Music of the Sunshine State

(Kealing, Bob) Bob Kealing is the author of Kerouac in Florida, Life of the Party, and Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock. The subject of Kealing’s latest book is none other than The King of rock and roll. Elvis Ignited: The Rise of an Icon in Florida (University Press of Florida) follows the performer through his four tumultuous Florida tours in fifteen months spanning 1955-1956. In 1956, his most crucial and transformative year, Presley played more live shows in Florida than in any other state in the country becoming the object of worship, scorn, and controversy. Kealing spotlights intriguing back stories of Floridians such as Presley's controversial manager Tom Parker and Mae Axton, who penned The King's first national breakout hit. Writing for the Tamp Bay Times, Colette Bankroft writes, “This is the Elvis that created the legend: young, beautiful, raw and revolutionary, a shot of pure energy into mid-century America."

(Katel, Jake) Jake Katel is a writer, artist, photographer, moviemaker, and media freelancer from Miami. His work has been featured in art galleries, newspapers, magazines, and on radio and broadcast television.  From the 40s through the 60s, Miami’s Overtown district was the mecca for gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, soul, and funk in the Magic City. InA People's History of Overtown Vol. 1, Katel brings a once-vibrant district of Miami back to life through the voices of those that were there. Musicians, ministers, police officers, and others reflect on the golden age of Overtown. In Inside the Music Biz with Henry Stone (Henry Stone Music USA Inc.) Katel and Henry Stone provide an inside look at how the music business works from a pioneering independent record man whose career spanned gospel, blues, R&B, doo wop, soul, funk, disco, hip hop, rock, techno, electro, and pop music even today. Henry Stone is considered the greatest independent record man of all time and has been lauded by Billboard and the New York Times. His industry-leading work in music distribution is recounted in detail in this conceptual autobiographical work on every aspect of the music biz from artistry, to contracts, copyrights, publishing, marketing, promotion, distribution, and more—all told in the form of his real-life stories and experiences inside the music biz. In Cuban Coffee Windows of Miami, Katel explores, in photos and interviews, the uniquely Miami cultural phenomenon of the walk-up coffee shop.

John Cordero earned a BA in International Relations from Florida International University. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Cordero aka Omen co-founded, edited, and published “The Cipher: Miami’s Hip Hop Newspaper” an independent monthly publication that chronicled the emerging Hip Hop scene in South Florida.  Cordero’s book, The Cipher: A History of Hip Hop in Miami, is a collection of the best of The Cipher, an independent newspaper published from 1998 to 2000.  It is also a memoir by the author, who arrived in Miami in 1995 and immersed himself in the underground Hip Hop scene at the time.  Chronicling the rise and fall of the publication, the book is a story of Hip Hop in Miami.  Featuring never-before seen photos and memorabilia, it is a personal journey that stresses overcoming odds alongside the trials and tribulations of Miami youngsters making sense of and reporting on the multi-million-dollar rap industry developing around them in the mid-to-late ‘90s.