Will Friedwald’s illuminating, opinionated essays—provocative,
funny, and personal—on the lives and careers of more than three hundred
singers anatomize the work of the most important jazz and popular
performers of the twentieth century. From giants like Ella Fitzgerald,
Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland to lesser-known artists
like Jeri Southern and Joe Mooney, they have created a body of work
that continues to please and inspire. Here is the most extensive
biographical and critical survey of these singers ever written, as well
as an essential guide to the Great American Songbook and those who
shaped the way it has been sung.
The music crosses from jazz to
pop and back again, from the songs of Irving Berlin and W. C. Handy
through Stephen Sondheim and beyond, bringing together straightforward
jazz and pop singers (Billie Holiday, Perry Como); hybrid artists who
moved among genres and combined them (Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé); the leading
men and women of Broadway and Hollywood (Ethel Merman, Al Jolson);
yesterday’s vaudeville and radio stars (Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor);
and today’s cabaret artists and hit-makers (Diana Krall, Michael Bublé).
Friedwald has also written extended pieces on the most representative
artists of five significant genres that lie outside the songbook: Bessie
Smith (blues), Mahalia Jackson (gospel), Hank Williams (country and
western), Elvis Presley (rock ’n’ roll), and Bob Dylan (folk-rock).
Friedwald
reconsiders the personal stories and professional successes and
failures of all these artists, their songs, and their performances,
appraising both the singers and their music by balancing his opinions
with those of fellow musicians, listeners, and critics.
This
magisterial reference book—ten years in the making—will delight and
inform anyone with a passion for the iconic music of America, which
continues to resonate throughout our popular culture.
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Friedwald's stuff is very good - this looks a great preview, thanks!!!
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