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Becoming Spectacular
The Rhythm of Resilience from the First African American Rockette
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Narrated by:
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Chanté McCormick
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By:
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Jennifer Jones
About this listen
The first African American Rockette charts her journey to one of the world's most celebrated dance troupes in this gripping memoir that, for the first time, goes behind the velvet curtains at Radio City's legendary holiday show.
“Smashing through glass windows and paving the way for others requires a special blend of bravery and perseverance. Being a pioneer involves breaking down stubborn barriers, challenging closed-minded people and navigating through instances of racism and prejudice. This journey often included facing ongoing resistance from individuals who were unwilling to embrace change. It’s believing in your dream—that you can be and do whatever it is that you love.”—Jennifer Jones
The Radio City Rockettes are as American as baseball, hot dogs, and the Fourth of July. Their legendary synchronized leg kicks, precise lines, and megawatt smiles have charmed audiences for a century. But there is a hidden side to this illustrious national institution. When the Rockettes began in 1925, Black people were not allowed to dance on stage with white people. However, during the Civil Rights Movement, dance history changed significantly when Black and white dancers were permitted to perform together, marking a moment of progress and inclusivity in the world of dance and entertainment. Even so, as late as the early 1980s, Rockette director Violet Holmes said having “one or two Black girls in the line would definitely distract.”
In 1987 the 63-year color barrier at Radio City was finally broken by one brave and tenacious woman. When she arrived, Jennifer Jones was met with pushback—a fierce resistance she details in this intimate and inspiring memoir. After overcoming seemingly impossible odds to join the line of The Rockettes, a PR director summoned the Black dancer to her hotel room and announced, “You’re old news, nobody cares about you, your story or anything about you. You're just lucky to be here.”
Those words would haunt this shy, insecure biracial woman, who had always felt like an outsider.
Like Gelsey Kirkland’s iconic Dancing on My Grave, Becoming Spectacular allows us to walk in Jones’ tap shoes—beautiful and glittering, yet painful and binding. Bringing into focus the wounded life of a trailblazer, this searing memoir is also a triumphant celebration of a spirit who refused to be counted out.
©2024 Jennifer Jones (P)2025 HarperCollins PublishersEditorial Review
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Author's honesty
- By AMY SCHROEDER on 02-21-25
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The Last Showman
- Words + Music, Vol. 41
- By: Usher, Gerrick Kennedy
- Narrated by: Usher
- Length: 1 hr and 12 mins
- Original Recording
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For the past 30 years, Usher has exhilarated audiences with stadium-sized anthems, innovative choreography, and dazzling charm that has made him a once-in-a-generation superstar. The Last Showman is an introspective look into the past, present, and future of a beloved global R&B icon. Usher opens up about the inspirations, heartache, and growth that fueled the creation of his record-breaking magnum opus, Confessions, while revisiting some of its most iconic tracks.
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Usher's World
- By Shaez on 02-20-25
By: Usher, and others
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Greenteeth
- By: Molly O'Neill
- Narrated by: Catrin Walker-Booth
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Beneath the still surface of a lake lurks a monster with needle sharp teeth. Hungry and ready to pounce. Jenny Greenteeth has never spoken to a human before, but when a witch is thrown into her lake, something makes Jenny decide she's worth saving. Temperance doesn't know why her village has suddenly turned against her, only that it has something to do with the malevolent new pastor. Though they have nothing in common, these two must band together on a magical quest to defeat the evil that threatens Jenny's lake and Temperance's family, as well as the very soul of Britain.
By: Molly O'Neill
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Ali in Me
- By: Mercury Studios, Treefort Media
- Narrated by: Lonnie Ali, John Ramsey
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
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Muhammad Ali, never afraid to express himself loudly and boldly, stays true to form in Ali in Me, an eight-part audio series that explores his life and legacy, guided by his own words through never-before-heard audio recordings. Hosted by Muhammad’s widow, Lonnie Ali, and his close friend, award-winning broadcaster John Ramsey, Ali in Me goes beyond the boxing ring to delve deeply into the extraordinary life and lasting contributions The Champ made to individuals around the world.
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He went hard on everything, especially love
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 01-31-25
By: Mercury Studios, and others
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Lorne
- The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live
- By: Susan Morrison
- Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio, Susan Morrison
- Length: 22 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Over the fifty years that Lorne Michaels has been at the helm of Saturday Night Live, he has become a revered and inimitable presence in the entertainment world. He’s a tastemaker, a mogul, a withholding father figure, a genius spotter of talent, a shrewd businessman, a name-dropper, a raconteur, the inspiration for Dr. Evil, the winner of more than a hundred Emmys—and, essentially, a mystery. Generations of writers and performers have spent their lives trying to figure him out, by turns demonizing and lionizing him.
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Great read but several weird mispronunciations
- By Larry Carlat on 02-20-25
By: Susan Morrison
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Sucker Punch
- Essays
- By: Scaachi Koul
- Narrated by: Scaachi Koul
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Sucker Punch is about what happens when the life you thought you’d be living radically changes course, everything you thought you knew about the world and yourself has tilted on its axis, and you have to start forging a new path forward. Scaachi employs her biting wit to interrogate her previous belief that fighting is the most effective tool for progress.
By: Scaachi Koul
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You Didn't Hear This from Me
- (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip
- By: Kelsey McKinney
- Narrated by: Kelsey McKinney
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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As the pandemic forced us to socialize at a distance, Kelsey McKinney was mourning the juicy updates and jaw-dropping stories she’d typically collect over drinks with friends—and from her hunger, the blockbuster Normal Gossip podcast was born. With listenership in the millions, Kelsey found herself thinking more critically about gossip as a form, and wanting to better understand the role it plays in our culture. In You Didn't Hear This From Me, McKinney explores the murkiness of everyday storytelling.
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Excellent Narration
- By Secret Santa on 02-20-25
By: Kelsey McKinney
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Life Hacks for a Little Alien
- By: Alice Franklin
- Narrated by: Sally Phillips
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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“Climb up here, Little Alien. Sit next to me. I will tell you about life on this planet. I will tell you how it goes.” Before she thinks of herself as Little Alien, our narrator is only a lonely little girl living in southeast England, who doesn’t understand the world the way other children seem to. So when a late-night TV special introduces her to the mysterious Voynich Manuscript—an ancient tome written in an indecipherable language—Little Alien experiences something she hasn’t before: hope. Could there be others like her, who also feel like they’re from another planet?
By: Alice Franklin
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Shift
- Managing Your Emotions—So They Don't Manage You
- By: Ethan Kross
- Narrated by: Ethan Kross
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Whether it’s anxiety about going to the doctor, boiling rage when we’re stuck in traffic, or devastation after a painful break-up, our lives are filled with situations that send us spiraling. But as difficult as our emotions can be, they are also a superpower. Far from being “good” or “bad,” emotions are information. When they’re activated in the right ways and at the right time, they function like an immune system, alerting us to our surroundings, telling us how to react to a situation, and helping us make the right choices. But how do we make our emotions work for us rather than against us?
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The toolkit I never knew that I needed
- By Tyler L on 02-07-25
By: Ethan Kross
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Burn, Baby, Burn
- The Life and Legacy of H Rap Brown
- By: Noor Wazwaz, Obaid Siddiqui
- Narrated by: Noor Wazwaz, Obaid Siddiqui
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Original Recording
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On a March night in 2000, two deputy sheriffs serving a warrant were shot in Atlanta, Georgia. One was severely wounded while the other would die a day later. The shooting kicked off a large manhunt in search of the alleged cop killer. Four days later in Alabama, authorities found their man—Jamil Al-Amin. He was a Muslim leader with the title of Imam in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta. He was also the man formerly known as H. Rap Brown. He was a charismatic Black radical in the late '60s.
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A very, very good book/podcast
- By Tea on the Veranda on 02-15-25
By: Noor Wazwaz, and others
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Red Clay
- By: Charles B. Fancher
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave—on the morning following his funeral—his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words “… a lifetime ago, my family owned yours.” Adelaide Parker has a story to tell—one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker. But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she’s come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full.
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Great book!
- By Sam Pakan on 02-21-25
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The Abolitionists
- By: Kellie Carter Jackson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Kellie Carter Jackson
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
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While most of us are familiar with the Underground Railroad, there was much more to the movement than helping individuals escape their bondage. In the eight lectures of The Abolitionists, Professor Kellie Carter Jackson of Wellesley College will bring you along as she traces the history of the fight to end slavery in America, from its relatively quiet origins to the turning point at Harper’s Ferry to the Civil War.
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Wonderful Introduction!
- By Tea on the Veranda on 02-16-25
By: Kellie Carter Jackson, and others