‘Good in the Wood Wednesday! This week, we’re looking at Black country music star Linda Martell, who will receive CMT’s 2021 Equal Play Award at tonight’s CMT Music Awards. As one of the first successful Black female country singers, she’s influenced the careers of many artists of color in the country music scene.A post shared by CMT (@cmt)Linda Martell was born on June 4th, 1941, in South Carolina.