{"title":"R\u0026B \u0026 Soul Artist Biographies","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"searching-for-robert-johnson","title":"Searching for Robert Johnson","description":"Explores the life and legend of blues singer Robert Johnson, whose music influenced Muddy Waters and an entire generation of rock 'n' roll artists, ISBN13: 9780525248019 ISBN10: 0525248013 Material Type: hardcover","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51251065618739,"sku":"CH_07-02-24_ART_601A0B","price":18.48,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/41PuCzY-UxL.jpg?v=1753653466"},{"product_id":"stevie-ray-soul-to-soul","title":"Stevie Ray: Soul to Soul","description":"Exploding with rare photos, personal notes and correspondence, magazine and album covers, handwritten sheet music, promo posters, and other memorabilia, this biography is a celebration of a great guitarist, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Includes some of Vaughan's interviews and personal anecdotes from fellow musicians., ISBN13: 9780878338382 ISBN10: 0878338381 Material Type: paperback","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51256862933299,"sku":"FA_10-17-24_ART_301L3V","price":14.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/512Y957PDAL.jpg?v=1753681994"},{"product_id":"i-am-the-blues-the-willie-dixon-story","title":"I Am The Blues: The Willie Dixon Story","description":"These are just a few of Willie Dixon's contributions to blues, R\u0026amp;B, and rock'n'roll—songs performed by artists as varied as the Rolling Stones, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, ZZ Top, the Doors, Sonny Boy Williamson, the Grateful Dead, Van Morrison, Megadeth, Eric Clapton, Let Zepplin, Tesla, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jeff Healey.I Am the Blues captures Willie Dixon's inimitable voice and character as he tells his life story: the segregation of Visksburg Mississippi, where Dixon grew up; the prison farm from which he escaped and then hoboed his way north as a teenager; his equal-rights-based draft refusal in 1942; his work—as songwriter bassist, producer, and arranger—with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry which shaped the definitive Chicago blues sound of Chess Records; and his legal battles to recapture the rights to his historic catalog of songs., ISBN13: 9780306804151 ISBN10: 0306804158 Material Type: paperback","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51732966605107,"sku":"A_STR_H0000DNZ","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/81QjQuir3gL.jpg?v=1753610967"},{"product_id":"suck-and-blow-and-other-stories-im-not-supposed-to-tell","title":"Suck and Blow: And Other Stories I'm Not Supposed to Tell","description":"Hailed by many as the world's greatest harmonica player, John Popper has redefined the instrument. As the lead singer and principal songwriter of Blues Traveler, Popper has performed for more than 30 million people over 2,000 live dates and composed such radio staples as \"Hook,\" \"But Anyway,\" and \"Run-Around,\" the longest-charting single in Billboard history. He has appeared with Eric Clapton and B. B. King at the White House, welcomed the Hungarian ambassador to the stage, and inducted Carlos Santana into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.\n\nIn Suck and Blow, Popper shares a candid, spirited account of his life and career. A straight-F student at Princeton High School, Popper's life changed with one serendipitous harmonica solo that captured the attention of his mercurial band teacher (the same teacher whose life was later fictionalized in the Academy Award-winning film Whiplash). After befriending three fellow musicians with whom he would form Blues Traveler, Popper's academic career nearly ended in twelfth grade, until a meeting with the Dean of the New School for Social Research in which Popper pulled out his trusty harp and played his way into college.\n\nPopper and Blues Traveler soon became enmeshed in the lower Manhattan music scene of the late 1980s, eventually becoming the house band at the fabled Wetlands Preserve and embarking on a journey that would one day land the group at Madison Square Garden on New Year's Eve. Along the way, Popper and his cohorts commanded the attention of fans and bands alike, through inspired performances and riotous debauchery.\n\nPopper's unique perspective on the music business began under the tutelage of Blues Traveler's mentor and manager Bill Graham. After the rock impresario's untimely passing, Popper applied many of Graham's lessons to the formation of the H.O.R.D.E. tour, which John co-owned and hosted over eight years, welcoming such artists as Neil Young, the Allman Brothers Band, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Ziggy Marley, and his longtime friends the Spin Doctors.\n\nPopper also shares a forthright assessment of his longstanding battle with obesity. Plagued by weight problems since childhood, a motorcycle accident a few years into his career confined him to a wheelchair for two years while his weight ballooned to 436 pounds. Angioplasty, gastric bypass surgery, and a tattoo on his chest that reads \"I Want to Be Brave\" when viewed in the mirror are products of Popper's struggle, compounded by codependency issues and the untimely death of founding Blues Traveler bassist Bobby Sheehan.\n\nPopper's personal identity is entwined with his political passions. A staunch supporter of gun rights, he has performed at the National Republican Convention, yet he also maintains liberal positions on social issues. He will reconcile these views and share his encounters with the Bush family, the Clintons, the Gores, and other politicos.\n\nThe iconoclastic, self-described Johnny Appleharp also dishes on cutting contests, Twitter trolls, party fouls, and prostitutes.\n\nIn Suck and Blow, John Popper does it all with his signature honesty, humility, and humor., ISBN13: 9780306824043 ISBN10: 0306824043 Material Type: hardcover","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51732968571187,"sku":"FA_05-15-25_ART_200008CS","price":13.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/61P0pEnqh-L.jpg?v=1753611037"},{"product_id":"i-aint-studdin-ya-my-american-blues-story","title":"I Ain't Studdin' Ya: My American Blues Story","description":"Experience music history with this memoir by one of the last of the genuine old school Blues and R\u0026amp;B legends, the Grammy-winning dynamic showman Bobby Rush.\n\nThis memoir charts the extraordinary rise to fame of living blues legend, Bobby Rush. Born Emmett Ellis, Jr. in Homer, Louisiana, he adopted the stage name Bobby Rush out of respect for his father, a pastor. As a teenager, Rush acquired his first real guitar and started playing in juke joints in Little Rock, Arkansas, donning a fake mustache to trick club owners into thinking he was old enough to gain entry. He led his first band in Arkansas between Little Rock and Pine Bluff in the 1950s. It was there he first had Elmore James play in his band. Rush later relocated to Chicago to pursue his musical career and started to work with Earl Hooker, Luther Allison, and Freddie King, and sat in with many of his musical heroes, such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter. Rush eventually began leading his own band in the 1960s, crafting his own distinct style of funky blues, and recording a succession of singles for various labels. It wasn't until the early 1970s that Rush finally scored a hit with \"Chicken Heads.\" More recordings followed, including an album which went on to be listed in the Top 10 blues albums of the 1970s by Rolling Stone and a handful of regional jukebox favorites including \"Sue\" and \"I Ain't Studdin' Ya.\"\n\nAnd Rush's career shows no signs of slowing down now. The man once beloved for performing in local jukejoints is now headlining major music\/blues festivals, clubs, and theaters across the U.S. and as far as Japan and Australia. At age eighty-six, he is still on the road for over 200 days a year. His lifelong hectic tour schedule has earned him the affectionate title \"King of the Chitlin' Circuit,\" from Rolling Stone. In 2007, he earned the distinction of being the first blues artist to play at the Great Wall of China. His renowned stage act features his famed shake dancers, who personify his funky blues and his ribald sense of humor. He was featured in Martin Scorcese's The Blues docuseries on PBS, a documentary film called Take Me to the River, performed with Dan Aykroyd on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and most recently had a cameo in the Golden Globe nominated Netflix film, Dolemite Is My Name, starring Eddie Murphy. He was recently given the highest Blues Music Award honor of B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. His songs have also been featured in TV shows and films including HBO's Ballers and major motion pictures like Black Snake Moan, starring Samuel L. Jackson.\n\nConsidered by many to be the greatest bluesman currently performing, this book will give readers unparalleled access into the man, the myth, the legend: Bobby Rush., ISBN13: 9780306874802 ISBN10: 0306874806 Material Type: hardcover","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51732969718067,"sku":"FA_04-04-25_ART_200003TQ","price":14.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/81ol_QFpAuL.jpg?v=1753611055"},{"product_id":"otis-redding-an-unfinished-life","title":"Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life","description":"The long-awaited, definitive biography of The King of Soul, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Redding's iconic performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.\n\nOtis Redding remains an immortal presence in the canon of American music on the strength of such classic hits as “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “Try a Little Tenderness,” and “Respect,” a song he wrote and recorded before Aretha Franklin made it her own. As the architect of the distinctly southern, gospel-inflected style of rhythm \u0026amp; blues associated with Stax Records in Memphis, Redding made music that has long served as the gold standard of 1960s soul. Yet an aura of myth and mystery has always surrounded his life, which was tragically cut short at the height of his career by a plane crash in December 1967.\n\nIn Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life, Jonathan Gould finally does justice to Redding’s incomparable musical artistry, drawing on exhaustive research, the cooperation of the Redding family, and previously unavailable sources of information to present the first comprehensive portrait of the singer’s background, his upbringing, and his professional career.\n\nIn chronicling the story of Redding’s life and music, Gould also presents a social history of the time and place from which they emerged. His book never lets us forget that the boundaries between black and white in popular music were becoming porous during the years when racial tensions were reaching a height throughout the United States. His indelible portrait of Redding and the mass acceptance of soul music in the 1960s is both a revealing look at a brilliant artist and a provocative exploration of the tangled history of race and music in America that resonates strongly with the present day., ISBN13: 9780307453945 ISBN10: 0307453944 Material Type: hardcover","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51733113405747,"sku":"FA_04-22-25_PHA_20000A7L","price":13.28,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/71fHhmGfwUL.jpg?v=1753611602"},{"product_id":"ubd-6-3-f_str_h0000f42","title":"Rage To Survive","description":"Perhaps the finest soul singer of the rock era-but equally at home singing blues and jazz -- Etta James is one of the great women of American music. In Rage to Survive she tells her mesmerizing tale in her uniquely big, bold, and unrepentant voice. Without a trace of self-pity she describes her chaotic world of early R\u0026amp;B, depicts legends like Sam Cooke and Little Richard, details her dependency on drugs and bad men, and unsparingly recounts the golden age of soul, when her \"Tell Mama\" topped the charts. Rage to Survive is a funky, ribald tale told with unparalleled sass., ISBN13: 9780306812620 ISBN10: 0306812622 Material Type: paperback","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51778524152115,"sku":"UBD.6.3 F_STR_H0000F42","price":11.03,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/616D4lw2wUL.jpg?v=1753610988"},{"product_id":"truly-blessed","title":"Truly Blessed","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe rhythm-and-blues singer whose enormous success was interrupted in 1982 by a car accident that left him permanently confined to a wheelchair looks back on his life and career, recounting his personal struggles and victories. 100,000 first printing. Tour., ISBN13: 9780399144202 ISBN10: 039914420X Material Type: hardcover\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51781457215795,"sku":"TN_STR_UBD_H0000TN2","price":10.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/71fNC1qEZEL.jpg?v=1753626395"},{"product_id":"what-happened-miss-simone-a-biography","title":"What Happened, Miss Simone?: A Biography","description":"\u003cp\u003eInspired by the Academy Award-nominated Netflix documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, an intimate and vivid look at the legendary life of Nina Simone, the classically trained pianist who evolved into a chart-topping chanteuse and committed civil rights activist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom music journalist and former Spin and Vibe editor-in-chief Alan Light comes a biography of incandescent soul singer and Black Power icon Nina Simone, one of the most influential, provocative, and least understood artists of our time. Drawn from a trove of rare archival footage, audio recordings and interviews (including Simone's remarkable private diaries), this nuanced examination of Nina Simone’s life highlights her musical inventiveness and unwavering quest for equality, while laying bare the personal demons that plagued her from the time of her Jim Crow childhood in North Carolina to her self-imposed exile in Liberia and Paris later in life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHarnessing the singular voice of Miss Simone herself and incorporating candid reflections from those who knew her best, including her only daughter, Light brings us face to face with a legend, examining the very public persona and very private struggles of one of our greatest artists., ISBN13: 9781101904879 ISBN10: 1101904879 Material Type: hardcover\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51790981497139,"sku":"TN_STR_H00007JO","price":11.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/61y8Fs45FgL.jpg?v=1753697744"},{"product_id":"didnt-we-almost-have-it-all-in-defense-of-whitney-houston","title":"Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston","description":"\u003cp\u003eDidn’t We Almost Have It All is a candid exploration of the genius, shame, and celebrity of Whitney Houston.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNamed a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR . . . SO FAR by The New Yorker\u003cbr\u003e\nNamed a BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH by the Washington Post\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found submerged in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Since then, 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 award-winning journalist Gerrick Kennedy’s exploration of the duality of Whitney’s life as both a woman in the spotlight and someone who often had to hide who she was. This is the story of Whitney’s life—her whole life—told with both grace and honesty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLong before that fateful day in 2012, Whitney split the world wide open with her voice. Hers was a once-in-a-generation talent forged in Newark, New Jersey, and blessed with the grace of the church and the wisdom of a long lineage of famous gospel singers. She redefined “The Star-Spangled Banner.” She became a box-office powerhouse, a queen of the pop charts, and an international superstar. But all the while, she was forced to rein in who she was amid constant accusations that her music wasn’t Black enough, original enough, honest enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKennedy deftly peels back the layers of Whitney’s complex story to get to the truth at the core of what drove her, what inspired her, and what haunted her. He pulls the narrative apart into the key elements that informed her life—growing up in the famed Drinkard family; the two romantic relationships that shaped the entirety of her adult life: Robyn Crawford and Bobby Brown; her fraught relationship to her own Blackness and the ways in which she was judged by the Black community; her drug and alcohol addiction; and, finally, the shame that she carried in her heart, which informed every facet of her life. Drawing on hundreds of sources, Kennedy takes readers back to a world in which someone like Whitney simply could not be, and explains in excruciating detail the ways in which her fame did not and could not protect her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the time since her passing, the world and the way we view celebrity have changed dramatically. A sweeping look at Whitney’s life, Didn’t We Almost Have It All contextualizes her struggles against the backdrop of tabloid culture, audience consumption, mental health stigmas, and racial divisions in America. It explores exactly how and why we lost a beloved icon far too soon., ISBN13: 9781419752971 ISBN10: 1419752979 Material Type: paperback\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51791275458867,"sku":"FA_06-10-25_PHA_20000J2X","price":16.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/71ez8tVAxVL.jpg?v=1753703512"},{"product_id":"finding-marthas-place-my-journey-through-sin-salvation-and-lots-of-soul-food","title":"Finding Martha's Place: My Journey Through Sin, Salvation, and Lots of Soul Food","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to Martha's Place . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMartha Hawkins was the tenth of twelve children born in Montgomery, Alabama. There was no money, but her childhood was full of love. Martha's mother could transform a few vegetables from the backyard into a feast and never turned away a hungry mouth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMemories of the warmth of her family's supper table would remain with Martha. Even as a poor single mother without a high school diploma, Martha dreamed of one day opening a restaurant that would make people feel at home. She'd serve food that would nourish body and soul. But time went by and that dream slipped further and further away as Martha battled the onset of what would later become a severe mental illness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut the thing about hitting bottom is that there's nowhere to go but up. Martha decided to step into God's promise for her life. Her boundless faith and joy led her to people who would change her world and lend a helping hand when she most needed and least expected one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMartha's Place is now a nationally known destination for anyone visiting the Deep South and a culinary fixture of life in Montgomery. Martha only hires folks who are down on their luck, just as she once was. High-profile politicians, professional athletes, artists, musicians, and actors visit regularly. Martha has proven many times that keeping the faith makes the difference between failure and success.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the story of how Martha finally found her place. . . ., ISBN13: 9781439137819 ISBN10: 1439137811 Material Type: hardcover\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51791307637043,"sku":"A.7.5 F_04-03-25_ART_H000036F","price":13.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/615Jqni1_oL.jpg?v=1753704396"},{"product_id":"blue-monday-fats-domino-and-the-lost-dawn-of-rock-n-roll","title":"Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll","description":"ISBN13: 9780306814914 ISBN10: 0306814919 Material Type: hardcover","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52842117824819,"sku":"B11.31.03-FK_10-29-25_PHR_H0001ATQ","price":29.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/81fsUsHVE0L.jpg?v=1765715631"},{"product_id":"dreaming-out-loud-garth-brooks-wynonna-judd-wade-hayes-and-the-changing-face-of-nashville","title":"Dreaming Out Loud:: Garth Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes, And The Changing Face Of Nashville","description":"ISBN13: 9780380975785 ISBN10: 0380975785 Material Type: hardcover","brand":"CheapBookDepot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52851797623091,"sku":"B7.6.7-AZ_09-25-25_PHR_H00013K2","price":14.78,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/5086\/1363\/files\/91WK45HObPL.jpg?v=1765971290"},{"product_id":"blues-all-around-me-the-autobiography-of-bb-king-1","title":"Blues All Around Me: The Autobiography of B.B. 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