Episode 61 | Jean Beauvoir ["Bet My Soul on Rock 'n' Roll: Diary of a Black Punk Icon"]

Jean Beauvoir joined the Plasmatics in 1979, playing bass and keyboards for the most notorious band to emerge out of the New York City punk scene. By 1982, he was a member of Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, a retro-rock revival act headed by Steven Van Zandt. The Disciples of Soul videos played on MTV during the network’s earliest years, making Beauvoir one of the first Black recording artists to cross the start-up music channel’s “color line.” <br /><br />Beauvoir went on to become a multi-platinum artist, producer, and songwriter. “Bet My Soul on Rock 'n' Roll” with John Ostrosky follows Jean’s ride through the American music industry, detailing his encounters with rock stars such as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Lita Ford, as well as the actor Sylvester Stallone, the billionaire executive Richard Branson, and even Donald Trump. Beauvoir also considers the manner in which his Haitian heritage has shaped his public image, his music, and his role as an activist for the dispossessed and the poor.<br /><br />Jean Beauvoir is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter of Haitian descent. Guitar World featured him on its list of the fifty “Most Influential Black Rockers” of all time. Beauvoir’s worldwide music catalogue, currently administered by Universal Music Publishing, contains over 600 published titles. As an artist, producer, and songwriter, he has sold in excess of 40 million records. He lives in Bonita Springs, FL. <br /><br /><br />Purchase a copy of "Bet My Soul on Rock 'n' Roll: Diary of a Black Punk Icon" through Chicago Review Press: <a href="https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/bet-my-soul-on-rock--n--roll-products-9781641604765.php?page_id=30&cid=554902" rel="noopener">https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/bet-my-soul-on-rock--n--roll-products-9781641604765.php?page_id=30&cid=554902</a><br /><br /><br />Listen to a playlist of the music discussed in this episode: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2lXstI3iMBHkwiLLsee4V2?si=307a9e7f7dfc41a2" rel