Alice Randall, author of "My Black Country" in conversation with Rebecca Cash & Charlamagne da God.

About the Book: 

Alice Randall, award-winning professor, songwriter, and author with a “lively, engaging, and often wise” (The New York Times Book Review) voice, offers a lyrical, introspective, and unforgettable account of her past and her search for the first family of Black country music. Country music had brought Randall and her activist mother together and even gave Randall a singular distinction in American music history: she is the first Black woman to cowrite a number one country hit, Trisha Yearwood’s “XXX’s and OOO’s”. Randall found inspiration and comfort in the sounds and history of the first family of Black country music: DeFord Bailey, Lil Hardin, Ray Charles, Charley Pride, and Herb Jeffries who, together, made up a community of Black Americans rising through hard times to create simple beauty, true joy, and sometimes profound eccentricity. What emerges in My Black Country is a celebration of the most American of music genres and the radical joy in realizing the power of Black influence on American culture. As country music goes through a fresh renaissance today, with a new wave of Black artists enjoying success, My Black Country is the perfect gift for longtime country fans and a vibrant introduction to a new generation of listeners who previously were not invited to give the genre a chance.

About the Author: 

Alice Randall is a New York Times bestselling novelist, award-winning songwriter, and educator. She is widely recognized as one of the most significant voices in modern Black fiction and has emerged as an innovative food activist committed to reforms that support healthy bodies and healthy communities. She lives in Nashville where she writes country songs.

About the Conversation Partner: 

Rosanne Cash is a composer and singer-songwriter who has earned 4 Grammy Awards and 14 Grammy nominations, among numerous other accolades for songwriting and sound recordings.  She is also an author, whose 2010 memoir Composed garnered widespread praise from critics and landed on The New York Times bestseller list. In addition, she is a music community catalyst who often brings together giants of American roots music for various events and is a valued voice in documenting modern music history. In 2021, Cash was the first female composer to receive the MacDowell Medal, awarded since 1960 to an artist who has made an outstanding contribution to American culture. www.rosannecash.com.

About the Facilitator:

Charlamagne Tha God is a multi-media mogul best known for cohosting iHeartRadio’s The Breakfast Club. In addition to starring on television, he is also the CEO of the Black Effect Podcast Network, his own production company, CThaGod World LLC, and cohosts the popular podcast The Brilliant Idiots. Hailing from the small town of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Charlamagne quickly rose to become one of today’s most compelling media personalities. Known for his ability to interview politicians, cultural e-icons, and celebrities with the same unique POV, through his various platforms he helps drive the national conversations around race, culture, and politics. He is the author of Get Honest or Die Lying, the New York Times bestselling Black Privilege, and the global bestseller Shook One.