The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music

The Midnight Special is a sharp, deeply felt history of music behind bars, tracing how policing and prisons have shaped American sound from blues to hip-hop. It is a vital, often overlooked story, told with musical insight and a clear sense of what is at stake.

The book moves through prison reform, including how soul musician Ike White was able to stage concerts while incarcerated and record Changin’ Times in 1977. It then follows the heavier cultural impact of mass incarceration on musicians, careers, and public perception.

Closing with Tupac Shakur’s Me Against the World from 1995 and stories of music in prisons today, The Midnight Special shows how music can protect a sense of humanity in dehumanizing conditions.