The American Musical Film Song Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

Thomas S. Hischak (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313307377 | ISBN-13: 978-0313307379 | Publication Date: March 30, 1999 | Edition: annotated edition

Following the successful, The American Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 1995), this new encyclopedia reviews in-depth individual songs written for the American musical film over the past seventy years. Over 1,800 songs from over 500 musical films are identified and described. In addition to detailing the songs' authors, original singers, and initial film appearances, the encyclopedia also explains how the songs were used in the film, lists subsequent film and stage appearances of the songs, and notes memorable recordings. From Jolson to Elvis, operetta to rock musicals, and Irving Berlin to the Beatles, the comprehensive scope of this work gathers a wealth of information about film musical songs not readily available elsewhere. The combination of accurate, thoroughly researched information, commentary, and anecdotal background will appeal to both film scholars and fans. Numerous indexes for easy reference include a list of alternate song titles, famous movie songs from other sources, best song Oscars, Oscar-winning film musicals, and a list of film musicals from 1927 through 1998. A bibliography completes this important reference tool and provides helpful sources for further research.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hischak (SUNY at Cortland) continues his series on musical theater (e.g., Stage It with Music: An Encyclopedic Guide to the American Musical Theatre, LJ 6/15/93) with this comprehensive review of songs written for musical films. Coverage is restricted to songs actually written for film, so one finds "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from Grease but not other songs from the stage version. A useful section on "Songs from Other Sources" includes titles from well-known musical films (e.g., "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific) for readers who don't know whether a song was composed specifically for the film version. Entries, arranged by song title, include vocalist, composer, lyricist, and information on the place of the song in the film, as well as recordings by artists other than those in the film. The concise entries combine a wealth of information not found in other sources. This new reference work will certainly find a place in film and music reference collections.?James E. Ross, WLN, Seattle
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In this companion to his earlier American Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 1995), Hischak first explains the ways that film musicals in general, and specifically the use of songs in a movie, differ from stage musicals. Films need fewer songs, and they do not use songs as readily to explicate plot and character. That said, he had no problem selecting 1,760 songs from 500 film musicals, ranging from 1927's The Jazz Singer to Disney's 1996 animated Hunchback of Notre Dame and 1997's Evita. For the purposes of this book, a film musical is defined as having at least three songs sung by the story's characters. Songs from films based on stage musicals are not found here, unless they appeared only in the film version. For instance, "Something Good," unique to The Sound of Music film, is listed, but not "My Favorite Things." An appendix of famous movie songs from other sources lists song titles (e.g., "Fascinatin' Rhythm," "Ain't She Sweet") and their origin^-either the name of the stage musical or the year if the song was simply a Tin Pan Alley hit.

Entries are arranged alphabetically by song title and provide the names of the lyricist, composer, singer and/or actor, character name(s), and film title and year. The author gives the context of the song (why, where, to whom it was sung) and any notable aspects of it (words, mood, rhythm, delivery). Performers who later had a hit with the number are listed. Hischak has a knack for immediately conveying the flavor of a song with just a few words: "optimistic little ditty," "chipper announcement of romance," and "pathetically cheery song of advice" are examples of his introductory statements for each entry. Browsers will find interesting facts about both the familiar and the obscure. Appendixes note alternate song titles, best-song Oscars, Oscar-nominated film musicals, and the film musicals covered in this volume. A glossary (defining such terms as interpolation, ballad, release), bibliography, and detailed index to composers, lyricists, singers, actors, and song and film titles are also included.

Although there are other reference works on the musical film, this one has the most comprehensive, annotated coverage of individual songs from film. Facts On File's Hollywood Song: The Complete Film & Musical Companion [RBB Jl 95] covers more films (7,000, including some nonmusicals) but does not devote a paragraph to each song it lists. Encyclopedia of the Musical Film (Oxford, 1981) describes some outstanding song titles but has a greater emphasis upon the films as a whole and biobibliographies of composers and lyricists. If all one needs are the unadorned facts, most of the songs in Hischak are listed in Lissauer's Encyclopedia of Popular Music in America (Paragon House, 1991). The American Musical Film Song Encyclopedia is recommended for comprehensive music and film collections.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 536 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press; annotated edition edition (March 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313307377
• ISBN-13: 978-0313307379
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,924,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Musical Encyclopaedia for Films., August 29, 2011

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This review is from: The American Musical Film Song Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

Thus book is good value for what it delivers although I would have liked it to contain more of the titles which were omitted - even if it meant a cost increase.