the challenges of being a traveling performer while also being a wife and mother. She remembered, "I'm used to spending time with my family."

After she left the country music industry, Jacobs and Martell separated. Jacobs' business partner and Martell then started a romantic relationship. Together, they traveled and lived in several states. Martell later returned to South Carolina. In 2004, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and received treatment. She made a full recovery. She later moved in with one of her children in South Carolina.

Music Releases

Albums

Songs (Singles)

Other Song Appearances

Awards and Nominations