There are few American lives more powerful or more moving than that of C.L. Franklin. Born in rural Mississippi in 1915, he would go on to become the most famous African American preacher in America. His style of preaching revolutionized the art, and his call for his fellow African Americans to proclaim both their faith and their rights helped usher in the civil rights movement. Booming, soaring, flashy, and intense, C.L. was one of a kind. And yet Franklin was, like many great public figures, immensely complicated.Salvatore's book is the product of eight years of extensive research and interviews. This is, in many ways, the story of activism in the black church, but it is also the exhilarating tale of the rise of gospel, blues, and soul music in the twentieth century. [from dust jacket]