Irving Berlin : New York genius / James Kaplan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kaplan, James, 1951- author.

Series:

Jewish lives (New Haven, Conn.)

Jewish lives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Berlin, Irving, 1888-1989.

Berlin, Irving.

Composers--United States--Biography.

Composers.

United States.

Jewish composers--United States--Biography.

Jewish composers.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xv, 398 pages : illustration ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2019]

Summary:

A fast-moving, musically astute portrait of arguably the greatest composer of American popular music. Irving Berlin (1888-1989) has been called-by George Gershwin, among others-the greatest songwriter of the golden age of the American popular song. "Berlin has no place in American music," legendary composer Jerome Kern wrote; "he is American music." In a career that spanned an astonishing nine decades, Berlin wrote some fifteen hundred tunes, including "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "God Bless America," and "White Christmas." From ragtime to the rock era, Berlin's work has endured in the very fiber of American national identity. Exploring the intertwining of Berlin's life with the life of New York City, noted biographer James Kaplan offers a visceral narrative of Berlin as self-made man and witty, wily, tough Jewish immigrant. This fast-paced, musically opinionated biography uncovers Berlin's unique brilliance as a composer of music and lyrics. Masterfully written and psychologically penetrating, Kaplan's book underscores Berlin's continued relevance in American popular culture.

Contents:

The fugitive

I have discovered a great kid

You can never tell your finish when you start

I sweat blood

At the devil's ball

Play a simple melody

I wasn't much of a soldier

Work for yourself!

What shall I do?

Always

Never saw the sun shining so bright

Good Good, another revue!

Before they ask us to pay the bill

Write hits like Irving Berlin

While the storm clouds gather

What is a war song?

This is the army, Mr. Jones

To war

And back

There is America's folk song writer

I've never been in a tougher spot

We'll never get off the stage

A worried old man on the hill

What have you written lately?

Diminuendo and coda.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 337-370) and index.

National Jewish Book Awards - Jewish Book of the Year, Winner, 2014 (for Jewish Lives series)

ISBN:

9780300180480

0300180489

OCLC:

1090445129