It’s been a few days since I finished SHINE BRIGHT but I’m still wrapped up in the nostalgia of recalling (and listening to) music and singers that I’ve cherished for my entire life. From the music my parents made sure I knew as a young girl and that I came to truly love (Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Stephanie Mills, Diana Ross, all things Motown) to singers of my adolescence (Whitney Houston ♾, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Jody Watley, Deniece Williams), Danyel Smith explores all of these women and more. 

I happened to visit my parents while I was reading this and showed my dad the chapter on his favorite singer, Gladys Knight. Minutes later, he was handing me a stack of his old Gladys Knight & The Pips albums with the biggest smile on his face. 

But combined with the nostalgia and pure joy that the music brings me, there is an intense sadness about the lack of acknowledgement, credit, value and respect that Black women in music have experienced throughout so much of American history.

Thank you, Danyel Smith, for writing this book. 
For sharing your personal story. 
For inviting me to revisit mine. 
For celebrating these women. 
For highlighting their contributions. 
For addressing their trauma. 
And for presenting a brilliant case for why they deserve to shine bright.