Cowboy Carter was initially meant to play as Act II of Beyoncé‘s 2022 album Renaissance, but ended up continuing where she left off in 2016, after releasing her first country single “Daddy Lessons” from Lemonade—and performing the song with the Chicks at the 2016 CMA Awards. Returning to the genre, Beyoncé already became the first Black woman with a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
“This album has been over five years in the making,” wrote Beyoncé introducing the album on social media. “It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed, and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives [to] educating on our musical history.”
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On Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé delivers 27 interpretations of country, including three covers, and a collection of special guests including her daughter Rumi on “Protector,” Nigerian-American rapper Shaboozey on “Spaghetti” and “Sweet Honey Buckiin,” and Miley Cyrus on “II Most Wanted.” Post Malone—who has already mosied into country music with his Luke Combs collaboration “I Ain’t Got A Guy For That” from his forthcoming country debut—appears on “Levii’s Jeans.”
Even though Beyoncé said Cowboy Carter is not a country album—”This ain’t a Country album,” she said. “This is a Beyoncé album”—other country music guests, including some legends, help accentuate Bey’s deeper dive into the genre. Here are four of the top (in no particular order) country moments from Cowboy Carter.
1. “Blackbiird” with Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, and Tiera Kennedy
Paul McCartney wrote “Blackbird” weeks after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a song or letter to Black women and finding hope and strength during the civil rights movement. Though “Blackbird” was never intended as a country song when The Beatles released it in 1968 on the White Album, Beyoncé delivers one of the most poignant interpretations of the song with “Blackbiird” and the addition of four Black female country artists Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, and Tiera Kennedy.
2. Dolly Parton Intros Beyoncé’s “Jolene”
Even though Beyoncé was getting criticized when word got out that she was covering Dolly Parton‘s 1973 hit “Jolene,” Parton was thrilled about the cover and defended Bey on social media. “I’m a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she’s done a country album,” wrote Parton. “So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single.”
In a March 2024 interview with Knoxville News Sentinel, Parton added, “I love her. She’s a beautiful girl and a great singer.” She also admitted that she was trying to convince Beyoncé to cover “Jolene” for several years before Cowboy Carter was in the works. “We’ve kind of sent messages back and forth through the years,” said Parton. “And she and her mother were like fans, and I was always touched that they were fans, and I always thought she was great.”
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Parton appears on Cowboy Carter to introduce “Jolene” on the 22-second “Dolly P.”
“Hey Miss Honey B, it’s Dolly P,” says Parton. “You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about?” says Parton, referencing Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Sorry” —He better call Becky with the good hair. Parton continues, “Reminding me of someone I knew back when, except she has flaming locks of auburn hair, bless her heart. Just a hair of a different color but it hurts just the same.”
3. Linda Martell Comes Out of Retirement
In 1969, Linda Martell became the first Black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry and had a hit with her cover of the Winstons’ hit “Color Him Father,” which she released on her first and only album Color Me Country, which reached the Top 40 on the Country chart in 1970, before retiring from music in 1974.
On Cowboy Carter, Martell returns with two spoken-word appearances on the tracks “Spaghetti” and introduced “Ya Ya” on “The Linda Martell Show.”
4. Narrated By Willie Nelson
It makes sense that fellow Texan and country music legend Willie Nelson appears on Cowboy Carter. On the album, Nelson returns to his Texas radio roots, playing host of the “Smoke Hour.” In the mid-’50s, Nelson worked as a DJ at KBOP in Pleasanton, Texas, and returns as host on Cowboy Carter, first with a spoken prelude to the single “Texas Hold ‘Em” with “Smoke Hour Willie Nelson.” Nelson reappears for another intro to “Just for Fun,” featuring Willie Jones, on “Smoke Hour II.”
“You’re tuned into KNTRY Radio Texas, home of the real deal,” says Nelson on “Smoke Hour II,” and continues “If there’s one thing you can take away from my set today, let it be this: ‘Sometimes you don’t know what you like until someone you trust turns you on to some real good s–t.’ And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why I’m here.”
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Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
