Customer Reviews

Singers and the Song II

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I was simply overwhelmed by the sweep and depth of this book. It is much more than a collection of essays about Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mercer, Peggy Lee et al. It is a brilliantly written history of the great days of Amerian popular music -- circa 1935-1950 -- with side excursions into etymology, culture, the art of songwriting, geography, sociology, linguistics and, above all, musicality. Lees, himself a fine lyricist, shows and tells how it's done, who did it, where they succeeded and where they failed, and what finally happened to the era of American musicianship at its best. For those with the slightest interest in popular music, this book is a treasure.

Gene Lees is the author of this book and I cannot say a bad thing about it. Lees was one of my favourite writers about jazz and individuals and I have everything he wrote. Yes I am biassed but this book is something one should have on their shelf if you are interested in songs and singers. Lees writes like no other. An excellent book.