Publishing a Memoir: The Final Push!

Yearly, I have a birthday fundraiser to help others, and this year is no different. This year's Go Fund Me aims to raise money to cover the final costs to publish a music memoir long in the making.

A few years ago, I began work co-authoring a memoir by bassist Jerry Jemmott. I got to know Jerry at the Richard Davis Bass Symposiums in the late 1990s. Likely, even if you've not heard of him, you've heard his recordings, which include:

"Think" by Aretha Franklin

"The Thrill is Gone" by B.B. King

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott Heron

"Hey Jude" by Wilson Pickett and Duane Allman

and so many others by Nina Simone, Freddie King, The Rascals, King Curtis, Freddy Hubbard, etc.

Jerry has crafted a memoir that follows his life through the 1960s, 1970s, and up until today. Chapters cover the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, struggles with Traumatic Brain Injuries, recording for Atlantic Records, touring Europe, befriending Jaco Pastorius (and hosting his now infamous instructional video), and his recent comeback playing on The Late Show with Gregg Allman and Aretha Franklin.

We are very close to publishing this memoir, but we need to cover some "closing costs." For example:

Please know: I am not taking any payment for the work I have done on this project, nor will I pocket any donated funds. Once published, all profits go to Jerry alone.

This has been a labor of love, and we want this remarkable story to be told. Part of that story is how big record companies de-valued and under-paid session players in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Requiring funds for pictures of Jerry creating the music that fueled said record company is yet another example of session players' struggles. So, please, lend a hand (and a few dollars) so we can finally get this story told!