The touching, triumphant story of a young black man's journey from violence and despair to one of the world's most elite artistic institutions, as if The Blind Side were set in the world of opera. Ryan Speedo Green had a tough upbringing in southeastern Virginia: his family lived in a trailer park and later a bullet-riddled house across the street from drug dealers. His father was absent; his mother was volatile and abusive. At the age of twelve,...

Three young women, Deena Jones, Effie White and Lorrell Robinson desire to become pop stars. They get their wish when they are picked to be backup singers for the legendary James "Thunder" Early. When they are set free for leads, Curtis Taylor and Effie's brother C.C. decide that Deena should be the lead singer, which upsets Effie. The girls discover exactly what it takes to be in the music business and what they must give up to realize their dreams....

Combining firsthand reporting with historical research, provides a musical history of the birth of rock 'n' roll in the black juke joints where James Brown and B.B. King got their start.

A candid exploration of the genius, shame, and celebrity of Whitney Houston a decade after her passing. On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found submerged in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. In the decade since, the world has mourned her death amid new revelations about her relationship to her Blackness, her sexuality, and her addictions. Didn't We Almost Have It All is author Gerrick Kennedy's exploration of the duality...

Set in the 1960s, Sparkle and her two sisters form a singing group and dream of becoming stars beyond the affluent Detroit suburb where they come from, and where they are already well-known. But as the sisters become more famous, the close-knit nature of their family begins to fall apart. Features the late Whitney Houston's final screen performance.

The inspiring story of Marian Anderson, best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.

This work is a portrait of Michael Jackson, illuminating the private man, offering access into a rarefied world. The author, his brother, older than Michael by four years, offers a keenly observed and surprisingly candid memoir tracing Michael's life starting with their shared childhood and extending through the Jackson 5 years, Michael's phenomenal solo career, his loves, his suffering, and his tragic end which sparked worldwide grief. It is an examination...

Based on the incredible life story of the Godfather of Soul, this film gives a fearless look inside the music, moves and moods of Brown, taking audiences on the journey from his impoverished childhood to his evolution into one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.

The life and career of the singer, songwriter, and activist Aretha Franklin is introduced in picture book format with rhyming text.

A tribute to Harlem Renaissance performer Florence Mills covers her youth as a child of former slaves, her performances that inspired songs and entire plays, and the racism that prompted her advocacy of all-black theater and musicals.