Ashawnta Jackson

@heyjackson.bsky.social

1728 Followers 525 Following

Writer and record collector. Author of SOUL-FOLK (Bloomsbury) and a forthcoming book on Black-owned record labels (WW Norton, 2027) www.heyjackson.net

Cover of Debut Records catalog "The Latest and Greatest in Jazz"

Typed letter from lawyers to bassist Charles Mingus reading, in part "Dear Mr. Mingus, our firm would appreciate it greatly if you not announce to our friends and business associates plus others in various walks of like that we are stealing your money from royalties and other assets. [...] We hope you respond with the same vigor to this urgent matter as you did in publishing the rumor that we were thieves."

Image of a Deal Report from Publishers Marketplace announcing the sale of my book, MOVE ON UP, a history of Black-owned record labels

Clipping of newspaper article from the Des Moines Tribune, Friday, May 02, 1975. Headline reads "Courtship to Court; Wants Money Back." The article then goes on the describe one Mr. Robert W. McCoy who is suing his girlfriend Mrs. Wanda Anderson for $13,474, the amount he spent on her throughout their relationship. But get this: both of them are married, and have been carrying on for three years. He said that she said they were going to get married, but now he's in court because he claims she had "no intention whatsoever" to marry him. McCoy added that he's "darn serious" about getting his money back. Money, he says, went to Anderson's "rent, utilities, groceries, gasoline, cigarettes, and other items" I love history

Publishers Marketplace Deal Report with the body text "Freelance journalist and author of SOUL FOLK for the 33 1/3 series Ashawnta Jackson's MOVE ON UP: HOW BLACK-OWNED RECORD LABELS SHAPED THE SOUNDS OF AMERICAN MUSIC, which shows how small regional Black-owned record labels had a profound influence on the growth and direction of popular music over the last 100 years, and how the early labels laid the groundwork for major players like Motown, to Amy Cherry at Norton, for publication in spring 2027, by John Rudolph at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world)."

I'm pretty excited about it