This is hardly a recent development. Pardon the ramblings of a geezer but this question brings back memories. Since the article mentions musical stars of the last half-century, I'm reminded of how strangely different things were in the 1940s and 50s than in the 60s and 70s. There was a constellation of US black musical talent of brilliance that is just astonishing in retrospect. Many stayed on the R&B charts, but many of the most honored interpreters of "the great American songbook" were African American. Sarah Vaughan had huge mainstream hits in the 1950s, but by the mid-60s was sidelined. Ella Fitzgerald was an extremely popular guest on musical variety shows, often singing duets with people like Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra. Dinah Washington started out on the r&b charts but crossed over and became a huge star before her untimely demise. (Frank, who was a POS in some ways, was a heroic fighter against the color line in the music business. Seems to have DEMANDED Ella being booked on shows if he was going to accept their invitations himself, in some cases. And made a big fuss about segregation in Vegas, causing a change of policy in some clubs.)
When I was little, Nat King Cole was extremely popular on TV; later, Sammy Davis, Jr. was likewise a mainstream hit all over the TV. Yet I've read that Billy Eckstine's career went into decline because his good looks and mixed appearance made him dangerously appealing to young white teenagers. And THAT is a line that could not be crossed, a crossover sex symbol. As music became less romantic and more raunchy in the 1960s, the market became more segregated once again. The weird psychic split in white America of the 1950s-60s entertainment world is still with us today. Individual black performers can have wildly enthusiastic white fans-- who nevertheless retain their racist biases on every topic other than musical talent.
Ethel Waters is an interesting case in point. Just saw a Route 66 episode that won her an Emmy in 1962, about a jazz singer whose dying wish is to bring together her old combo one last time. She was adored by fans as an individual talent, yet suffered deeply from the indignities inflicted on black people collectively. Ended up, unfortunately, in the embrace of Billy Graham-- but who can blame her for turning to God for solace? That any of these talents stuck it out and created such beauty in such an ugly cultural environment is amazing. No one can blame Nina Simone (or on the literary side of the ledger James Baldwin) for escaping to France rather than stay in such a crazy-making situation. But we can surely be thankful to all the greats who stayed despite what they were subjected to, adored as performers and demeaned as human beings.
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