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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261008T190000
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SUMMARY:Conversations with Our Curator - The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music (2026) with Colin Asher
DESCRIPTION:In American popular music\, we often glorify rebellious artists and “outlaws.” But in THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL: The Secret Prison History of American Music [W. W. Norton & Company; June 30\, 2026; $29.99 hardcover]\, Colin Asher\, author of a critically acclaimed biography of Nelson Algren\, Never a Lovely So Real\, tells a deeper story about the criminal justice system’s impact on our musicians\, explored through compelling portraits of five artists whose careers span the twentieth century. \nOpening with folk and blues artist Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter\, who was made to perform wearing prison clothes\, Asher traces the intertwined histories of music and incarceration\, from Southern prison farms of the Jim Crow era\, through the heroin-driven mid-century drug wars that villainized a generation of jazz artists\, and to our present era of mass incarceration. \nAsher shows how the suggestion of criminality has often benefited white artists\, while prosecutions often hurt Black musicians. Comparing the divergent trajectories of jazz pianist Elmo Hope with country singer Johnny Cash\, Asher examines how violent and discriminatory policing stifled Hope’s career and led to the creation of his album Sounds from Rikers Island (1963)\, while forgiveness and lenience brought us Cash’s masterpiece At San Quentin (1969). \nWith keen musical analysis and sociological insight\, THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL examines key themes in culture and criminal justice\, from the movement for prison reform that allowed soul musician Ike White to stage thrilling concerts while locked up and record his album Changin’ Times (1977)\, to the crushing cultural weight of mass incarceration a generation later. Closing with Tupac Shakur’s Me Against the World (1995) and stories of music in prisons today\, THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL recounts how prisons occasionally incubate talent but more often shorten careers and distort the public’s perception of musicians and their value to society. \nAn urgent book about the ways music can affirm an individual’s sense of humanity in dehumanizing circumstances\, THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL writes the history of prisons into American music—a story as important as it is overlooked. \nABOUT THE AUTHOR \nColin Asher is the author of the critically acclaimed Never a Lovely So Real. His work has been featured in the Believer\, the Baffler\, the New Republic\, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. He lives in Brooklyn\, New York.\nConversations with our Curator” is a free\, monthly web series featuring BSCAM Director of Curatorial Affairs\, Melissa Kozlowski\, in conversation with researchers and writers exploring new perspectives in American music history. Audience Q&A welcome.
URL:https://springsteencenter.org/event/conversations-with-our-curator-the-midnight-special-the-secret-prison-history-of-american-music-2026-with-colin-asher/
LOCATION:https://monmouth.zoom.us/meeting/register/1EI9qSmhRSC9SxC3rreoCA
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://springsteencenter.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1218/2026/07/Midnight-Special.png
ORGANIZER;CN="Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music":MAILTO:happenings@springsteencenter.org
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261105T190000
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DTSTAMP:20261002T152303Z
CREATED:20260903T174655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261002T152303Z
UID:10000282-1793905200-1793905200@springsteencenter.org
SUMMARY:Conversations with Our Curator – It's No Wonder: The Life and Times of Motown's Legendary Songwriter Sylvia Moy (2026) with Dr. Margena A. Christian
DESCRIPTION:“It’s No Wonder: The Life and Times of Motown’s Legendary Songwriter Sylvia Moy” (2026) \nPre-register here: https://monmouth.zoom.us/meeting/register/F_rkrYsvTz6RppQTkK5YRA \nFrom the publisher: \nThe biography of Sylvia Moy\, Motown’s first certified female in-house producer and songwriter\, and one of the authors behind classic hits like “My Cherie Amour\,” “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)\,” and a slew of other time-honored tunes. \nImagine a world without the music of Stevie Wonder. A world without hits like “I Was Made to Love Her” and “Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day.” That’s the world we would live in had it not been for Sylvia Moy\, a woman whose legacy has been carefully tucked away within the annals of music history—until now. \nIt’s No Wonder examines the groundbreaking career of the pioneer who battled sexism and broke down barriers to become Motown’s first certified female in-house songwriter and producer. As the lone woman in a room full of men\, the odds were stacked against Moy from the start. Amidst racial strife at the height of the Civil Rights Movement\, most African American women who were allowed into the music industry could only dream of a career as a singer. Nevertheless\, the Detroit native found unprecedented success as both a songwriter and producer. In addition to single-handedly saving Stevie Wonder’s early career at Motown\, Moy solidified herself as one of the label’s most prolific composers\, penning many of Wonder’s classic hits as well as songs for other Motown acts like “Honey Chile\,” “It Takes Two\,” “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)\,” “My Baby Loves Me\,” “(We’ve Got) Honey Love\,” “Forget Me Not\,” “With a Child’s Heart\,” and countless others. \nMeticulously researched and fiercely feminist\, It’s No Wonder is a historical corrective that restores Sylvia Moy to her rightful place at the forefront of music history. \nAbout the Author: \nMargena A. Christian\, Ed.D. is an educator and a former writer / editor with the likes of EBONY and JET magazines. \n“Conversations with our Curator” is a free\, monthly web series featuring BSCAM Director of Curatorial Affairs\, Melissa Kozlowski\, in conversation with researchers and writers exploring new perspectives in American music history. Audience Q&A welcome. 
URL:https://springsteencenter.org/event/conversations-with-our-curator-its-no-wonder-the-life-and-times-of-motowns-legendary-songwriter-sylvia-moy-2026-with-dr-margena-a-christian/
LOCATION:https://monmouth.zoom.us/meeting/register/BFUkN2syRVmtEFKoWt1EbA 
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ORGANIZER;CN="Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music":MAILTO:happenings@springsteencenter.org
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