BLACK AND BLUE

The definitive biography of Andy Razaf, the greatest Black lyricist of the 20th Century; the lyricist of choice for the most esteemed Black songwriters in Harlem. Andy Razaf's two closest collaborators were Fats Waller and Eubie Blake, with whom he wrote for Tin Pan Alley and Broadway. From "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose" to "Memories of You," the words belonged to Andy Razaf. He also composed, with Fats Waller, what many regard as America's first race protest song: "Black and Blue."

Born Andreamenentania Razafkeriefo, a descendant of the royal family of Madagascar, in 1895, Andy Razaf lived a life of All-American achievement, obstructed and, in the end, obscured by race. He died, forgotten, in 1978.

"BLACK AND BLUE" rescues him from oblivion.

~A New York Times Notable Book of the Year~