- "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)
- "Det betyder ikke noget, hvis det ikke har den sving" (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)
Fiktionsromaner:
- "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)