Frankie Staton: Founder of the Black Country Music Association, and Why She Chose to Be a Victor, Not a Victim

In 1981, Nashville police mistook a young piano player waiting outside a jam session for a sex worker. She talked her way into the room anyway, and 15 years later she built the stage that Black country artists did not have.Frankie Staton has spent 4 decades in Nashville. She grew up banging on her aunt's farmhouse piano outside Greensboro, North Carolina, moved to Nashville with nothing, and worked her way from a Marriott salad bar to a 5-star restaurant's grand piano, sharing rooms with Clint Eastwood, Dolly Parton, and Minnie Pearl along the way. Publishers told her a person who looked like her could not have written the songs she played them. In November 1996, she founded the Black Country Music Association and staged the first Black country showcase at the Bluebird Cafe, built to answer a newspaper story that claimed there were no Black country artists to find.Frankie joins Ryan Vet to trace that journey, from a childhood memory of being pulled off a Woolworths stool because the counter was for white customers only, to a mentor who fought for her at Sony Tree and lost, to the choice she made to be, in her words, a victor and not a victim.In this episode:Her origin story: a farmhouse piano, a gas station jingle, and a move to Nashville at all costsTalking her way into a jam session, and the piano gig that followedFounding the Black Country Music Association in 1996, and the first showcase at the Bluebird CafeWhat it means to build resilience in incrementsHer advice for young people navigating rejection and doubt todayFrankie is finishing her memoir, A Witness at the Party, and a Loretta Lynn tribute EP, Forever Loretta. Find her at frankiestaton.org.Related from COLLIDE: Is the American Dream Dead or Just Different? https://ryanvet.com/c/26/Send us Fan MailAbout Ryan VetRyan Vet is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist, and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold.Join 20,000+ Leaders for Weekly InsightsIf you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter:👉 https://ryanvet.com/collide