"Often overlooked in (favor) of his brother George, this brilliant, erudite poet also collaborated in his long life with Kurt Weill, Jerome Kern, (and) Aaron Copland, to name a few. The resulting lyrics are not only eye-opening, they are staggering in their versatility, charm, warmth, intelligence, and sheer beauty".--"Christian Science Monitor". 54 photos.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Kimball's scholarship of the musical theater lends considerable authority to this grandiose undertaking, begun after Ira Gershwin's death in 1983. Kimball exhumed 700 lyrics (sans scores)--400 of which were unpublished--from archives, manuscripts, private collections, and more. His introduction offers biographical bits, a creative overview, and a chronology of personal and professional facts regarding Gershwin, along with an explanation of the editor's research methodology. The vast body of text includes show titles, lyrics, and existent production and publication details. Narrative by Gershwin, taken from Lyrics on Several Occasions (Knopf, 1959), punctuates many entries. Companion volumes include Kimball's The Gershwins ( LJ 12/1/73) and Edward Jablonski's Gershwin: A Biography (Doubleday, 1987). An invaluable compendium for scholar, singer, and generalist; recommended for most collections. (Photos not seen.)-- Cynthia Cordes, OCPL, Syracuse, N. Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Presuming your library serves a community in which anybody sings or gets together to put on a musical, do you need to be told you probably gotta have this book? Ira Gershwin was the lyricist for his brother, George, without whom it sometimes seems there would be no songs in America, as well as, after George's death, for Weill, Copland, Kern, and similar luminaries. Although it's not apparent at this writing that the index herein will be the most useful kind--namely, one of titles, first lines, and first lines of refrains (because they, aka the choruses, are the most familiar parts of songs to the most people)--at least all the titles appear under the appropriate years or shows in the table of contents. The lyrics proper come in three-column display; each song has a headnote relaying its place in a show (or shows), who first sang it, its alternate titles, etc., and sometimes including Ira's comments from his own selection from his work, Lyrics on Several Occasions (1959). Hey, even if the index turns out less than ideal, still--'s wonderful! 's marvelous! Ray Olson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a real treasure,
This review is from: The Complete Lyrics Of Ira Gershwin (Hardcover)
priceless to be able to get all the Ira Gershwin lyrics, many with his own comments
5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must for all Gershwin fans,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Complete Lyrics Of Ira Gershwin (Hardcover)
All I can say about this book is: 'Swonderful, 'smarvelous that such a book exists. Every Gershwin fan in the world should have this book.
1 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This collection rocks!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Complete Lyrics Of Ira Gershwin (Hardcover)
This collection kicks some butt! Robert Kimball does it again!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
Years later. Ira Gershwin noted: "In the first lyric of mine ever printed, the words came first-they had to come first as it was never intended that any tune be composed for them. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
lonesome babe, unofficial wizard, lyrics first published, duck love water, village like mine, nobody budges, charming war, meadow serenade, military dancing drill, feeling bully, additional refrain, sweet embraceable, stout fella, been sleeping all day, song file, cheerful little earful, great little world, barber shop chord, alternate title, naughty baby, dong dell, little naked boy, most beautiful blossom, female ensemble, dancing ensemble Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ira Gershwin, New York, George Gershwin, Arthur Francis, Fred Astaire, Liza Elliott, Gershwin Special Numbered Song File, Vincent Youmans, Published September, Adele Astaire, Gertrude Lawrence, Miss Elliott, Ginger Rogers, William Daly, Kurt Weill, Published April, Allen Kearns, Atlantic City, The Greatest Show, Oscar Shaw, Sing-Song Girl, Vinton Freedley, Jack Buchanan, Jerome Kern, Shubert Theatre New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Years later. Ira Gershwin noted: "In the first lyric of mine ever printed, the words came first-they had to come first as it was never intended that any tune be composed for them. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
lonesome babe, unofficial wizard, lyrics first published, duck love water, village like mine, nobody budges, charming war, meadow serenade, military dancing drill, feeling bully, additional refrain, sweet embraceable, stout fella, been sleeping all day, song file, cheerful little earful, great little world, barber shop chord, alternate title, naughty baby, dong dell, little naked boy, most beautiful blossom, female ensemble, dancing ensemble Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ira Gershwin, New York, George Gershwin, Arthur Francis, Fred Astaire, Liza Elliott, Gershwin Special Numbered Song File, Vincent Youmans, Published September, Adele Astaire, Gertrude Lawrence, Miss Elliott, Ginger Rogers, William Daly, Kurt Weill, Published April, Allen Kearns, Atlantic City, The Greatest Show, Oscar Shaw, Sing-Song Girl, Vinton Freedley, Jack Buchanan, Jerome Kern, Shubert Theatre New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 20
books:
See all 20 books this book cites
8
books
cite this book:
See all 8 books citing this book
- Lyrics on Several Occasions: A Selection of Stage and Screen Lyrics by Ira Gershwin on 69 pages
- Strike Up the Band : Vocal Score by George Gershwin on 14 pages
- Of Thee I Sing (Vocal Score) by Gershwin on 10 pages
- Porgy and Bess: Vocal Score by George Gershwin on 7 pages
- An American in Paris (Belwin Edition) by George Gershwin on 5 pages
See all 20 books this book cites
- Ira Gershwin: The Art of the Lyricist by Philip Furia on 7 pages
- George Gershwin: A New Biography by William G. Hyland on 4 pages
- The American Popular Ballad of the Golden Era, 1924-1950: A Study in Musical Design by Allen Forte in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Tchaikovsky's Complete Songs: A Companion with Texts and Translations (Russian Music Studies) by Richard D. Sylvester in Back Matter
- Strike Up the Band : Vocal Score by George Gershwin in Back Matter
See all 8 books citing this book
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
