Great African American Musicians: From Marian Anderson to Stevie Wonder

This book provides biographical portraits of seventy-eight Black musicians. All artists included in the volume were born prior to the Civil Rights Movement and represent the some of the greatest talent of their era. The biographical data includes information that establishes a standard of recognition of each entry's success story. This includes, but is not limited to, honors/awards, commissioned works, selective discography, film/movie appearances, music style, music technique, song titles and major performance. Beyond the scholarly data is the inclusion of outstanding photographs of each entry. The majority of the photographs have not appeared in print. Thus, each accompanying photo broadens the quality of the book and enables the reader to associate and appreciate each biography. The book also exemplifies the value of acknowledging the contribution of any select group. This book will most assuredly encourage other scholars to investigate the life and times of musicians who appear in the book; investigate contributions of the individuals who represent the arts and humanities; and, propel the value of engagement in interdisciplinary studies.