(A more up-to-date version of this page is available at afrovoices.com/bibliography)
Selected Bibliographic Sources
The selected bibliographic sources below either specifically discuss
Afrocentric music and musicians or make some reference to the subject.
Sources for specific musicians covered by Afrocentric
Voices are accessed from the biographies
page.
Many of these books are out-of-print. However, you might be able to find
them by checking my book store page.
Contents
Black Biographical Dictionaries, 1790-1950. Microform. Alexandria,
Va.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1987.
Burkett, Randall K., Nancy Hall Burkett, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Black Biography, 1790-1950: A Cumulative Index. Alexandria:
Chadwyck-Healey, 1991.
Baskin, Wade, Richard N. Runes. Dictionary of Black Culture. New
York: Philosophical Library, <1973>.
Hitchcock, H. Wiley, and Stanley Sadie, eds. The New Grove
Dictionary of American Music. 4v. London: Macmillan, 1986.
[SF/CBMR]
Low, W. Augustus, Virgil A. Clift. Encyclopedia of Black
America. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981.
Peterson, Bernard L. A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An
Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, or Involving African
Americans. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1993.
Ploski, Harry A., James Williams, comp. The Negro Almanac: A
Reference Work on the African American, 5th ed. Detroit: Gale
Research, 1989.
Rywell, Martin, ed. Afro-American Encyclopedia. North Miami,
Fla.: Educational Book Publishers, <1974>.
Sadie, Stanley, John Tyrrell, eds. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians, 2nd ed. New York: Grove, 2001. 29 v.
Salzman, Jack, David Lionel Smith, Cornel West, eds. Encyclopedia of
African-American Culture and History. New York: Macmillan Library
Reference, 1996.
Smith, Eric Ledell. Blacks in Opera: An Encyclopedia of People and
Companies, 1873-1993. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1994.
Abdul, Raoul. Blacks in Classical Music: A Personal History. New
York: Dodd, Mead, 1978. [RH]
Adams, Russell L. Great Negroes Past and Present, 3rd ed., rev.
Chicago: Afro-American Publishing Co., 1994.
Arvey, Verna. In one lifetime. Fayetteville: University of
Arkansas Press, 1984.
Berry, Lemuel. Biographical Dictionary of Black Musicians and Music
Educators. [S.l.] : Educational Book Publishers, 1978.
Carter, Madison H. An Annotated Catalog of Composers of African
Ancestry. New York: Vantage Press, 1986.
Cuney-Hare, Maud. Negro Musicians and Their Music. New
York: Da Capo Press, 1974.
Green, Mildred Denby. Black Women Composers: A Genesis. Boston:
Twayne Publishers, 1983. [SF/CBMR]
Holly, Ellistine Perkins. Biographies of Black Composers and
Songwriters: A Supplementary Textbook. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown
Publishers, 1990. [SF/CBMR]
Logan, Rayford W., and Michael R. Winston, eds. Dictionary of
American Negro Biography. New York: Macmillan, 1972.
Overmyer, Grace. Famous American Composers. New York:
Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1945.
Reis, Claire. Composers in America: Biographical Sketches of
Living Composers with a Record of Their Works, 1912-1937. New York:
Macmillan, 1938.
Robinson, Wilhelmena S. International Library of Negro Life and
History: Historical Negro Biographies. International Library of
Afro-American Life and History, v. 5. New York: Publishers Co., 1967.
Southern, Eileen. Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and
African Musicians. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1982.
Still, Judith Anne, Michael J. Dabrishus, and Carolyn L. Quin.
William Grant Still: a Bio-bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood
Press, 1996.
Story, Rosalyn M. And So I Sing: African-American Divas of Opera
and Concert. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1990.
Woodward, Sidney. Out of Bondage to a Place of Esteem and Trust: The
Story of a Career Unique in Musical History. New York: Merchantile
Press, 1918.
Ammer, Christine. Unsung: A History of Women in American Music. Century ed. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 2001.
Caldwell, Hansonia LaVerne. African American Music: A Chronology
1619-1995. Los Angeles: Ikoro Communications, 1996.
Dizikes, John. Opera in America : A Cultural History. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1993.
Floyd, Jr., Samuel A. The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its
History from Africa to the United States. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1995. [BCM]
Green, Mildred Denby. "A Study of the Lives and Works of Five Black
Women Composers in America." D.Mus.E. thesis, University of Oklahoma,
1975.
Haskins, James. Black Music in America: A History through
Its People. New York: T.Y. Crowell, 1987.
Holland, Ted. This Day in African-American Music. San
Francisco: Pomegranate Artbooks, 1993.
Locke, Alain. The Negro and His Music -- Negro Art Past and
Present. New York: Arno Press and New York Times, 1969.
Patterson, Lindsay, ed. The Afro-American in Music and
Art. International Library of Afro-American Life and History, v. 6.
Cornwells Heights, Pa.: Publishers Agency, 1978.
Roach, Hildred. Black American Music: Past and Present. 2nd ed.
Malabar, Fla.: Krieger Publishing, 1992.
Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans: A History.
3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997.
Spencer, Jon Michael. Protest & Praise: Sacred Music of Black
Religion. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.
________. Re-Searching Black Music. Knoxville: University of
Tennessee Press, 1996.
Stewart, Earl E. African-American Music: An Introduction
. New York: Schirmer Books ; London: Prentice Hall International, 1998.
Brown, Rae Linda. Music, Printed and Manuscript, in the James Weldon
Johnson Memorial Collection of Negro Arts and Letters: An Annotated
Catalog. New York: Garland, 1982.
Clough, Francis F., and G.J. Cuming. The World's Encyclopedia of
Recorded Music. London: Sidgwick & Jackson Limited, 1952.
de Lerma, Dominique-René. Bibliography of Black Music.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1981-84. 4 v.
________. Concert Music and Spirituals: A Selective
Discography. Nashville, Tenn.: Fisk University, Institute for
Research in Black American Music, 1981.
Floyd, Jr., Samuel A., ed. Black Music in the United States: An
Annotated Bibliography of Selected Reference and Research Materials.
Millwood, N.Y.: The Scarecrow Press, 1987.
George, Zelma W. A Guide to Negro Music: An Annotated
Bibliography of Negro Folk Music, And Art Music by Negro Composers or
Based on Negro Thematic Material. Ann Arbor: University
Microfilms, 1953.
Gray, John, comp. Blacks in Classical Music: A Bibliographical
Guide to Composers, Performers and Ensembles. New York: Greenwood
Press, 1988.
Greene, Richard. Black Classical Music Composers: a Comprehensive Discography of Recordings Available on
Compact Disc. [Ardmore, Pa.: s.n.], 1998.
Johnson, James Peter. Bibliographic Guide to the Study of
Afro-American Music. Washington, D.C.: Howard University Libraries,
1973.
Miller, Philip C. Vocal Music. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
1955.
Oja, Carol J. American Music Recordings: Discography of 20th
Century U.S. Composers. Brooklyn, NY: Institute for Studies in
American Music, Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn College of the City
University of New York, 1982.
Skowronski, JoAnn. Black Music in America: A Bibliography.
Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1981.
Southern, Eileen, Josephine Wright, comps. African-American
Traditions in Song, Sermon, Tale, and Dance, 1600-1920: An Annotated
Bibliography of Literature, Collections, and Artworks. New York:
Greenwood Press, 1990.
_______. Images : Iconography of Music in African-American Culture, 1770s-1920s. New York: Garland Pub.,
2000.
Stewart-Green, Miriam. Women Composers: A Checklist of Works for the
Solo Voice. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1980. [SF/CBMR]
Tischler, Alice. Fifteen Black American Composers: A Bibliography of
Their Works. Detroit: Information Coordinators, 1981. [SF/CBMR]
Turner, Patricia.K Afro-American Singers: An Index and
Preliminary Discography of Long-Playing Recordings of Opera, Choral
Music, and Song. Minneapolis: Challenge Productions, 1977.
________. Dictionary of Afro-American Performers: 78 RPM and
Cylinder Recordings of Opera, Choral Music and Songs, c. 1900-1949.
New York: Garland Publishing, 1990.
Walker-Hill, Helen. Music by Black Women Composers: A Bibliography
of Available Scores. CBMR Monograph, no. 5. Chicago: Center for Black
Music Research, 1995. [SF/CBMR]
White, Evelyn Davidson. Choral Music by African American Composers: a Selected, Annotated Bibliography, 2nd ed. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1999.
Abromeit, Kathleen A. An Index to African-American Spirituals for the Solo Voice. Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1999.
De Charms, Desiree and Paul F. Breed. Songs in Collections: An
Index. Detroit: Information Coordinators, 1966. [SF/CBMR]
de Lerma, Dominique-René, and Marsha J. Reisser. Black Music
and Musicians in the New Grove Dictionary of American Music and the New
Harvard Dictionary of Music. CBMR Monographs, no. 1. Chicago: Center
for Black Music Research, Columbia College, 1989.
Sears, Minnie E. Song Index. Reprint. Hamden, Conn: Shoe String
Press, 1966. [SF/CBMR]
Vann, Kimberly R. Black Music in Ebony: An Annotated Guide to the
Articles on Music in Ebony Magazine, 1945-1985. CBMR
Monographs, no. 2. Chicago: Center for Black Music Research, Columbia
College. 1990.
Breckenridge, Stan L. "African-American music: structure and analysis of vocal performance, 1955-95." Ph.D diss., Claremont Graduate University, 1998.
Cone, James H. The Spirituals and the Blues: An
Interpretation. New York: Seabury Press, 1972.
Floyd, Jr., Samuel A., ed. Black Music in the Harlem Renaissance: a
Collection of Essays. Contributions in Afro-American and African
Studies, No. 128. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.
Jones, Arthur C. Wade in the Water: the Wisdom of the
Spirituals. New York: Orbis ; Northam: Roundhouse, 1999.
Keck, George R. and Sherrill V. Martin, ed. Feel the Spirit: Studies
in Nineteenth-Century Afro-American Music. Contributions in
Afro-American and African Studies, No. 119. New York: Greenwood Press,
1988.
Perry, Frank. Afro-American Vocal Music: A Select Guide to Fifteen
Composers. Berrien Spring, MI, Vande Vere, 1991.
Roberts, John Storm. Black Music of Two Worlds : African, Caribbean, Latin, and
African-American Traditions, 2nd ed. New York: Schirmer, 1998.
Southern, Eileen, comp. Readings in Black American Music. 2nd
ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1983. [SF/CBMR]
Solie, Ruth A., ed. Musiocology and Difference: Gender and Sexuality
in Music Scholarship. Berkeley: University of California Press,
1993.
Thomas, Velma Maia. No man can hinder me: the journey from slavery to emancipation through Song.
New York: Crown, 2001.
Wright, Josephine, with Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., ed. New Perspectives
on Music: Essays in Honor of Eileen Southern. Warren, Mich.: Harmonie
Park Press, 1992.
Caldwell, Hansonia LaVerne. "Black Idioms in Opera As Reflected in the
Works of Six Afro-American Composers." Thesis, University of Southern
California, 1974.
Clency, Cleveland Charles. "European Classical Influences in Modern Choral Settings of the African-American Spiritual: a Doctoral Essay." Mus.D. thesis, University of Miami, 1999.
Cruz, Jon. Culture on the Margins: the Black Spiritual and the Rise of American Cultural Interpretation. Princeton, N.J.; Chichester: Princeton University Press, 1999.
Dent, Cedric Carl. "The Harmonic Development of the Black Religious Quartet Singing Tradition." Ph.D diss., University of Maryland-College Park, 1997.
Dunn-Powell, Rosephanye. "The Solo Vocal Writing Style of William Grant
Still." Mus.D. thesis, Florida State University, 1993.
Epstein, Dena J. Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music
to the Civil War. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1977.
Friedberg, Ruth C. American Art Song and American Poetry.
Metuchen, N.J.: The Scarecrow Press, 1987. 3 v.
Hawkins, Kimberly. " Heard an Angel Singing: African-American Spirituals in the Harlem Renaissance." Ph.D diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1997.
Katz, Bernard, ed. The Social Implications of Early Negro Music
in the United States. New York: Arno Press, 1969.
Krehbiel, Henry Edward. Afro-American Folk Songs: A Study in
Racial and National Music. New York: G. Schirmer, 1914.
Lovell, Jr., John. Black Song: The Forge and the Flame. New
York: Paragon House Publishers, 1972.
McCorvey, Everett David. "The Art Songs of Black American
Composers." Ph.D. diss., The University of Alabama, 1989.
Phillips, Mark. "Personality characteristics of undergraduate music majors in selected historically African-American colleges and universities: an investigation of relationships as measured by the Myers-Briggs type indicator." Ph.D diss., University of Oklahoma, 1997.
Still, William Grant, Jon Michael Spencer. The William Grant Still
Reader: Essays on American Music. Black Sacred Music, v. 6, no. 2.
Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1992.
Upton, William Treat. Art-Song in America: A Study in the
Development of American Music. Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1930.
Cheatham, Wallace. Dialogues on opera and the African-American experience. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1997.
Donovan, Richard X. Black Musicians of America. Portland, Ore.:
National Book, 1991. [RH]
James, Shaylor L. "Contributions of Four Selected Twentieth-Century
Afro-American Classical Composers: William Grant Still, Howard Swanson,
Ulysses Kay, and Olly Wilson." Ph.D thesis, Florida State University,
1988.
Lomax, John A. and Alan Lomax. Folk Song USA: The 111 Best American
Ballads. New York: Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1947.
Spencer, Jon Michael. The Rhythms of Black Folk: Race, Religion,
and Pan-Africanism. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1995.
Standifer, James A. and Barbara Reeder. Source Book of African
and Afro-American Materials for Music Educators. [Washington]:
Contemporary Music Project, [1972].
Still Judith Ann and Celeste Anne Headlee. William Grant Still
and the Fusion of Cultures in American Music. 2nd ed. Flagstaff, AZ:
Master-Player Library, 1995.
Trotter, James Monroe. Music and Some Highly Musical
People. New York: Lee & Shepard, 1878.
Walker, Wyatt Tee. "Somebody's Calling My Name:" "Black Sacred
Music and Social Change. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1990.
Walker-Hill, Helen. From Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and Their Music.
Westport, CT : Greenwood Press, 2002.
Black Music Research Bulletin. Chicago: Columbia College Center
for Black Music Research, 1988-
Black Music Research Journal. Nashville: Institute for Research
in Black American Music, Fisk University, 1981-
The Black Perspective in Music. Cambria Heights, New York:
Foundation for the Research in the Afro-American Creative Arts,
1973-1990.
The Negro spiritual. Oakland, CA : Friends of Negro Spirituals, 1999-
Ames, Russell. "Art of Negro Folk Song." Journal of American
Folklore 56 (October 1943): 241-255.
Boyer, Horace Clarence. "The Afro-American Vocal Tradition: An
Introduction." Massachusetts Music News 25 (April 1977): 34,
36-38.
Dawson, William L. "Interpretation of the Religious Folk-Songs of the
American Negro." Etude 73 (March 1955): 11, 58, 61.
Dvorak, Antonin. "Music in America." Harper's 90 (1895):
428-434.
Epstein, Dena J. "A White Origin for the Black Spiritual? An Invalid
Theory and How It Grew." American Music, 1 (Summer 1983):
53-59.
Garst, John F. "Mutual Reinforcement and the Origins of Spirituals."
American Music, 4 (Winter 1986): 390-406.
Kerby, Marion. "A Warning Against Over-Refinement of the Negro
Spiritual." The Musician, 32 (July 1928): 9, 29-30.
Lee, Henry. "Swing Low, Sweet Charity." The Black Perspective in
Music, 2 (Summer 1984): 84-86. (Reprinted from Coronet,
July 1947.)
Levy, Alan Howard. "The Search for Identity in American Music,
1890-1920." American Music, 2 (Summer 1984): 70-81.
Walker-Hill, Helen. "Music by Black Women Composers at the American
Music Research Center." American Music Research Center Journal, 2
(1992): 23-51.
Wilson, Olly. "Black Music As an Art Form." Black Music Research
Journal, 12 (1984): 1-22.
Clark, Edgar Rogie, ed. Negro Art Songs: Album by Contemporary
Composers. New York: Edward B. Marks, 1946. [SF/CBMR]
The Hall Johnson Collection. New York: Carl Fischer, 2003.
Patterson, Willis C., ed. Anthology of Art Songs by Black American
Composers. New York: E.B. Marks Music, 1977.
_______. The New Negro Spiritual. Ann Arbor, MI: Willis Patterson Publishing, 2002.
_______. The Second Anthology of Art Songs by African American Composers. Ann Arbor, MI: Willis Patterson Publishing, 2002.
Simmons, Margaret R. and Jeanine Wagner, comp. A New Anthology of Art Songs by African American Composers. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2004.
Taylor, Vivian, ed. Art Songs and Spirituals by African-American
Women Composers. Bryn Mawr, Pa.: Hildegard Publishing, 1995.
[SF/CBMR]
