Words and Songs of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone

This book explores the relationship between three African American women's dance-art-music sensibilities within the context of a Pan African aesthetic.

Melanie E. Bratcher is a native of Oklahoma and descendent of parents who experienced sharecropping, she is the first in her family to graduate college. As a singer, dancer and scholar, her most relevant publication entitled "Tribute" was performed at the University of Oklahoma where she is Assistant Professor of African & African American Studies.

1. Introduction 2. Catching the Blues Spirit 3. Musing African Memory 4. 3 Women 5. Sound Motion and Spirit 6. Summary and Conclusion. Appendix 1: Discography. Appendix 2: Life Profile Matrix. Appendix 3: Life Profile Matrix: Analytical Categories Quantified per Singer. Appendix 4: Life Profile Matrix: Analytical Categories Thematically Qualified. Appendix 5: Life Profile/Song Matrices. Appendix 6: Discography of Selected Song Performances on CD. Appendix Seven: Selected Songs/Prevalent Themes Matrices. Appendix Eight: Explanation of Nzuri Model Contexts. Appendix Nine: Application of Nzuri to Selected Song Performances