Gary Golio

A visual artist, musician, and psychotherapist, Gary Golio is the author of the New York Times-bestselling JIMI: Sounds Like A Rainbow – A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix, recipient of a 2011 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. His other books include When Bob Met Woody: The Story of the Young Bob Dylan; Spirit Seeker: The Musical Journey of John Coltrane; Bird & Diz - Two Friends Create Bebop; Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song; Carlos Santana - Sound of the Heart, Song of the World; SMILE - How Young Charlie Chaplin Taught the World to Laugh (and Cry); Dark Was the Night - Blind Willie Johnson's Journey to the Stars; and Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge; Everywhere Beauty is Harlem – The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava (2023); and The Soldier's Friend - Walt Whitman's Extraordinary Service in the American Civil War (Calkins Creek/Astra, 2024). His forthcoming books include Silence Sounds Simple - A Day in the Life of John Cage (Calkins Creek, 2026), William Carney Carries the Flag - The Heroic Journey of a Black Civil War Soldier (Calkins Creek, 2027), and the Banjo Lesson - Henry tanner Paints His Masterpiece (Calkins Creek, 2028).

Each of these books highlights an artist’s roots and influences, promoting the idea that artists are models of persistence and commitment, embodying values of imagination, hopefulness, and self-acceptance.