Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins [Hardcover]

Bruce Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2005

Goodbye combines biography with a son's discovery of his father. Gordon Jenkins, one of America's most significant musical figures throughout his 50-year career, collaborated with many of the major talents in postwar pop and jazz. Modest by nature, he rarely spoke of his accomplishments, and there was much to discover when, on account of his father's death in 1984, Bruce Jenkins began his research. Paralleling the story of Gordon Jenkins's personal life is a veritable history of popular music, featuring luminaries from Irving Berlin to Billie Holiday. This richly anecdotal biography relates a wealth of heretofore untold stories of his encounters with icons like Sinatra, who was uncharacteristically awestruck by him, and Judy Garland, whom only Jenkins could convince to go onstage when she was crippled with anxiety. A concluding chapter documents Jenkins's slow, difficult death from ALS, leaving readers with an unforgettable image of a legend dying with dignity and unexpected good humor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Frank Sinatra once told me that he and my father were the two saddest men," writes Jenkins in his biography of his father, Gordon "Gor" Jenkins. As a top-notch composer, arranger, conductor and performer, "Gor" worked with many of the great singers of the 1940s through the 1960s, and is probably best known for the suites Seven Dreams and Manhattan Tower, as well as Frank Sinatra's hit, "It Was a Very Good Year," which earned Gor a Grammy in 1965. The book reads like a Who's Who of the period, with vignettes spotlighting Gor's work with Nat Cole, Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman, Peggy Lee and many others. Perhaps most surprising is the author's account of his father's obsession with The Weavers, and Jenkins's interview with Pete Seeger provides first-hand information on the folk group's 1950 recording sessions, Decca Records's confusion about how to market the group and the controversy over the lyrics for "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena." A highlight of the volume is Jenkins's interview with Sinatra. Jenkins, a San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist, writes in a relaxed, breezy style, and much of the book is quoted material from his interviews with the artists, providing a trove of fresh material for swing, jazz and folk fans.
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Review

"a very worthwhile and insightful read...well recommended."
- Gerry Stonestreet, Editor, In Tune Magazine

"Gordon Jenkins was a multitalented genius of music. His son Bruce, has not only written a definative biography of his father, but also given us a marvelous history of an era in American music that will never be duplicated. The last chapter is a profile in courage, of both father and mother, confronting their final years with dignity and humor. I cried when I read it, as I often do when I listen to Jenkins, Sinatra, or Puccini. Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins is a story that will remain with you long after you have read it."
- Ron Della Chiesa, Host of " Strictly Sinatra" on WPLM Radio, Plymouth, Massachusetts

"Frank Sinatra once told me that he and my father were the two saddest men," writes Jenkins in his biography of his father, Gordon "Gor" Jenkins. As a top-notch composer, arranger, conductor and performer, "Gor" worked with many of the great singers of the 1940s through the 1960s, and is probably best known for the suites "Seven Dreams and Manhattan Tower", as well as Frank Sinatra's hit, "It Was a Very Good Year," which earned Gor a Grammy in 1965. The book reads like a Who's Who of the period, with vignettes spotlighting Gor's work with Nat Cole, Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman, Peggy Lee and many others. Perhaps most surprising is the author's account of his father's obsession with The Weavers, and Jenkins's interview with Pete Seeger provides first hand information on the folk group's 1950 recording sessions, Decca Records's confusion about how to market the group and the controversy over the lyrics for "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena." A highlight of the volume is Jenkins's interview with Sinatra. Jenkins, a San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist, writes in a relaxed, breezy style, and much of the book is quoted material from his interviews with the artists, providing a trove of fresh material for swing, jazz and folk fans."
-Publishers Weekly, December 5, 2005

"The best book for the holiday season written by a baseball writer isn't about baseball. Bruce Jenkins, longtime A's beat writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and now a general columnist, has written a wonderful memoir about his father, Gordon, the late songwriter, composer and arranger for pop music legends Frank Sinatra, Nat Cole, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee and Louis Armstrong, among others....it's a moving tale about a son's relentless and tireless effort to find out who his famous father really was. The stuff about senior Jenkins' relationship with Sinatra is especially compelling and Bruce was actually able to get one of the last interviews granted by the Chairman."
- Bill Madden, New York Daily News, November 26, 2005

"At last someone has written a definitive book about Gordon Jenkins, one of America's musical giants. Bruce Jenkins' cultural history of his father's fabulous career is a must read. This narrative covers Gordon's career from his early days with Isham Jones up to and including his collaboration with Frank Sinatra. It is unpudownable."
-Van Alexander, arranger and composer, co-writer and arranger of Ella Fitzgerald's "A Tisket, A Tasket" and author of First Chart

"On that sad day I heard of Gordon Jenkins' passing, my initial feeling was one of regret that I'd never spent enough time with this wonderful and talented man. This biography by his son, Bruce Jenkins, truly does him justice. It is beautifully crafted, objective—no small feet for a son writing about his dad—and captures the wisdom, talent, joy, and black sense of humor that was Gordon's."
- Johnny Mandel, composer, performer, arranger; winner of the 1997 ASCAP Henry Mancini Award; known for dozens of songs, Academy-award-winning film scores and the Theme from M*A*S*H

"When Gordon Jenkins walked into a recording session, everything stopped. I never saw it with anybody else. He was the best-equipped musician, orchestrator and conductor that I ever worked with."
- Frank Sinatra, 1990

"In my teenage years, I was obsessed with Gordon Jenkins' music. I was a hopeless romantic, and his was the most romantic I've ever heard."
- Nora Ephron

"My album with Gordon Jenkins is the best I've ever been associated with. I'll hold it up against anybody's. Show me what you got."
- Harry Nilsson, 1988

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 341 pages
• Publisher: Frog Books (November 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583941266
• ISBN-13: 978-1583941263
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #833,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All I can say . . ., December 13, 2005

By 

William R. Fisher (Murfreesboro, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins (Hardcover)

. . . is what I told the author by e-mail:

Dear Mr. Jenkins,

I just finished Goodbye, and I wanted you to know how glad I am you wrote it. I got it through Rick Apt; it is a copy you signed.

I love your father's music and have for a long time, but I had little idea just how comprehensive his talent was. Your book deepened my admiration for his work. I'll appreciate it even more now.

As someone who makes a living as an editor, I have pretty high

standards. Your writing is clear, your passion is evident, your style is rewarding on many levels, and the book is whole: nothing need be added or taken away, as I see it.

Beyond that, as a dilettante baritone in a few big band style ensembles, I've got a new, higher standard to shoot for just knowing what a man like Gordon Jenkins expected of others. And when I sing a ballad, I'll damn sure never trust a leader who keeps his eye on the band instead of me.

Thank you for writing a great book about a great man.

Yours truly,

Bill Fisher

(By the way, the author was gracious enough to reply to my e-mail--a class act.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT Read!, December 8, 2005

By 

Fred Grimes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins (Hardcover)

I am not a major fan of sports writers, except for those who step outside the limits of their field. Paul Gallico and Ring Lardner, for example. I now place Bruce Jenkins in that level with his incisive, sympathetic, remarkably objective, thoroughly researched, and generously credited biography of father Gordon. The senior Jenkins is not as familiar today as he was during his fantastically varied and fruitful career, and that's a shame. It perhaps speaks to the general condition of the music business

today. Bruce's biography covers it all, and Gordon touched most of the bases in good popular music, contributing a great amount to the treasury. He started as a dixieland combo player, and worked his way up to stellar status as an arranger/composer, frequently contributing lyrics as well as music (and fine, deceptively simple lyrics they are, too!--songs like"Goodbye"). His first major impact on records was "Manhattan Tower", a 1945 experiment in an previously untouched area, a musicalromance/documentary that was basically a love tribute to New York City, and one that paved the way for the countless things in that flavor that have followed. It was probably the first "concept" album, instead of the usual four 78rpm shellacs in a cardboard binder. He wrote the arrangements for the period's singers, and his work with Frank Sinatra reflects his (and the singer's!) best work. Other singers he backgrounded include Peggy Lee, Nat Cole, and the Andrews Sisters. He

also found and introduced the Weavers, which brought folkish music and their inheritors (by the numberless score!) into the arena of giant pop music disc sales. He arranged a Harry Nillson album that the artist proclaimed the best he had ever done. Gordon Jenkins had a broad palette, and I don't think the term "genius" is inappropriate. The book ("Goodbye:

In Search of Gordon Jenkins") truly covers all the bases, and the younger Jenkins doesn't short those folk whose opinion of his father vary widely from his. Most the familiar names are allowed their say, and I was impressed by the author's credit to the contributing sources. He lauds frequently and damns seldom, and presents as impressive and impressing biography as I've seen. Of particular interest to members of this assemblage is his recounting of the very close, very personal relationship

between Gordon and Frank Sinatra, including a long, detailed, personal, and revealing interview that Bruce had with Mr Sinatra. I've heard that the singer was not that easy a person to interview, or even to get an interview with. I knew, on a much slighter level, many of the people Bruce interviewed or wrote of, and they all ring true--folk like Billy May and Nelson Riddle. All the members of the Sinatra chain will have to read

this one; there's a tremendous amount of learning in there, presented in a most palatable manner. Bruce Jenkins may not be a song writer, but he is

one helluva writer.

Fred Grimes

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, December 8, 2005

By 

Don Olivet - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins (Hardcover)

Bruce Jenkin's homage to his fathers legacy is a must read for all who are interested in his music as well as his life. It shall serve as the definitive work on the man, and will be used as a research tool for all who follow. Bruce brings to this work the same humanity and clarity he brings to his sports journalism. And who better to bring his fathers story to the forefront, than his own son. If you are not familiar with Gordon Jenkin's body of work, from Sinatra to Cole,from Judy Garland to Louie Armstrong, From the Weaver's to Harry Nillson, buy this book and learn about his extraordinary accomplishments in composing, orchestrating, arranging, conducting, and playing. He was truly one of music's only quadruple threats. Don Olivet