June is Black Music Month, and just in time for the celebration is a Netflix documentary by director Reginald Hudlin, The Black Godfather.
It’s an amazing story about African American Clarence Avant who is probably the most influential man in Black Music who you have never heard of.
He worked in nightclubs helping to give legitimacy to artists like Sam Cooke and Dinah Washington and is credited with amazing deals with artists like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, L.A. and Babyface, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and he even had a hand in brokering a deal to get Barack Obama the Democratic nomination for president.
There are so many jaw-dropping stories about artists who needed help and who got it from Clarence Avant.
The stories go on and on, but Clarence Avant’s life story is a very enjoyable tale.
