LISTEN: The Reverend Shawn Amos, “Everybody Wants to Be My Friend”

Artist: The Reverend Shawn Amos
Hometown: California immigrant, Texas resident
Song: “Everybody Wants to Be My Friend”
Album: Hollywood Blues: Songs and Stories from the Family Tree (1997-2022)
Release Date: May 13, 2022

In Their Words: “It’s a song about Black girl magic sung by someone who has long had a line of people waiting for me to be their one Black friend. It’s also about the politics of smiling. It’s also a song about whatever you want it to be about. Hollywood Blues: Songs and Stories from the Family Tree (1997-2022) is a collection of songs I wrote to help me make sense of my own family, my own trauma, my own strength. Like most songs, they are steady company. Like the most important ones, they are a mirror. These songs are my confessions, fables and joyful blues. I present these songs and stories for your (re)appraisal and comfort on your own journey.” — The Reverend Shawn Amos

Editor’s Note: The only child of William Morris agent-turned-cookie entrepreneur Wally “Famous” Amos and singer Shirley “Shirl-ee May” Ellis, young Shawn spent hours in shadowy nightclubs, on the funky streets of ‘70s Hollywood, and in his own broken home, listening intently to people’s stories. Shawn helped make his father’s cookie hustle real. He has now released his debut semi-autobiographical middle-grade novel, Cookies & Milk (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers). The new animated series Cookies & Milk is in development at Disney Television Animation. Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland of Cinema Gypsy Productions are set to executive produce alongside Amos.

Photo Credit: Fred Siegel