Download or read book African American Musicians written by Claudette Hegel and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-09-02 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African Americans—famous and anonymous alike—have helped shape popular musical genres ranging from jazz and blues to rock 'n' roll and rap. This book provides a vivid account of that process, beginning with the work songs and spirituals of slaves and continuing up to the present. African-American Musicians tells the stories of figures such as bluesman Robert Johnson, whose guitar playing was so extraordinary that people said he must have made a deal with the devil; jazz great Duke Ellington, considered one of America's greatest composers and bandleaders; classical singer Marian Anderson, who struck a blow for civil rights with her music; Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop"; and many, many more.