SOUL OF AMERICA LAUNCHES THE ONLY ONLINE TRAVEL GUIDE FOR LOCATING THE BEST IN BLACK MUSIC

Comprehensive Travelogue Offers Visitors Unique Geographic Insights and Listening Opportunities for their Favorite Musically Soulful Destinations

Torrance, CA (BlackNews.com) - SoulOfAmerica.com, assisted by Soul-Patrol.com, today launched "The Geography of Black Music," a travel guide that spotlights more than a dozen cities where Jazz, Blues, Gospel and Soul were born and continue to thrive in America.  To access the guide and vote for your favorite black-music cities, go to

http://www.soulofamerica.com/index.php?id=58,64,0,0,1,0

Nowhere on the web is there a more comprehensive compilation of black music facts provided against a backdrop of travel destinations. The guide includes colorful narratives about the birth city of sub-genres, little-known anecdotes about the places where musical geniuses produced their best work and listings for nightclubs, juke joints and soul music venues.  Some of the destinations may come as a surprise.

"Black music is like a river with tributaries flowing in many directions," said SoulOfAmerica.com Founder and Publisher Thomas Dorsey, who gathered information during research trips to cities across the country.  "Jackson, Birmingham, St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York and even Los Angeles and San Francisco played important roles in black music development through the 1970s."  (For interviews, contact Dorsey directly at 310-214-8554).

In conjunction with the guide, SoulOfAmerica.com is conducting a home page voter contest to determine site visitors' favorite cities for Jazz, Blues, Gospel and Soul.  Visit www.SoulOfAmerica.com <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001-bpqmPGEpsxdOCPYMqb4-e8xl5HE6IGjWHazfxWITvFyO_ktC8Nh1ns3-6UezS9GQIF24G1rEdpJKfXS2xLLZQAUjXgKwG7VwnTIjzIg_aEBnvmxrnRmww==>  to name your favorite destinations for hearing the rifts, beats and chords of the music.

The travel guide also provides links to the black-music website Soul-Patrol.com.  Bob Davis, CEO of Soul-Patrol.com and Black Music Programming Director for RadioIO.com, noted that "the music is truly a reflection of black people."

"Black Music made its way north, east and west via the same train routes that carried rural Black workers from their homes in the south to the industrial north. The music these 'Blues People' brought with them fused with the sophisticated urban sounds of Jazz to create the sound first called 'Race Music,'" he said.  "Today we call it black music, and the roots, trunk and branches of our musical tree remain whole and poised for future growth."

Award-winning SoulOfAmerica.com is the first, only, most comprehensive, most quoted, and highest-traffic Black Travel website.  In a poll of 100,000 voters, BlackWebAwards.com named SoulfOfAmerica.com the "2008 Best Travel Destination Website."