Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop

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)

"This book is revelatory about the specific experiences of Black women in music."--Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022--Oprah Daily, Essence, Electric Lit

A weave of biography, criticism, and memoir, Shine Bright is Danyel Smith's intimate history of Black women's music as the foundational story of American pop. Smith has been writing this history for more than five years. But as a music fan, and then as an essayist, editor (Vibe, Billboard), and podcast host (Black Girl Songbook), she has been living this history since she was a latchkey kid listening to "Midnight Train to Georgia" on the family stereo.

Smith's detailed narrative begins with Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who sang her poems, and continues through the stories of Mahalia Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Mariah Carey, as well as the under-considered careers of Marilyn McCoo, Deniece Williams, and Jody Watley.

Shine Bright is an overdue paean to musical masters whose true stories and genius have been hidden in plain sight--and the book Danyel Smith was born to write.

Author: Danyel Smith
Publisher: Roc Lit 101
Published: 04/19/2022
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.29lbs
Size: 9.60h x 6.56w x 1.07d
ISBN: 9780593132715

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 12/13/2021
Library Journal 04/01/2022 pg. 84

About the Author
Danyel Smith is a media creative, television producer, and author. She was most recently senior producer and editor for ESPN's The Undefeated. Prior to ESPN, Smith was a John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford, where she cofounded HRDCVR, an innovative hardcover culture magazine. In addition to writing for Elle, ESPN The Magazine, NPR, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Media Group, The New York Times, and many other media organizations, Danyel has served as editor of Billboard, editor at large at Time Inc., and editor in chief of Vibe. She is the author of two novels, More Like Wrestling and Bliss. She lives in Los Angeles.