Background
Linda Martell was born in Leesville, South Carolina. The daughter of pastor Clarence Bynem.
Linda Martell was born in Leesville, South Carolina. The daughter of pastor Clarence Bynem.
In August 1969, she became the first African-American woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Her first recorded work was fronting a group called the Anglos, a single recorded in 1962 for the Fire label. She released a second single, "Before the Next Teardrop Falls", which reached Number.
33 on the Billboard charts.
She recorded one more charting single, an album and made 11 more appearances at the Grand Ole Opry before ending her recording career in 1974. A January 22, 2014 broadcast of a Swedish television program entitled Jills veranda – Nashville (transl: Jill"s Porch – Nashville) documented the search for and interview of Linda Martell.
The stars of the show travel to South Carolina to meet Martell, discuss her music and why she abandoned her recording career. She worked in education for much of her life but provides few details.