Today we’re joined by Danyel Smith, author of this month’s book club pick, Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop. Danyel is an award-winning journalist, the creator and host of the Black Girl Song Book podcast, and former editor and chief of Vibe, and editor at Billboard. This episode gets into the erasure of black women in pop music, holding music institutions accountable, and the cost of crossing over to the “mainstream”.

The Stacks Book Club selection for May is Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith. We will discuss the book on May 25th with Novena Carmel.

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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find everything we talked about on Amazon.

• Shine Bright by Danyel Smith
• Black Girl Songbook (The Ringer, Spotify)
• Billboard Magazine
• Vibe Magazine
• Phillis Wheatley
• Mariah Carey
• Whitney Houston
• Marilyn McCoo
• “Age of Aquarius/ Let the Sunshine In” (The 5th Dimension, 1969)
• The 5th Dimension
• Stephanie Mills
• The Wiz (Charlie Smalls & William F. Brown, 1974)
• “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” (Deniece Williams, 1984)
• Deniece Williams
• Peaches & Herb
• “Reunited” (Peaches & Herb, 1978)
• “Shake Your Groove Thang” (Peaches & Herb, 1978)
• Herb Fame
• The Temptations
• Linda “Peaches” Green
• Karen Carpenter

• Gladys Knight
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Janet Jackson (Janet Jackson, 1982)
• Dream Street (album) (Janet Jackson, 1984)
• Control (Janet Jackson, 1986)
• “Dream Street” (song) (Janet Jackson, 1984)
• The Stacks’ Patreon
• Sharda’s “Shine Bright” Playlist
• Spike Lee
• We Wuz Robbed (Spike Lee, 2002)
• Daydream (Mariah Carey, 1995)
• “Fantasy” (Mariah Carey, 1995)
• The Beatles
• The Supremes
• “Black Beatles” Playlist
• Hey Jude (Wilson Pickett, 1969)
• “Here Comes the Sun” (Nina Simone, 1971)
• “We Can Work it Out” (Stevie Wonder, 1970)
• “Got to Get You Into My Life” (Earth, Wind & Fire, 1978)
• “Let It Be” (Aretha Franklin, 1970)
• The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
• Eric Weisbard
• Ann Powers
• NPR Music
• The Negro Leagues
• Jackie Robinson
• Selena
• Chitlin’ Circuit
• Michael Jackson
• Lionel Richie
• Diana Ross
• The Dixie Cups
• “Chapel of Love” (The Dixie Cups, 1964)
• Janet Jackson
• Chuck Berry
• Summer of Soul (Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, 2021)
• The 5th Dimension on Ebony Magazine (October 1967)
• En Vogue
• “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye, 1971)
• Woodstock
• Joe Cocker
• The Music Man
• Woodminster Amphitheater (Oakland, CA)
• Donna Summer
• “Good Times” (Chic, 1979)
• “Rapper’s Delight” (Sugar Hill Gang, 1980)
• “Ring My Bell” (Anita Ward, 1979)
• “Last Dance” (Donna Summer, 1978)
• “Hot Stuff” (Donna Summer, 1979)
• “Bad Girls” (Donna Summer, 1979)
• Gloria Gaynor
• Mary J. Blige
• Amerie
• Patrice Rushen
• Clover Hope
• Daphne Brooks
• Dawnie Walton
• The Rolling Stones
• The Beach Boys
• The Who
• Simon & Garfunkel
• Bob Dylan
• Cissy Houston
• S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University
• ESPN
• “Ep. 89 Staying True to Yourself with Jason Reynolds” (The Stacks)
• “Ep. 193 Betting on the Kids with Angelina Jolie and Tokata Iron Eyes” (The Stacks)
• “Ep. 172 The Art vs. The Artist with Quentin Tarantino” (The Stacks)
• “Most dominant athlete of 2018: Simone Biles” (Danyel Smith, ESPN)
• Simone Biles
• When and Where I Enter by Paula J. Giddings

Connect with Danyel: Instagram | Twitter
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