Music & Movies

Hall of Fame disc jockey Tom Joyner uses his signature brand of humor to discuss everything from business to careers to relationships as he shares the insights and lessons he's learned along the way.Now the host of a radio show that is the most popular...

"A biography that will send readers back to the music of Mavis and the Staple Singers with deepened appreciation and a renewed spirit of discovery" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)--from the acclaimed music journalist and author featured prominently in...

Skip James (1902-1969) was perhaps the most creative and idiosyncratic of all blues musicians. Drawing on hundreds of hours of conversations with James himself, Stephen Calt here paints a dark and unforgettable portrait of a man untroubled by his own...

These are just a few of Willie Dixon's contributions to blues, R&B, and rock'n'roll--songs performed by artists as varied as the Rolling Stones, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, ZZ Top, the Doors, Sonny Boy Williamson, the Grateful Dead, Van Morrison,...

Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, author and photographer Hal Banfield brings this photographic series to life in the pages of his debut book. Capturing the grace, beauty, and strength of black dancers in motion, I Am Dance:...

"...a play about power, leadership, and the rough-and tumble process of social change. In its multifaceted search for the meaning behind the headline-grabbing events in Memphis, and in its depiction of the roots of black-vs.-black power struggles, it...

Enter the mind of Demetrius Walker as he fights for the American Dream amidst the intergenerational struggles of poverty, daddy issues, and religious conviction. I Am a Black Man is a memoir that examines love, fatherhood, spirituality, and emotional...

Experience music history with this memoir by one of the last of the genuine old school Blues and R&B legends, the Grammy-winning dynamic showman Bobby Rush. This memoir charts the extraordinary rise to fame of living blues legend, Bobby Rush. Born Emmett...

The most successful African-American playwright of his time, August Wilson is a dominant presence on Broadway and in regional theaters throughout the country. Herrington traces the roots of Wilson's drama back to the visual artists and jazz musicians who...

*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* "A gripping journey."--People The highly anticipated memoir from hip-hop icon Rick Ross chronicles his coming of age amid Miami's crack epidemic, his star-studded controversies and his unstoppable rise to fame. Rick Ross is an...

Marco Thiede, born in 1964 in Germany, writes about his discovery of Punk Rock and how the music changed his life. He describes his experiences from the end of the 70s until today; how he took many trips from Bremen to Punk concerts and gatherings, and...

How to Play Blues Guitar gives you vital instruction in blues basics from top guitar teachers and reveals the screts of blues greats, often in their own words. Revised and expanded with 32 pages of new lessons and packed with musical examples, charts,...

Packed with musical examples, charts and photos, this is a complete, step-by-step course for learning acoustic or electric blues guitar. In-depth lessons teach you to build your own style while exploring the music of traditional bluesmen and modern stars...

An acclaimed music scholar presents an accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz In How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively introduction to one of America's premier art forms. He tells us what to...

As part of Motown's legendary songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, Lamont Dozier is responsible for such classics as "Baby I Need Your Loving," "You Can't Hurry Love," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," "Stop! In the...

Pittsburgh's contributions to the uniquely American art form of jazz are essential to its national narrative. Fleeing the Jim Crow South in the twentieth century, African American migration to the industrial North brought musical roots that would lay the...