He interviewed dozens of blues and R&B legends, such as Joe Turner, Lowell Fulson, Ruth Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, Hank Ballard, Bobby Day, Richard Berry, Don Julian, Brenton Wood, and Eugene Church, as well as doo-wop enthusiast George Carlin.
Brown University | James Brown | Babe Ruth | Gordon Brown | Chris Brown | Brown | Brown v. Board of Education | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Jerry Brown | Mack Brown | Chris Brown (American entertainer) | Little, Brown and Company | Joe E. Brown | Chris Brown (American singer) | Charlie Brown | Joe E. Brown (comedian) | Ian Brown | Scott Brown | Sawyer Brown | Ray Brown (musician) | Pete Brown | Dan Brown | Savoy Brown | John Y. Brown, Jr. | Ruth Richard | Ruth Ann Minner | John Seely Brown | Jim Brown | Ruth Buzzi | Ray Brown |
Pettinger has been the primary songwriter in all of her original projects and has collaborated with such artists as Garth Hudson from The Band and Bob Dylan, Randy Cooke of Dave Stewart's Rock Fabulous Orchestra and Ringo Starr and Stan "the Baron" Behrens, who played with Willie Dixon, Ruth Brown and the Four Tops.
In his book Icons of R&B and Soul he wrote biographical pieces on artists including Ray Charles, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Etta James, Ike Turner, Tina Turner, The Isley Brothers, James Brown, and Otis Redding.
"Break It to Me Gently" has also been recorded by Ruth Brown, Dean Martin, Linda Martin, Lorrie Morgan, and Bobby Rydell.
By about 1950, Mintz noticed an increase in the number of white teenagers sifting through his boxes, listening and dancing to rhythm and blues records, such as those by Ruth Brown, Wynonie Harris and Fats Domino, which had been marketed to African Americans.