50 Years of American Music to Be Celebrated In Questlove’s Book
Questlove announced the release of his new book, “Music Is History,” a novel connecting the last five decades of American music to history.
The novel will focus on every decade from 1971 to now, with a Questlove-curated playlist to accompany each chapter.
The Instagram announcement reveals the book will “look at the last 50 years of America through the prism of music, and the last fifty years of music through the prism of history.”
It’s the sixth book penned by the Sundance award-winning director, and his first since his cookbook, “Mixtape Potluck,” was released in 2019.
The Apple Books pre-order page describes the novel:
“In Music Is History, bestselling author and Sundance award-winning director Questlove harnesses his encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music and his deep curiosity about history to examine America over the past fifty years.
Choosing one essential track from each year, Questlove unpacks each song’s significance, revealing the pivotal role that American music plays around issues of race, gender, politics, and identity.”
The Roots drummer will write about one select song from every year from 1971 to 2021, Pitchfork reports. The book will also include anecdotes from his experiences as a musician, alongside a special Questlove-curated playlist to accompany each chapter.
“Music Is History” hits shelves on October 12, 2021. It is currently available for pre-orders.