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De Visé, Daniel. King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King. Grove. Oct. 2021. 496p. ISBN 9780802158055. $30. MUSIC

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist De Visé (Andy and Don) offers an extensively researched biography of B.B. King, the immortal King of the Blues.

Horowitz, Joseph. Dvorak’s Prophecy: And the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music. Norton. Nov. 2021. 256p. ISBN 9780393881240. $30. MUSIC

Former New York Times music critic Horowitz investigates the crucial issue why classical music in America has remained white despite Dvorák’s Prophecy that a "great and noble" school of American classical music would emerge from the Black music he had heard while visiting America.

Ivory, James. Solid Ivory: Memoirs. Farrar. Nov. 2021. 416p. ed. by Peter Cameron. ISBN 9780374601591. $30. FILM

Edited by novelist Cameron, Solid Ivory ranges from fabled director Ivory's first meeting with work-life partner Ismail Merchant through his memories of Satyajit Ray, Federico Fellini, Vanessa Redgrave, George Cukor, Kenneth Clark, Bruce Chatwin, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala to his winning the Academy Award at 89 for Call Me by Your Name.

McCartney, Paul. The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present. Liveright: Norton. Nov. 2021. 960p. ed. by Paul Muldoon. ISBN 9781631492563. $100. 2 Vols. MUSIC

Edited by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Muldoon, who benefited from dozens of interviews with McCartney over five years, The Lyrics presents the definitive texts of 154 McCartney songs with personal commentary; look for an international press conference on Facebook event upon publication.

Penn, Kal. You Can’t Be Serious. Gallery: S. & S. Nov. 2021. 384p. ISBN 9781982171384. $28. CD. FILM/TV

The grandson of Gandhian freedom fighters and immigrant parents, Penn ignored advice to do something practical and, as he chronicles in You Can’t Be Serious, became a leading actor; he also served as President Obama’s Liaison to Young Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and the Arts (125,000-copy first printing).

Raekwon with Anthony Bozza. From Staircase to Stage: The Story of Raekwon and the Wu-Tang Clan . Gallery: S. & S. Nov. 2021. 320p. ISBN 9781982168728. $28. MUSIC

Readers travel with influential rapper Raekwon the Chef as he ascends From Staircase to Stage, from performing on Staten Island stairs to cofounding the Wu-Tang Clan to making a platinum solo debut (75,000-copy first printing).

Spitz, Bob. Led Zeppelin: The Biography. Penguin Pr. Nov. 2021. 688p. ISBN 9780399562426. $35. MUSIC

Author of the New York Times best-selling The Beatles, Spitz now documents the ferociously successful Led Zeppelin.

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