The American Songbook: The Singers, Songwriters & The Songs | 
 enlarge | Author: Ken Bloom
Creator: Michael Feinstein
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
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Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 44822
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5.4
Dimensions (in): 12.6 x 10.8 x 1.4
ISBN: 1579124488
Dewey Decimal Number: 781.640973
EAN: 9781579124489
ASIN: 1579124488
Publication Date: October 17, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: NEW BOOK!! WE SHIP 6 DAYS A WEEK!!
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Product Description
Presented in the striking format of Ken Bloom’s successful Broadway Musicals, this rich visual history of popular song covers all of the prominent figures behind the music, in front of the bandstand, and on top of the piano. “The Singers” includes Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Barbara Cook, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, and dozens more; “ The Songwriters” features Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Fields, Stephen Foster, Richard Rodgers, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and a host of others; a lively section discusses the Big Bands; and a decade-by-decade insert puts the entire history of popular music in perspective through words and pictures.
Each one of the more than 200 listings in the book features the artist’s personal and professional history, great songs, and important contributions, plus photos (many rare), record covers, anecdotes, quotes, and more. Sidebars and features throughout cover topics of interest—everything from Arrangers, Vocal Groups, and Keepers of the Flame to Tin Pan Alley, Parodists, and Classical Crossovers—making this the most thorough survey of its kind. Throughout, all of the great songs are discussed—literally hundreds of songs, from “Stardust” to “My Funny Valentine” to “White Christmas.” Illustrated biographies, discographies, chronologies, and indices make The American Songbook a full-fledged reference as well as a pictorial feast.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 IRRITATING RATHER THAN ILLUMINATING March 24, 2008
B. McCanna (Normandy, France)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If a coffeee table book is defined as the sort of thing to leave lying around to impress your guests, then this fits the bill admirably. The problem begins when you open it and start to read. As I see it, the book suffers from three defects.
First is the relatively straightforward matter of ensuring that the text is correct, and sadly there are numerous examples of slipshod proof-reading. Just to take two examples, on page 51 the entry on Cliff Edwards reads (across two lines) "Adrian links Rollini"! and on page 106, the entry under Kate Smith, about the song "God Bless America", reads "Smith wanted to sing it with a marshal beat". Such examples are scattered throughout the book, which seems curious given the trouble taken over the quality of the paper and the excellence of the photographs.
Secondly, there is the question of exactly what the book is setting out to be. The title itself seems incomplete, an impression fostered by the fact that both Michael Feinstein in his Foreword, and the author in his Introduction, refer specifically to the Great American Songbook. That phrase has a recognised meaning, that is, songs that were written for the golden age of the Broadway musical theatre and the Hollywood musical, and which have attained the status of standards. I'm not convinced that the book has gained anything by widening its scope beyond that, and I'm also disappointed by the omissions.
Finally, there is the style in which the book is written, in which the author's opinion is presented as fact. I recognise that someone else's opinion may differ from mine, but I do think some attempt needs to be made to validate it, and that it should be argued consistently. To take a case in point, Fred Astaire is described as an "interpreter" rather than singer, then in the next sentence we read "Astaire, like many other great singers". There is no mention of Irving Berlin's comment that Astaire sang it the way he (Berlin) wrote it. I found the critique of Astaire's singing to be an example of muddled thinking, which was irritating rather than illuminating. In fact, that sums up much of the problem I have with the author's prose.
Lest it be thought that I'm being unduly harsh, consider this comment on Crosby. "(He) kept his personality in check. He gave us nothing to make us cry, nothing to make us laugh - but he could draw a big smile, a pang of nostalgia, a wistfulness." This is the sort of writing that used to appear on the sleeve notes of some LPs, and I despair at meeting it again in this guide to the American Songbook.
Another Beautiful Book by Ken Bloom January 9, 2008
John T. Lewis (San Francisco, CA United States)
Already having Ken Bloom's other book, BROADWAY MUSICALS, I found this to be a great companion piece. Being a huge fan and collector of things relating to the history of the American Musical Teatre, I found AMERICAN SONGBOOK to be another treasure trove of information, beautifully laid out with lots of great pictures and reproductions of sheet music, which I especially enjoyed. This more than makes up for the already mentioned typos and misinformation. My only disappointment, from the vantage point of American Musicals, is the absence of Stephen Sondheim. I understand that by the nature of the beast, some composers are going to be left out. The irony is, while Sondheim is one of the major forces in musical theatre here and abroad, both as a composer and lyricist, he would be the first to agree that he did not intend to write "popular" music. But I still found his absence sad in the context of the whole picture. After all, numerous singers, including a few that are given chapters to in this book, have recorded Sondheim...including countless versions of "Send In the Clowns".
 The singers and the song writers of the great era in American music January 1, 2008
G. Misthos
This is a large and beautiful coffee table type book that cover the great singers, the big bands, and the song writers of that great era in music, the great American songbook. It is a very enjoyable book, with lots of pictures and facts. A couple of complaints: in the singers section, the author lists Louie Prima & Keely Smith and Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme under a two page chapter entitled Husband & Wife Teams. I'm sorry, but Steve & Eydie deserve, at the very least, their own chapter together, if not individually. They have been very successful and talented singers, both individually and together for more than 50 years...they deserve more respect. Same with Keely Smith. Great singer, great voice, deserved her own chapter. Louie Prima deserved his own chapter under Big Bands. And finally, no chapter on Buddy Clark? His career was cut tragically short in a plane crash, but he had a fine voice and was quite popular in the late '40's. If you're going to have a chapter on Russ Columbo (whose career was also tragically cut short) you have to do the same with Buddy Clark. You will enjoy this book very much, despite these complaints.
Beautiful and entertaining book! December 18, 2007
Sandie Russo (Carlsbad, CA United States)
I bought this book to contribute to the music education of my 13 year old drummer grandson, who happens to love jazz, big band and American standards. This book was just perfect. Beautiful pictures, well written biographys of the American music greats. Wonderful tidbits and background on everyone in the American popular music business, from the singers, band leaders, songs, and songwriters. Very fun, entertaining, and educational.
Great Pictures, Good Material, Some Omissions But... December 4, 2007
Drew
...In all honesty, you have to think about what this book is trying to cover. It's really about the 'standards' era of popular music and those who composed in the genre, as well as those who performed in it.
Inevitably with such a wide scope it cannot cover every aspect of the period. But author Ken Bloom has done a good job of making his book representative of all that took place during those years.
As a music enthusiast, would be author and one time presenter I find myself reaching for the book pretty frequently to read up on a particular artiste or songwriter. it's usually the first place I start. If I want more in depth information I will look out one of the biographies. otherwise this book suits me fine!
Drew. Drew Savage is the author of The Deceivers. He is a standards era enthusiast and has been a guest presenter for the BBC.
Also recommended:
Broadway Sheet Music Hits
Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz: 3 volumes (New Grove Dictionary of Jazz)
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