Nashville band Lady Antebellum yesterday announced plans to re-brand themselves ‘Lady A’ because of the word ‘antebellum’ and its association to slavery.
However, RollingStone reports that the name ‘Lady A’ has already been in use for over two decades, by Seattle blues singer Anita White the interviewed and was said to be distressed and emotional about the situation.
White, 61, who has recorded and released music under the name Lady A professionally for many years, told the publication: ‘This is my life. They’re using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time.’
Already in use: Lady Antebellum have been called out for ‘stealing’ the Lady A stage name from black performer Anita White (pictured above)
The singer has pointed out the irony to Rolling Stone Magazine, that the Grammy-winning country band did not approach her before making the decision, which was said to be in support of racial equality, while taking the title from a black artist.
The ‘antebellum south’ refers to the pre-Civil War period in the Southern United States between 1830-1860 when slavery was practiced. It was known as a time of economic growth in the region, largely due to its heavy reliance on slaves.
The band, made up of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, made the announcement Thursday on their social media, saying they were ‘regretful and embarrassed’ for not taking into consideration the word’s association with slavery.
Awkward: Nashville band Lady Antebellum yesterday announced plans to re-name themselves ‘Lady A’ because of the word ‘antebellum’ and its association to slavery
The publication reports that White began to get distressed when talking about the topic, with her voice breaking, she told them: ‘This is too much right now. They’re using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time.’
‘If it mattered, it would have mattered to them before. It shouldn’t have taken George Floyd to die for them to realize that their name had a slave reference to it.’
‘It’s an opportunity for them to pretend they’re not racist or pretend this means something to them. If it did, they would’ve done some research. And I’m not happy about that. You found me on Spotify easily – why couldn’t they?’
Not happy: Lady A – real name Anita White – said the band Lady Antebellum had not reached out to her about using the same stage name, despite the fact she could be easily found on Spotify
Claims: A rep for the band has said it was not aware of Lady A and now plans to reach out to the singer
A representative for Lady A / Lady Antebellum told Rolling Stone that the band was not aware of the other artist and now plans to reach out to her.
Rolling Stone notes that White has long been writing songs about racial injustices, having previously written one track around the death of Trayvon Martin.
She also recently changed some of the lyrics in her song called ‘The Truth Is Loud’ in response to the unlawful killing of George Floyd.
Meanwhile the band, who has used the name since 2006, said they felt compelled to make the change after the past few weeks opened their eyes to ‘blindspots we didn’t even know existed’.
‘After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word “antebellum” from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start,’ they said.
‘When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the Southern ‘Antebellum’ style home where we took our first photos.
‘But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before the Civil War, which includes slavery.’
‘We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen, or unvalued.’
Scott, 34, Kelley, 38, and Haywood, 37, all grew up in the south and formed Lady Antebellum in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006.