Black women have borne a double burden of oppression in the United States from its founding—but from the bottom of the country's punishing social hierarchy they have created perhaps its greatest cultural contribution to the world: pop music. This book is a vibrant music history that tells the interconnected stories of the poets, divas, and icons whose creative work shaped our world and lives inside every one of us. Smith weaves together a story that winds its way through girl groups (The Dixie Cups) and opera singers (Leontyne Price), chanteuses (Dionne Warwick) and rock-and-rollers (Tina Turner), and finally arrives at the pop goddesses who became global superstars: Diana and Janet, Mariah and Whitney, Beyonce and Rihanna. But more than telling the fascinating stories of their life and work, Smith answers why music history has resisted their canonization. Why is pop considered a lesser form than rock or hip-hop? Why are women never recognized as creators and connecters and musical geniuses? Shine Bright is an overdue paean to these musical masters whose true stories and genius has been hidden in plain sight.