John McWhorter's latest contribution is one of the finest bits of writing on American music history I've ever encountered.

I've done bits tracing individual songs through their life cycles - "Body and Soul" being an obvious example. I'm a reader of the liner notes, a studier of the Smithsonian Collection of classic jazz.

And I had never heard of Will Marion Cook. Thank you for publishing this. It fills in a void in my understanding. whereas my mind had previously just thought, "Ragtime and stage pianists and singers whose names are largely forgotten" gave rise to the music that is most prized from America, now there is a figure that fleshes it out for me.

Where's PBS?