Shine Bright

Starred review from December 13, 2021
Smith (Bliss), host of the music podcast Black Girl Songbook, combines memoir, cultural history, and criticism in this masterful examination of the Black women artists who’ve indelibly shaped American popular music. Paying tribute to the music that “fortified” her through her toughest times growing up in L.A. in the 1970s all the way to her career as a music journalist, Smith offers a sharply written survey of the Black women who blazed the trail for the “whole of my creative life.” She transports readers back to 1773, to highlight the poetry of the enslaved Phillis Wheatley—“who spoke truths in the language of her oppressors”—and cites the “brief and hot stardom” of the Dixie Cups in 1964 and the “unheralded” work of the Sweet Inspirations later that decade to point out the ways in which Black voices were “the very genes of popular American soul, R&B, and rock ’n’ roll” yet often went uncredited. Legends such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson make appearances, too, as stirring figures who represent the struggles Black women continue to face in the music industry (despite “dominating the cultural landscape”) and, by the same token, the ways in which they reclaim it to fuel their musical works of art. This lyrical and whip-smart work is a cause for celebration.

Starred review from April 1, 2022

Music journalist and host of the podcast Black Girl Songbook Smith (More Like Wrestling) has made it her life's work to uplift Black women artists and give them the credit they are due. This book is the culmination of years of interviews, research, and personal appreciation for the music that shaped the author's own life. Smith explores famous musicians as well as those who may have been forgotten. She examines Cissy Houston's backup performances for Elvis and Van Morrison; Diana Ross's portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues; Gladys Knight's manager Margherite Wendell Mays; Jamaican singer-songwriter Millie Small; and the much-imitated gospel stylings of Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Smith draws from interviews that she conducted (some previously published) for insight into the complicated lives of Whitney Houston (they bonded over broken marriages), Mariah Carey, and Janet Jackson (who grappled with guilt over her success). Smith interweaves heartfelt stories of her own life as she provides evidence of the continual erasure of Black women's contributions to the evolving music industry, even as they upended all cultural norms and created unprecedented sounds. VERDICT In this fascinating tribute, Smith ensures that the achievements of these Black women musicians will not be forgotten.--Lisa Henry

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