Kip Lornell is a member of the music faculty at The George Washington University. His books include "The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C." (co-authored with Charles C. Stephenson, Jr.) and "Shreveport Sounds in Black and White" (co-edited by Tracey E. W. Laird), both published by the University Press of Mississippi. His research in American vernacular music has also resulted in the publication of over one hundred articles and record notes, record projects, and several documentary films.