There’s no denying that music is one of the main areas in which Black America has been allowed to shine.
That’s not to say that achieving success in the music industry was easy for African American performers. Like many other facets of their lives, there were plenty of obstacles for them to overcome in show business.
But music has always been something of an emotional outlet for the Black community - from the very time that their African ancestors were forcefully taken from their homeland, stripped of their identity, and sold as slaves, right up until the present day.
Many of the slaves who were sold in the US during the transatlantic slave trade spent hours upon hours laboring under the scorching sun and were repeatedly abused, both physically and emotionally, by their overseers.
So, in order to help them cope with these inhumane conditions, slaves would often turn to music. This gave them an opportunity to vent their frustration at their treatment as well as forge uplifting and close-knit communities. And evidently, this penchant for melodies, rhythm, and profound lyrics has persisted centuries later.
Of course, while their musical talents were evident, stardom was not an easy feat for Black musicians. Due to both legal and de facto segregation, prejudice, and discrimination, African Americans had to fight for their spot to be recognized as some of the most successful entertainers of all time.
And in spite of the incredible adversity they faced, Black genres, musicians, songwriters, and producers, have remained at the top of their game to this day. So, this Black History Month, we are celebrating 11 of the most groundbreaking milestones to be achieved by Black people in the music industry.
1. The first Black person to record music
George W. Johnson, a former slave, is believed to be the first Black American recording artist. The musical trailblazer made his first record in 1890 using a phonograph.
Incredibly, the phonograph - also known as the “talking machine” - was invented by Thomas Edison just a few years before Johnson recorded his rendition of ‘The Whistling Coon’ - a racist minstrel song.
He later recorded ‘The Laughing Song’ - again using the phonogaph - and would go on to become one of the first successful recording artists. In fact, by the mid-1890s, Johnson was creating some of the best-selling hits in the US.
2. The first Black singer to record a blues track
Mamie Smith - who was a popular vaudeville performer in the early 20th century - is known for being the first African American singer to record a blues song. She did so in 1920 with her versions of Perry Bradford’s ‘It’s Right Here for You’ and ‘Crazy Blues’.
Of course, she wasn’t the very first Black artist to make a record, with that honor having gone to George W Johnson some 30 years earlier. However, these early recordings tended to include comic monologues and choir music - but no blues music.
The blues, as a genre, had been around for some time and was the first of its kind to capture the attention of music fans across the country - both Black and white. It emerged on the music scene shortly after the abolition of slavery in the US around the mid-19th century.
As the name would suggest, the blues was characterized by its melancholy lyrics and vocals. It evolved from several existing genres including ragtime, gospel music, minstrel show music, music sung by field slaves, and music popular with the general population.
3. The first Black-owned record label is founded
In 1921, Black Swan Records - the first Black-owned jazz and blues record label - was founded by entrepreneur Harry Pace in Harlem, New York. So influential was Pace in the business that he even reportedly helped coin the term "rock ‘n’ roll".
Seeing a gap in the market, Pace, who was also a civil rights lawyer, created an entity that saw music being created exclusively by Black people for its mostly Black target audience.
It was in the springtime of 1921 that Pace announced the launch of the company by placing adverts in Black newspapers all over the country with the slogan: "The Only Records Using Exclusively Negro Voices and Musicians."
4. The first Black person to host a musical variety TV show
In 1956, renowned singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole became the first Black person to host a musical variety TV show on national television - NBC’s The Nat King Cole Show.
The musician, known for his soft baritone vocals and romantic style, became the first Black person to play a major part in the evening entertainment for families of all races and backgrounds across the country.
The show debuted on November 5, 1956, and saw the soft-spoken entertainer interact with the audience and sing both Broadway and Tin Pan Alley tracks.
Cole was also able to utilize his connections by inviting other big-name musicians on the show, with many stars agreeing to appear despite the little payment they received. Some of these stars included Mel Tormé, Peggy Lee, Harry Belafonte, and Frankie Laine.
5. The first Black person to sing at a presidential inauguration
Marian Anderson, a Black contralto operatic singer, became the first African-American person to sing at a presidential inauguration. Indeed, in 1957, Anderson sang the National Anthem at Dwight D. Eisenhower’s inauguration ceremony outside the Capitol building.
Anderson had been an accomplished performer well before the inauguration ceremony in question, and, in fact, had performed in opera halls around the world for a number of years.
This historic performance certainly wasn’t her only groundbreaking feat. She also became the only person to perform at two presidential inaugurations when, in 1961, she sang the National Anthem once again as John F. Kennedy was sworn in.
And much earlier, in 1939, she gave a momentous outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial attended by a staggering 75,000 people. It took place after the Daughters of the American Revolution denied her entry to their segregated venue, Constitution Hall.
6. Ella Fitzgerald becomes the first Black woman to win a Grammy
The year 1958 was a monumental year for the music industry. Not only was it the year that the very first Grammy Awards was held, but it was also the year that jazz extraordinaire Ella Fitzgerald won herself two Grammys - making her the first Black woman to win the now-coveted gong.
The ‘Dream A Little Dream of Me’ songstress bagged the awards for Best Individual Jazz Performance and Best Female Vocal Performance.
Over the course of her illustrious career, she would eventually earn 14 Grammys in total. She also won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1967.
7. Count Basie becomes the first Black man to win a Grammy
Also at the very first Grammy Awards ceremony in 1958, Count Basie, a pianist and bandleader, became the first African American man to win an award. He was honored with the first-ever awards for Best Jazz Performance, Group, and Best Performance by a Dance Band.
In total, the jazz musician earned himself an impressive nine Grammy Awards throughout his career.
8. Sam Cooke becomes the first Black musician to launch a record label
Soul legend Sam Cooke, perhaps best known for the civil rights anthem ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, was the first major Black musician to start up his own independent record label.
In 1959, when he was 28 years old, he founded SAR Records in Los Angeles. SAR stands for Sam - his own name - and Alex and Roy - the names of his business partner J.W. Alexander and S. Roy Crain of The Soul Stirrers respectively.
All five albums released by SAR Records were gospel recordings by The Soul Stirrers, Sam Cooke’s former gospel band in the early 1950s.
In 1963, Cooke and Alexander launched a pop subsidiary of SAR Records named Derby Records. The label closed down after Cooke was shot dead aged 33 by motel manager Bertha Franklin on December 11, 1964.
9. Berry Gordy founds the iconic record label, Motown
To this day, Motown, which includes its various subsidiaries, is a well-known entity in and out of the music industry. Having signed the likes of Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Commodores, The Jackson 5, and Smokey Robinson - Motown’s legacy was inevitable.
Berry Gordy, who had already showcased his songwriting chops, now wanted to try his hand as an entrepreneur in the industry. So, in 1959, the then-30-year-old founded Motown, which would ultimately become one of the most lucrative career moves in the industry at the time.
In the 60s and 70s, Motown became one of the biggest money-makers in the industry, producing catchy soul music that made people want to dance.
10. Jay-Z becomes the first billionaire hip-hop artist
In 2019, Forbes named Jay-Z as the first hip-hop artist to become a billionaire. His incredible business empire includes stakes in real estate, art, liquor, and successful companies such as Uber. Collectively, they have earned the rapper an estimated $1 billion, according to the magazine.
The Grammy winner, whose real name is Shawn Carter, also started up his own lucrative brands, including the clothing label Rocawear, which he later sold to Iconix for more than $200 million in 2007.
With his relatively new 10-figure net worth, Jay-Z joins a short list of billionaires in the entertainment industry. This includes ‘Star Wars’ creator George Lucas, media magnate Oprah Winfrey, former NBA star Michael Jordan, film director Steven Spielberg, and most recently, Rihanna.
11. Rihanna becomes the world’s first billionaire female musician
While Rihanna is originally from Barbados, she became a household name more than a decade ago after emerging on the American music scene.
She hit the ground running as a teenager in the mid-2000s and last summer, became the world’s first billionaire female musician.
This means the 33-year-old chart-topper is officially the wealthiest female musician in the world and, after Oprah Winfrey, the richest female entertainer.
But while she is best known for belting out bangers like ‘Umbrella’ and ‘Rude Boy’, her estimated $1.7 billion fortune is mostly thanks to her cosmetics line Fenty Beauty.
In fact, according to Forbes, her mega-popular beauty brand, of which she owns 50%, is responsible for a staggering $1.4 billion of her net worth.
The rest of her riches can be attributed to her lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, which is worth around $270 million, as well as the earnings she has made during her singing career thus far.