- "Big Blues: The Unforgettable Life and Times of Bessie Smith" (1981)
- "Deep River: Reflections on Black Folk Music" (1984)
- "Stomp Off, Let's Go: The Story of Louis Armstrong" (1984)
- "Blues People: Negro Music in White America" (1986)
- "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" (1993)
- "Born With The Blues: Conversations With Legendary Mississippi Blues Artists" (1996)
- "Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf" (1997)
- "Blowing the Blues: A History of the African-American Jazz Saxophone" (2002)
- "The Jazz Singers" (2002)
- "Give Me That Old Time Religion: The Story of the African-American Spiritual" (2006)
Fiction Novels:
- "Shadowboxer" (1992)
- "Black & White Blues" (1996)
- "Mojo Hand" (1998)
- "Crossroads" (2000)
- "Cotton Road" (2002)
- "Jubilee Time" (2004)
- "Brother to the Blues" (2008)
- "Ain't But a Few of Us Left" (2014)