The American Musicological Society and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF) in Cleveland, Ohio, collaborate on a lecture series that brings scholarly work to a broader audience and showcases the musicological work of the top scholars in the field. Join us to hear from historian Nadine Hubbs as she explores the history of Latino involvement and contributions in country music.
In 1972, a half-century after the birth of commercial country music, Billboard country charts posted the first hit single by a Latin artist, a young Tejano named Johnny Rodriguez. Over the next twenty-one months, three Mexican American artists—Rodriguez, Freddy Fender, and Linda Ronstadt—racked up seventeen Top 10 hits, including ten at No. 1.
These artists returned to the country charts throughout the ’70s and ’80s, with solo records and sometimes collaborations. But the half-century since 1975 has seen only one Latin solo artist top the country charts: Rick Trevino in 1996.
Recent research has identified an industry effort to build up the country’s white image in the ’70s, even as the genre enjoyed a rise in Black and Hispanic listenership. This lecture revisits the music and machinations of country’s 1970s Latino prime and considers it in the context of the hundred-year history of Mexican American involvement and contributions in country music.
Nadine Hubbs is a historian, theorist, and critic whose work takes a musical perspective on modern U.S. society and culture. She has written on Leonard Bernstein and the Copland–Thomson gay composers’ circle, 1970s disco, Morrissey, Radiohead, Springsteen, and country music. The author of many essays and articles, she has also written two award-winning books, The Queer Composition of America’s Sound and Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music; and co-edited the award-winning collection Uncharted Country: New Voices and Perspectives in Country Music Studies.
Her public-facing work appears in outlets including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, USA Today, NPR, MSNBC, BBC, and Dolly Parton’s America podcast. Dr. Hubbs serves as Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, Music, and American Culture at the University of Michigan. She is currently writing a book titled Border Country: The Mexican Influence at the Heart of Country Music.
PARKING: Paid meters and parking lots are available around the museum on East 9th St., Erieside Ave., Alfred Lerner Way (in front of FirstEnergy Stadium) and at the Great Lakes Science Center. You can also use these links to park in other downtown lots, reserve your parking spot in advance or to take public transportation. All sales final, tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded after purchase unless the performance is canceled.