Jerry Herman: The Lyrics [Hardcover]

Jerry Herman (Author), Ken Bloom (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415967686 | ISBN-13: 978-0415967686 | Publication Date: September 10, 2003 | Edition: Har/Com

Jerry Herman is one of Broadway's most celebrated composers and lyricists. He is the author of two of the biggest successes in musical theatre history: Hello, Dolly! and Mame as well as many others. This book offers all of the lyrics to Herman's well-loved songs along with rare production photographs from all of his shows. It includes early lyrics from Herman's first Broadway revues and shows, songs cut from his best-loved shows, and new lyrics. Herman's songs have been sung by all the masters of American pop song-from Barbra Streisand and Ethel Merman to Louis Armstrong and Michael Crawford - but have never been collected before. In addition to the lyrics, Herman offers his personal reminiscences and comments on the lyrics and the shows.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

After compiling Hart, Porter, Ira Gershwin, and Berlin, Robert Kimball, persistent editor of the complete lyrics of the classic American musical, has finally treated the first second-generation lyricist within his purview--see The Complete Lyrics of Frank Loesser [BKL N 1 03]. It is pushing optimism to expect him to get around to a third-generation figure such as Herman, lyricist-composer of the monster hits Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles, as well as of several other shows that have their staunch partisans among musical fans. Enter Bloom to contribute introductory remarks to chapters otherwise consisting entirely of lyrics, black-and-white and color production stills, and publicity posters for Herman's shows. One could quibble about the inevitable haziness of production stills and the occasional bleached-out color image, but here, displayed much more generously than they would be in a Kimball edition (which would, however, give reams more background info about each song and show), are Herman's lyrics, which no collection concerned with the musical should lack. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Ken Bloom is a world-renowned authority on the history of Broadway and show music. He is the author of the Broadway Encyclopedia (Routledge, forthcoming), along with a massive, 6-volume index to popular songs of the 20th century. He lives in New York City.

Jerry Herman lives in Hollywood, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; Har/Com edition (September 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415967686
• ISBN-13: 978-0415967686
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book. Highly recommended., October 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Jerry Herman: The Lyrics (Hardcover)

The lyrics and notes from Mr. Herman, and terrific photos-- especially of Angela Lansbury-- make this a great addition to the library of anyone with an interest in musical theatre.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lively discourse, December 8, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jerry Herman: The Lyrics (Hardcover)

This celebration of Jerry Herman's works gathers all the famous lyrics by the composer of Hello Dolly, La Cage Aux Folles, and joins them with his memories and comments. The result is a lively discourse blending previously unpublished lyrics with production photos and a special cd of Michael Feinstein performing Herman's favorite songs. Fans of Broadway shows in general and Herman in particular will relish this memoir and songbook.

4.0 out of 5 stars Lavish and Well-Deserved Tribute to Jerry Herman, February 7, 2005

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jerry Herman: The Lyrics (Hardcover)

He wrote the songs that made theater-goers feet tap all across the world. Without the melodies that go with them, the lyrics aren't as interesting or memorable as say, Frank Loesser's would be, for they lack a certain verbal sophistication. You'll see how few of them have extended lyrics, and often as not the lyrics repeat and repeat in a way which works well on stage but on the page, well, your eyes get tired. (Like "Shalom" from MILK AND HONEY, how many times do we need to hear that "Shalom" means twice as much as "hello"?) But nitpicking aside the book is great, not only for itss lavish and rare photographs, but for Herman's personal asides--saying for example that the title song of DEAR WORLD is one song he regrets having written. And some of the songs are indeed poetry, like the anxious lilt of "I Won't Send Flowers" from MACK AND MABEL or "We Need a Little Christmas" from MAME--"I need a little angel sitting on my shoulder," etc. A lyric that works not only in the theater but as a poem too. The book also includes the two numbers Herman "ghost-wrote" for the 1960s David Merrick production of BEN FRANKLIN IN PARIS, as well as some miscellaneous lyrics for revues, etc.

That "Jerry's Girls" song is pretty lame though. Just skip that page if you are allergic to name-dropping and self-congratulation on a Herculean scale.

Funny how he manages in two different songs to rhyme "Zsa Zsa" with "maharajah." That's a sign of repeating oneself, a danger in a career as long and productive as Herman's. The CD is good too although I would have liked to hear Michael Feinstein interpret some of the rarer or even the "trunk" numbers.