"Danny Alexander's soulful, beautifully written book unravels the mystery of how a struggling young woman from Yonkers earned a place beside Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, and Aretha Franklin in the pantheon of African American song. Necessary reading for anyone interested in African American music, American culture, or the challenge of being human in a cold and heartless world." -- Craig Werner, author of A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race & the Soul of America "I've been waiting for this book for a long time. Real Love, No Drama recognizes Mary J. Blige as one of this era's crucial artists and places her at the center of a profound story about race, gender, class, and American life in recent decades. An expert listener and writer, Danny Alexander has written a sophisticated and deeply soulful book that takes the music, its makers, and its audiences seriously. This is essential reading." -- Charles L. Hughes, author of Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South "Real Love, No Drama is a marvelous telling of Mary J. Blige's story, as well as a reflection of the many years Danny Alexander has spent studying, analyzing, and, above all, enjoying pop music made by female performers. To trace its evolution through Salt'n'Pepa to Mary J. Blige is a journey not many have had the instinct-or the acuity about race, in particular-to take. This book shows us the glory and the problems associated with living, for the first time in memory, in a pop world where women are the dominant voices." -- Dave Marsh, host of Sirius XM's Kick Out the Jams and author of The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made
Beginning his career about the same time Mary J. Blige signed her first record deal, music journalist Danny Alexander has worked as an associate editor for Dave Marsh’s music newsletter Rock & Rap Confidential and covered rock, hip hop, and soul for various publications. He is the author of Liner Notes: Soul Asylum.
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