Customer Reviews

New York: Songs of the City

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Nancy did a wonderful job on this! (Caution--some of my research is mentioned in this book.) I've personally listened to hundreds of obscure but very worthwhile NYC songs. My only quibble is this: where's the CD, so people (unlike us, who don't have constant access to the NYPL's Rodgers & Hammerstein Archive of Recorded Sound) can listen to some of these obscure classics? It's really too bad that Groce didn't consult for Ric Burns' documentary on NEW YORK (which has a weak CD that doesn't include even the George M. Cohan and Frank Sinatra standards). C'mon, Nancy, give us the music! "It's up to you..."

Anyone interested in the pasts of music, New York or theater should grab this book. Funny, well-written and meticulously researched, it is also chockful of great sheet music covers from the early 19th to late 20th centuries. Grab this one!

I gave copies to friends, family, and ex New Yorkers as xmas presents and they all seemed to share my enthusiasm for this find. No travel guide I've come across works this well to get the reader into the history of New York as told through its music, to make the city come alive in its past and present. So much fun to read and look at, well written and colorful!