Real name: Thelma Bynem

Effective period / Period of releases: 1962 - 1970

Linda Martell was born in Leesville, South Carolina (U.S.A.) on June 4, 1941.

She became the very FIRST commercially successful Black female artist in Country music. Her 1970 album, “Color Me Country" charted No. 40 on the Billboard Hot Country LPs.

• First African-American female singer to sing at the Grand Ole Opry. She would eventually perform there a total of 12 times with standing ovations.

• First African-American female singer to appear on several popular Country-Western television shows including “Hee Haw” and “The Bill Anderson Show.”

• First African-American female singer to have a top 25 Country hit: “Color Him Father” at No. 22. “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” at No. 33 and “Bad Case of the Blues” at No. 58.

• First African-American female singer to perform on stage at the Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree. The Midnite Jamboree is Country Music’s 2nd longest running radio show (WSM).


On June 9, 2021, Linda Martell was presented with the CMT (Country Music Television) Equal Play Award. An award recognizing her legacy as Country music's first prominent Black female singer. And as a trailblazer of African-American representation in Country music.

Exhibits of the legacy of Linda Martell (Thelma Bynem) are in museums across the United States; National Museum of African-American Music in Nashville, Tennessee. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

***Linda Martell is singer Elzie Bynem Sister.
***Linda Martell is actress-dancer-singer Marilyn Mariani First Cousin.