Noel and Cole: The Sophisticates

By Stephen Citron

Book Overview

Born an ocean apart--one in Peru, Indiana, to great wealth, the other in Teddington, England, to an itinerant piano salesman--Cole Porter and Noel Coward have come to represent the ultimate in sophistication and urbanity. "You Do Something to Me," Gay Divorce, "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Just One of Those Things," Anything Goes, "Begin the Beguine," Private Lives, "Night and Day," Blithe Spirit, "Let's Do It," Hay Fever, "It's De-Lovely"--the list of witty and irreverent songs and plays goes on and on. It is a body of work that was tremendously exciting when it first appeared and remains remarkably popular today.
Based on access to previously unpublished manuscripts, lyrics, scores and letters, plus dozens of interviews, Noel and Cole presents a fresh and often surprising portrait of these two geniuses and their work, packed with numerous photographs, some of which have never been published before. Stephen Citron interweaves the biographical strands with consummate skill, providing insight into both men's private lives--including a frank discussion of their homosexuality--while illuminating their musical achievements. Indeed Citron, a composer and lyricist himself, excels at musical analysis, and throughout the volume he sheds considerable light on Porter's and Coward's art. He tells us, for instance, that in composing the melody of "Night and Day," Cole Porter restricted himself to mid-range notes, with hardly any vocal leaps that would betray a breathless dancer, especially as the dancer was Fred Astaire, who had never studied singing seriously, and was just launching his solo career. (Citron also tells us that Astaire wanted "Night and Day" dropped from the show, because he feared that with its long-held notes, especially on the word "day," his voice would crack.) Citron also shows how fast a worker Noel Coward could be: Coward wrote Hay Fever in three days, for instance, and his finest play, Private Lives, took him four days (while he was laid low with a bout of influenza in Shanghai).
Packed with information, including a quintuple chronology and a fifty-page section devoted to the analysis of selected songs, Noel and Cole will be an essential reference as well as a fascinating dual biography of two men who brought style and dazzle to the art of popular entertainment.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195083857
• ISBN13: 9780195083859
• Release Date: June 1993
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.1" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Quite surprising!

Another gift to my dad for Xmas and he was entertained with the stories and the lyrics. He didn't know about Noel...so we both learned something new. A very well-written and entertaining book.

Parallel lives, winning presentation

Cole Porter and Noël Coward were, in many ways, the colossi of music and the theater during their era. And despite their different backgrounds, they had more than a few things in common. A parallel biography of the two men, and parallel analysis of their work, just makes sense. Stephen Citron has pulled it off admirably.The book is arranged chronologically, and chapters alternate between the two men. Their lives frequently intersect and intertwine, but the still-significant differences between the two don't get lost. Citron is not only a skilled biographer. He also has an insightful eye for drama and music. His analysis of selected Porter and Coward songs, occupying the last sixty or so pages of the book, should be a handy reference and guide to the work of both men.

Classy, Insightful -- A First-Rate Dual Bio!

This book not only takes a fresh and thoroughly readable look at two extraordinary lives -- it also includes some excellent assessments of their songs. I've read most everything published on these two men and found this book worthwhile and highly enjoyable. If only all composer bios were so intelligently handled!