The sounds, styles, and lives of outstanding singers from the 1920s to the present, are "written about with loving expertise by two writers who can make singers and their songs live on paper," says Clive Barnes. Features revealing biographies, critical assessments, and selective discographies and videographies.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Hemming ( Discovering Great Music ) and Hajdu ( How to Shoot Your Kids on Home Video ) profile 52 singers of the melodic, intimate and sophisticated music known as classic pop, describing the evolution of this music in the 1920s and '30s and showing how it changed and developed during and after WW II. The main part of the book is devoted to short chapters covering the lives, works and achievements of Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Mabel Mercer, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Nat "King" Cole, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and other outstanding artists. The analyses of the singers' styles are perceptive, for the authors discuss how each performer's personality has affected his or her interpretation of the music and the lyrics. The book is readable, entertaining, and refreshingly free of biographical trivia. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Hemming, a classic pop reviewer for Stereo Review and author of The Melody Lingers On (Newmarket, dist. by HarperCollins, 1980), and Hajdu, senior editor for Entertainment Weekly , offer this guide to music defined as "essentially American," "urban and accessible," sung in the ordinary, not necessarily technically perfect voices of the likes of Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, and Barbra Streisand. After classifying classic pop into pre- and post-World War II eras, the authors attempt to illuminate the performing careers and lives of 38 singers in entries ranging from three to eight pages. Much shorter sketches profile 14 less popular, but "not-to-be-forgotten" performers. A disappointingly small amount of information is provided on specific albums, songs, or filmed performances in the form of a discography/videography in the appendix. In all its breadth, this book is also a history of songwriting, the recording industry, and music of Hollywood and Broadway. While it's a hit as a biographical directory, for specific albums, etc., it barely makes the charts. For in-depth popular music collections.
- Donald W. Maxwell, Stone Hills Lib. Network, Bloomington
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Donald W. Maxwell, Stone Hills Lib. Network, Bloomington
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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