Danyel Smith highlights Black women who defined pop music in 'Shine Bright'

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 19 April 2022

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Guest host Juana Summers talks with Danyel Smith about her new memoir, Shine Bright: A Personal History of Black Women in Pop. As a previous editor-in-chief for both Billboard and Vibe magazines, host of the Black Girl Songbook podcast, and longtime music reporter, Danyel uses her expertise to spotlight the stories of pop powerhouses like Gladys Knight, Mahalia Jackson, Whitney Houston, and more. Danyel crafts a love letter to Black women in pop, capturing the intimate details of who they were, their influence on her, and how their music changed pop forever.

You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at [email protected].

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR.
0:03.0	I'm your guest host this week, Wana Summers.
0:05.9	All right, y'all, writing a book is a feat.
0:08.4	And if you ask just about any author, they will certainly tell you.
0:12.6	But today's guest knew exactly where to find inspiration.
0:18.2	So I would just listen to say all of the songs that made it to number one,
0:23.5	R&B in 1971, that were created by women.
0:28.7	That's a long time friend of the show, Daniel Smith.
0:32.4	She says she relied heavily on playlists while working on her new book,
0:36.4	Shine Bright, a very personal history of black women and pop.
0:40.4	You know, super specific, slightly nerdy playlists.
0:44.8	Songs like, Mr. Big Stuff, by G9.
0:48.5	The Big Stuff.
0:52.0	Who do you think you are?
0:54.3	Want ads by Honeycomb.
0:56.2	Want young men singin' and free?
0:59.6	That got me through chapters.
1:02.2	If I were your woman by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
1:12.4	That also just inspired me, you know,
1:14.8	getting up in the morning and keeping my mind focused on work.
1:19.9	Now, Daniel is the queen of music reporting.
1:22.6	She is the former editor-in-chief at both Billboard and Vibe magazines.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.