Book Review| June 01 2023 Review: Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop, by Danyel Smith Danyel Smith. Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop. New York: Roc Lit 101, 2022. 320 pages. Philana Payton Philana Payton University of California, Irvine Philana Payton is an assistant professor of film and media studies at the University of California, Irvine. Her research centers on Black women performers, black cinema history, and black popular culture. She has published her work in Film Quarterly, Seen by Blackstar, and Film Criticism. Email: paytonp@uci.edu Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Email: paytonp@uci.edu Journal of Popular Music Studies (2023) 35 (2): 123–126. https://doi.org/10.1525/jpms.2023.35.2.123 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Philana Payton; Review: Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop, by Danyel Smith. Journal of Popular Music Studies 1 June 2023; 35 (2): 123–126. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/jpms.2023.35.2.123 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of Popular Music Studies Search Just between the lines and grooves and in a whisper only heard by particular ears, the centuries-old question, succinctly articulated by June Jordan, resounds: “Who in the hell set things up like this?”1 In Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop, Danyel Smith merges memoir and musicology to answer this inquiry and produce a framework of care for Black women in music. The strength of the memoir resides in Smith’s ability to connect stories, experiences, trials, and triumphs across generations from Phillis Wheatley to Donna Summer, Bessie Smith to Mahalia Jackson, and Lena Horne to Whitney Houston. Smith also weaves in her personal connections to Black cultural production over the last several decades and affirms her crucial place within the histories she exalts. By bridging personal interviews conducted over the course of her distinguished career with a life’s work of research and personal knowledge,... You do not currently have access to this content.