Singers and the Song II

By Graham Lees and Gene Lees

Book Overview

Gene Lees is probably the best jazz essayist in America today, and the book that consolidated his reputation was Singers and the Song, which appeared in 1987. Now this classic volume is being rereleased in an expanded edition.
The new edition retains a number of famous pieces from the original volume, some in expanded form, such as Lees's classic profile of Frank Sinatra. Lees has also retained his marvelous essay on lyric writing, his piece on the art of Edith Piaf, and his admiring look at the genius of songwriter Johnny Mercer. The expanded edition offers seven new essays that are no less accomplished. Here readers will find a wonderful tribute to "the sweetest voice in the world," Ella Fitzgerald; a moving interview with Jackie and Roy Kral; Lees's account of his involvement with Bossa Nova music and his collaboration with Antonio Carlos Jobim. We also read about Julius La Rosa, the lyrics of "Yip" Harburg, Harry Warren's unforgettable compositions, and the elegant Arthur Schwartz, writer of "Dancing in the Dark" and many other memorable songs.
Here then is an engaging volume that weaves together colorful portraits of major performers and insightful glimpses into the art of singing and songwriting.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195115562
• ISBN13: 9780195115567
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

The Best Ever

I was simply overwhelmed by the sweep and depth of this book. It is much more than a collection of essays about Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mercer, Peggy Lee et al. It is a brilliantly written history of the great days of Amerian popular music -- circa 1935-1950 -- with side excursions into etymology, culture, the art of songwriting, geography, sociology, linguistics and, above all, musicality. Lees, himself a fine lyricist, shows and tells how it's done, who did it, where they succeeded and where they failed, and what finally happened to the era of American musicianship at its best. For those with the slightest interest in popular music, this book is a treasure.