Download or read book A Cole Porter Companion written by Don M. Randel and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2016-06-15 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Balancing sophisticated melodies and irresistible rhythms with lyrics by turns cynical and passionate, Cole Porter sent American song soaring on gossamer wings. Timeless works like "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "At Long Last Love" made him an essential figure in the soundtrack of a century and earned him adoration from generations of music lovers. In A Cole Porter Companion , a parade of performers and scholars offers essays on little-known aspects of the master tunesmith's life and art. Here are Porter's days as a Yale wunderkind and his nights as the exemplar of louche living; the triumph of Kiss Me Kate and shocking failure of You Never Know ; and his spinning rhythmic genius and a turkey dinner into "You're the Top" while cultural and economic forces take "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" in unforeseen directions. Other entries explore notes on ongoing Porter scholarship and delve into his formative works, performing career, and long-overlooked contributions to media as varied as film and ballet. Prepared with the cooperation of the Porter archives, A Cole Porter Companion is an invaluable guide for the fans and scholars of this beloved American genius.
Download or read book The Letters of Cole Porter written by Cole Porter and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-25 with total page 693 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive collection of the letters of one of the most successful American songwriters of the twentieth century From Anything Goes to Kiss Me, Kate, Cole Porter left a lasting legacy of iconic songs including "You're the Top," "Love For Sale," and "Night and Day." Yet, alongside his professional success, Porter led an eclectic personal life which featured exuberant parties, scandalous affairs, and chronic health problems. This extensive collection of letters (most of which are published here for the first time) dates from the first decade of the twentieth century to the early 1960s and features correspondence with stars such as Irving Berlin, Ethel Merman, and Orson Welles, as well as his friends and lovers. Cliff Eisen and Dominic McHugh complement these letters with lively commentaries that draw together the loose threads of Porter’s life and highlight the distinctions between Porter’s public and private existence. This book reveals surprising insights into his attitudes toward Hollywood and Broadway, and toward money, love, and dazzling success.
Download or read book A Drinkable Feast written by Philip Greene and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-10-16 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 13th Annual Spirited Award, for Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History or Spirits A history of the Lost Generation in 1920s Paris told through the lens of the cocktails they loved In the Prohibition era, American cocktail enthusiasts flocked to the one place that would have them--Paris. In this sweeping look at the City of Light, cocktail historian Philip Greene follows the notable American ex-pats who made themselves at home in Parisian cafes and bars, from Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein to Picasso, Coco Chanel, Cole Porter, and many more. A Drinkable Feast reveals the history of more than 50 cocktails: who was imbibing them, where they were made popular, and how to make them yourself from the original recipes of nearly a century ago. Filled with anecdotes and photos of the major players of the day, you'll feel as if you were there yourself, walking down the boulevards with the Lost Generation.
Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Gershwin written by Anna Harwell Celenza and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-22 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores how Gershwin's iconic music was shaped by American political, intellectual, cultural and business interests as well as technological advances.
Download or read book The Oxford Companion to Popular Music written by Peter Gammond and published by Oxford, [England] ; Toronto : Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One-volume guide to popular music that includes biographical entries.
Download or read book Becoming Ella Fitzgerald The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song written by Judith Tick and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2023-12-05 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An NPR 2023 "Books We Love" Pick • A Kirkus Best Nonfiction Book of 2023 A landmark biography that reclaims Ella Fitzgerald as a major American artist and modernist innovator. Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996) possessed one of the twentieth century’s most astonishing voices. In this first major biography since Fitzgerald’s death, historian Judith Tick offers a sublime portrait of this ambitious risk-taker whose exceptional musical spontaneity made her a transformational artist. Becoming Ella Fitzgerald clears up long-enduring mysteries. Archival research and in-depth family interviews shed new light on the singer’s difficult childhood in Yonkers, New York, the tragic death of her mother, and the year she spent in a girls’ reformatory school—where she sang in its renowned choir and dreamed of being a dancer. Rarely seen profiles from the Black press offer precious glimpses of Fitzgerald’s tense experiences of racial discrimination and her struggles with constricting models of Black and white femininity at midcentury. Tick’s compelling narrative depicts Fitzgerald’s complicated career in fresh and original detail, upending the traditional view that segregates vocal jazz from the genre’s mainstream. As she navigated the shifting tides between jazz and pop, she used her originality to pioneer modernist vocal jazz. Interpreting long-lost setlists, reviews from both white and Black newspapers, and newly released footage and recordings, the book explores how Ella’s transcendence as an improvisor produced onstage performances every bit as significant as her historic recorded oeuvre. From the singer’s first performance at the Apollo Theatre’s famous “Amateur Night” to the Savoy Ballroom, where Fitzgerald broke through with Chick Webb’s big band in the 1930s, Tick evokes the jazz world in riveting detail. She describes how Ella helped shape the bebop movement in the 1940s, as she joined Dizzy Gillespie and her then-husband, Ray Brown, in the world-touring Jazz at the Philharmonic, one of the first moments of high-culture acceptance for the disreputable art form. Breaking ground as a female bandleader, Fitzgerald refuted expectations of musical Blackness, deftly balancing artistic ambition and market expectations. Her legendary exploration of the Great American Songbook in the 1950s fused a Black vocal aesthetic and jazz improvisation to revolutionize the popular repertoire. This hybridity often confounded critics, yet throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ella reached audiences around the world, electrifying concert halls, and sold millions of records. A masterful biography, Becoming Ella Fitzgerald describes a powerful woman who set a standard for American excellence nearly unmatched in the twentieth century.
Download or read book The Mermaid Theatre s Cole written by Cole Porter and published by Samuel French, Inc.. This book was released on 1981 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Musical An Entertainment based on the words and music of Cole Porter. Characters: 5 male, 5 female Devised by Benny Green and Alan Strachan. Here's a fresh musical about the King of Musicals, Cole Porter. Green and Strachan have cleverly put together most of Cole's hit tunes with a narration which tells the story of his life, from Yale to Paris to Manhattan to Broadway to Hollywood-- and, ultimately, back once again to Broadway. Includes such Porter standards as "I Love P
Download or read book Mary Martin Broadway Legend written by Ronald L. Davis and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2014-10-22 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book-length biography of a theater icon South Pacific. The Sound of Music. Peter Pan. As the star of these classic Broadway musicals, Mary Martin captivated theater audiences with her impish persona and magnificent voice. Now Ronald L. Davis fills a major gap in theater history, moving beyond Martin’s own 1976 memoir to provide a complete picture of her life and career. Lively and engaging, Davis’s biography is the first book-length portrait of the theater icon, spanning her lifetime to reveal facts about her childhood, marriages, and friendships—as well as artistic collaborations that included the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, and Elia Kazan. Born in Weatherford, Texas, and mother to the future actor Larry Hagman, Martin went to California after the failure of her first marriage. There, she auditioned for every studio without success. “Audition Mary” finally had her big break when she won a talent contest, leading to her breakthrough 1938 performance in Leave It to Me—in which she wowed audiences singing “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” Davis traces Martin’s numerous appearances on Broadway, in touring productions, and on television, showing how—through hard work and persistent optimism—she built a career that lasted nearly fifty years and earned her the adoration and respect of fans and colleagues alike. Because Martin’s life was entwined with many luminaries of the stage, this biography offers rich insights into theater history, including accounts of how various productions were developed. No other book tells her story in such detail—it is must reading for fans and an essential resource for theater aficionados everywhere.
Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to the Musical written by William A. Everett and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-21 with total page 503 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An expanded and updated edition of this acclaimed, wide-ranging survey of musical theatre in New York, London, and elsewhere.
Download or read book A Fine Romance written by David Lehman and published by Schocken. This book was released on 2009-10-06 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Fine Romance, David Lehman looks at the formation of the American songbook—the timeless numbers that became jazz standards, iconic love songs, and sound tracks to famous movies—and explores the extraordinary fact that this songbook was written almost exclusively by Jews. An acclaimed poet, editor, and cultural critic, David Lehman hears America singing—with a Yiddish accent. He guides us through America in the golden age of song, when “Embraceable You,” “White Christmas,” “Easter Parade,” “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” “My Romance,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “Stormy Weather,” and countless others became nothing less than the American sound track. The stories behind these songs, the shows from which many of them came, and the shows from which many of them came, and the composers and lyricists who wrote them give voice to a specifically American saga of love, longing, assimilation, and transformation. Lehman’s analytical skills, wit, and exuberance infuse this book with an energy and a tone like no other: at once sharply observant, personally searching, and attuned to the songs that all of us love. He helps us understand how natural it should be that Wizard of Oz composer Harold Arlen was the son of a cantor who incorporated “Over the Rainbow” into his Sabbath liturgy, and why Cole Porter—the rare non-Jew in this pantheon of musicians who wrote these classic songs shaped America even as America was shaping them. (Part of the Jewish Encounter series)
Download or read book Hot n Cole written by Cole Porter and published by Samuel French, Inc.. This book was released on 2000 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The spotlight is on the timelessness of Cole Porter classics, presented here with wonderfully fresh arrangements and a contemporary twist. Over fifty of his songs are woven into an entertainment that feels as much like a book musical as a revue. By turns wry, irreverent, romantic, touching and hilarious, this is a post modern Cole Porter evening unlike any other.
Download or read book Buddy Emmons written by Steve Fishell and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2022-09-06 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A No Depression Most Memorable Music Book of 2022 The acknowledged maestro of the pedal steel guitar, Buddy Emmons lent his unparalleled virtuosity to over five decades of hit recordings and set standards that remain the benchmark for musicians today. Steve Fishell’s merger of biography and memoir draws extensively on in-depth interviews with Emmons and the artist's autobiographical writings. Emmons went from playing strip clubs to a Grand Ole Opry debut with Little Jimmy Dickens at age 18. His restless experimentation led to work with Ernest Tubb and Ray Price--and established him in a career that saw him play alongside a who’s who of American music. Fishell weaves in stories and anecdotes from Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee, Linda Ronstadt, Pat Martino, and many others to provide a fascinating musical and personal portrait of an innovator whose peerless playing and countless recordings recognized no boundaries. A one-of-a-kind life story, Buddy Emmons expands our view of a groundbreaking artist and his impact on country music, jazz, and beyond.
Download or read book Listening for America Inside the Great American Songbook from Gershwin to Sondheim written by Rob Kapilow and published by Liveright Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Not since the late Leonard Bernstein has classical music had a combination salesman-teacher as irresistible as Kapilow.” —Kansas City Star Few people in recent memory have dedicated themselves as devotedly to the story of twentieth- century American music as Rob Kapilow, the composer, conductor, and host of the hit NPR music radio program, What Makes It Great? Now, in Listening for America, he turns his keen ear to the Great American Songbook, bringing many of our favorite classics to life through the songs and stories of eight of the twentieth century’s most treasured American composers—Kern, Porter, Gershwin, Arlen, Berlin, Rodgers, Bernstein, and Sondheim. Hardly confi ning himself to celebrating what makes these catchy melodies so unforgettable, Kapilow delves deeply into how issues of race, immigration, sexuality, and appropriation intertwine in masterpieces like Show Boat and West Side Story. A book not just about musical theater but about America itself, Listening for America is equally for the devotee, the singer, the music student, or for anyone intrigued by how popular music has shaped the larger culture, and promises to be the ideal gift book for years to come.
Download or read book Sondheim on Music written by Mark Eden Horowitz and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-03-13 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this collection of interviews conducted by Mark Horowitz of the Library of Congress, musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim discusses the art of musical composition, lyric writing, the collaborative process of musical theater, and how he thinks about his own work. A postlude features a more recent conversation with Sondheim.
Download or read book Music Camp written by Christopher Moore and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2018-04-10 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays provides the first in-depth examination of camp as it relates to a wide variety of twentieth and twenty-first century music and musical performances. Located at the convergence of popular and queer musicology, the book provides new research into camp’s presence, techniques, discourses, and potential meanings across a broad spectrum of musical genres, including: musical theatre, classical music, film music, opera, instrumental music, the Broadway musical, rock, pop, hip-hop, and Christmas carols. This significant contribution to the field of camp studies investigates why and how music has served as an expressive and political vehicle for both the aesthetic characteristics and the receptive modes that have been associated with camp throughout twentieth and twenty-first-century culture.
Download or read book Catherine Littlefield written by Sharon Skeel and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Born in Philadelphia in 1905, Catherine Littlefield first learns dancing from her mother, Caroline (called Mommie), an expert pianist, and from a local dancing master, C. Ellwood Carpenter. As a teenager, Catherine becomes a Ziegfeld dancer and takes lessons from Luigi Albertieri in New York. She returns home in 1925 to help Mommie teach at the Littlefield School (among her students is Zelda Fitzgerald) and stage dances for women's musical clubs and opera companies. William Goldman hires Catherine to produce routines in commercial theaters throughout Philadelphia and becomes her boyfriend. Catherine, Mommie, and Catherine's sister, Dorothie, travel to Paris so the sisters can study ballet with Lubov Egorova. They become friendly with George Balanchine in Paris and help him establish his first American school and company when he comes to the U.S. in 1933. Catherine marries wealthy Philadelphia attorney Philip Leidy and established her Philadelphia Ballet Company in 1935. She choreographs-and her company presents--the first full-length, full-scale Sleeping Beauty in the U.S. as well as popular ballet Americana works such as Barn Dance and Terminal. Her company's European tour in 1937 is the first ever by an American classical ballet troupe. Catherine loses some of her protegeés to the newly formed Ballet Theatre and disbands her company after the U.S. enters World War II; she then choreographs Broadway musicals, Sonja Henie's Hollywood Ice Revues, and Jimmy Durante's NBC television show before dying in 1951 at age forty six"--
Download or read book Music Education in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance written by Susan Forscher Weiss and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-16 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What were the methods and educational philosophies of music teachers in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance? What did students study? What were the motivations of teacher and student? Contributors to this volume address these topics and other -- including gender, social status, and the role of the Church -- to better understand the identities of music teachers and students from 650 to 1650 in Western Europe. This volume provides an expansive view of the beginnings of music pedagogy, and shows how the act of learning was embedded in the broader context of the early Western art music tradition.
