Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, frontmanmber of The Roots, will be signing copies of “Soul Train”
11/11/13 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble
33 E 17th St,
New York, NY 10003
Phone:(212) 253-0810
Book Description
From Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of the award-winning hip-hop group the Roots, comes this vibrant book commemorating the legacy of Soul Train—the cultural phenomenon that launched the careers of artists such as Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, Whitney Houston, Lenny Kravitz, LL Cool J, and Aretha Franklin. Questlove reveals the remarkable story of the captivating program, and his text is paired with more than 350 photographs of the show’s most memorable episodes and the larger-than-life characters who defined it: the great host Don Cornelius, the extraordinary musicians, and the people who lived the phenomenon from dance floor. Gladys Knight contributed a foreword to this incredible volume. Nick Cannon contributed the preface. You can order his book here on Amazon
About the Author
Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (also known as BROther Question, Questo, Brother Question or Qlove), is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought) for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, which is now the in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
He has produced for artists such as Common, D’Angelo, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Bilal, Jay-Z, N**** Costa and more recently, Al Green, Amy Winehouse and John Legend. He is a member of the production teams the Soulquarians, The Randy Watson Experience, The Soultronics and The Grand Wizzards.
Thompson was born in Philadelphia on January 20, 1971. His father was Lee Andrews of Lee Andrews & the Hearts, a 50s doo-wop group. His mother, Jacqui Andrews, together with his father was also part of the Philadelphia based soul group Congress Alley. His parents did not want to leave him with babysitters, so they took him on tour with them. He grew up in backstages of doo-wop shows. By the age of seven, Thompson began drumming on stage at shows, and by 13, had become a musical director.
Questlove’s parents then enrolled him at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. By the time he graduated, he had founded a band called The Square Roots (later dropping the word “square”) with his friend Tariq Trotter (Black Thought). Questlove’s classmates at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts included Boyz II Men, jazz bassist Christian McBride, jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco, and singer Amel Larrieux. He attended senior prom with Larrieux. After graduating from high school, he took jazz and composition classes at Settlement Music School. Questlove began performing on South Street in Philadelphia using drums, while Tariq rhymed over his beats and rhythms.
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