Presents biographical profiles of African Americans, both legendary and less well-known, who have made significant contributions to music in the United States over the past 200 years.

Profiles the lives and works of influential African American musicians and entertainers, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, B. B. King, and Jimi Hendrix.

A New York Times Notable Book

"As resonant as a blues song. . . . Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchett's fiction."—New York Times Book Review

An ex-jazz drummer wants nothing more than to be a good father in this moving family novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Dutch House.

When John Nickel's lover takes away his son, Nickel is left only with his

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"Carlisa "Carli" Henton is a musician and songwriter hoping to follow in her father's musical footsteps. But, biding her time until she makes it big in the music industry, she works as a junior account manager at a big-name media company to cover her New York City rent. Carli meticulously balances her work with her musical endeavors as a songwriter--until a chance meeting with rising star Tau Anderson sends her calculated world into a frenzy. Their...

The story of the "Jubilee Singers, [who] traveled from Cincinnati to New York, following the path of the Underground Railroad. With every performance they endangered their lives and those of the people helping them, but they also broke down barriers between blacks and whites, lifted spirits, and even helped influence modern American music: the Jubilees were the first to introduce spirituals outside their black communities [and are still active and...

Presents the life of one of the bestselling artists of all time, from her start singing in front of her father's Baptist congregation to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

When Tony Lip, a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley, a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on The Green Book to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Confronted with racism, danger, as well as unexpected humanity and humor, they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the...

Illustrations and rhyming text celebrate the roots of jazz music.

Profiles notable African Americans in the field of music, including Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Looks at the live and career of American rapper and record executive, Gucci Mane.