Books for Black Music Appreciation Month

By Colleen Rowe | May 4 2023 | Music

For Black Music Appreciation month in June, Penguin Random House Education is celebrating influential Black musicians and artists. We have provided a selection of books that include a range of music topics, from blues to hip-hop to jazz to pop, and musicians and artists who have brought entertainment to their communities and beyond, and inspired others to make their own art. Within this collection of titles are books about music history, Black women in music, music fundamentals, popular culture, and stories that center on music icons from Billie Holiday to Michael Jackson to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and more.

Easily Slip into Another World
Easily Slip into Another World
A Life in Music
Henry Threadgill, Brent Hayes Edwards
978-1-5247-4907-1
An autobiography of one of the towering figures of contemporary American music and a powerful meditation on history, race, capitalism, and art.
$32.50 US
May 16, 2023
Hardcover
416 Pages
Knopf
Dirty Bird Blues
Dirty Bird Blues
Clarence Major
978-0-14-313659-0
A quietly influential force in African American literature and art, Clarence Major makes his Penguin Classics debut with the twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of Dirty Bird Blues
$18.00 US
Feb 08, 2022
Paperback
384 Pages
Penguin Classics
Shine Bright
Shine Bright
A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop
Danyel Smith
978-0-593-13273-9
American pop music is arguably this country’s greatest cultural contribution to the world, and its singular voice and virtuosity were created by a shining thread of Black women geniuses stretching back to the country’s founding. This is their surprising, heartbreaking, soaring story—from “one of the generation’s greatest, most insightful, most nuanced writers in pop culture” (Shea Serrano)
$18.00 US
Feb 14, 2023
Paperback
336 Pages
Roc Lit 101
Shout, Sister, Shout!
Shout, Sister, Shout!
The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Gayle F. Wald
978-0-8070-1184-3
The essential biography of America's godmother of rock 'n' roll whose exuberant singning and guitar playing captivated audiences and inspired generations of musicians from the 40s to today.
$18.95 US
Jan 31, 2023
Paperback
280 Pages
Beacon Press
The Spirit of Music
The Spirit of Music
The Lesson Continues
Victor L. Wooten
978-0-593-08166-2
Grammy Award winner Victor Wooten's inspiring parable of the importance of music and the threats that it faces in today's world.
$16.00 US
Feb 02, 2021
Paperback
368 Pages
Vintage
Deep Blues
Deep Blues
A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta
Robert Palmer
978-0-14-006223-6
"A lucid . . . entrancing study" —Greil Marcus
$18.00 US
Jul 29, 1982
Paperback
320 Pages
Penguin Books
The Come Up
The Come Up
An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop
Jonathan Abrams
978-1-9848-2513-1
The essential oral history of hip-hop, from its origins on the playgrounds of the Bronx to its reign as the most powerful force in pop culture
$35.00 US
Oct 18, 2022
Hardcover
544 Pages
Crown
Odetta
Odetta
A Life in Music and Protest
Ian Zack
978-0-8070-0289-6
The first in-depth biography of the legendary singer and "Voice of the Civil Rights Movement," who combatted racism and prejudice through her music.
$19.00 US
Apr 13, 2021
Paperback
288 Pages
Beacon Press
Searching for Robert Johnson
Searching for Robert Johnson
The Life and Legend of the "King of the Delta Blues Singers"
Peter Guralnick
978-0-452-27949-0
Peter Guralnick's extended essay about the life of the man and the myth, and of the place and time that produced both, illuminates much of the obscurity around Johnson without forfeiting any of the mystery.
$12.00 US
Aug 01, 1998
Paperback
96 Pages
Plume
Soul Culture
Soul Culture
Black Poets, Books, and Questions that Grew Me Up
Remica Bingham-Risher
978-0-8070-1272-7
“A powerful celebration of poets...Lit lovers will be dazzled.” —Publishers WeeklyExamines firsthand the lives of legendary Black writers who made a way out of no way to illuminate a road map for budding creators desiring to follow in their footsteps
$19.95 US
Aug 15, 2023
Paperback
256 Pages
Beacon Press
A Little Devil in America
A Little Devil in America
In Praise of Black Performance
Hanif Abdurraqib
978-1-9848-0120-3
A stirring meditation on Black performance in America from the New York Times bestselling author of Go Ahead in the Rain   “Whether heralding unsung entertainers or reexamining legends, Hanif Abdurraqib weaves together gorgeous essays that reveal the resilience, heartbreak, and joy within Black performance. I read this book breathlessly.”—Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half
$18.00 US
Mar 08, 2022
Paperback
320 Pages
Random House Trade Paperbacks
Man in the Music
Man in the Music
Joseph Vogel
978-0-525-56657-1
For half a century, Michael Jackson’s music has been an indelible part of our cultural consciousness. Landmark albums such as Off the Wall and Thriller shattered records, broke racial barriers, amassed awards, and set a new standard for popular music. While his songs continue to be played in nearly every corner of the world, however, they have rarely been given serious critical attention.
$17.95 US
Aug 27, 2019
Paperback
544 Pages
Vintage
The Death of Rhythm and Blues
The Death of Rhythm and Blues
Nelson George
978-0-14-200408-1
“[George’s] reading of history is not only interdisciplinary, it has a musical score...delightful.” —The Washington Post Book World
$17.00 US
Aug 15, 2003
Paperback
256 Pages
Penguin Books
Boyz n the Void
Boyz n the Void
a mixtape to my brother
G'Ra Asim
978-0-8070-5555-7
Writing to his brother, G’Ra Asim reflects on building his own identity while navigating Blackness, masculinity, and young adulthood—all through wry social commentary and music/pop culture critique
$14.95 US
May 10, 2022
Paperback
288 Pages
Beacon Press
Blues Legacies and Black Feminism
Blues Legacies and Black Feminism
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday
Angela Y. Davis
978-0-679-77126-5
Angela Davis gives us a new, radically transforming interpretation of the lives and music of three of the greatest singers of the 20th century.
$18.00 US
Jan 26, 1999
Paperback
464 Pages
Vintage
Miles & Me
Miles & Me
Miles Davis, the man, the musician, and his friendship with the journalist and poet Quincy Troupe
Quincy Troupe
978-1-60980-834-1
An intimate story of Miles Davis, the man, the musician, and his friendship with the young journalist and poet Quincy Troupe--soon to be a major motion picture.
$15.95 US
Sep 25, 2018
Paperback
224 Pages
Seven Stories Press
Billie Holiday: The Last Interview
Billie Holiday: The Last Interview
and Other Conversations
Billie Holiday
978-1-61219-674-9
The first-ever collection of interviews with the tortured but ground breaking singer, part of the increasingly beloved series.
$16.99 US
Jul 30, 2019
Paperback
144 Pages
Melville House
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