The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America's Great Lyricists

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The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America's Great Lyricists

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In The Poets of Tin Pan Alley, Philip Furia presents a fascinating accout of the lives in words and music of some of America's greatest popular lyricists. Full chapters are devoted to such golden names as Irving Berlin, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Dietz, E. Y. Harburg, Dorothy Fields, Leo Robbins and Johnny Mercer. Furia also discusses the important contributions made by other lyricists who wrote for the sheet-music industry, Broadway, Hollywood, and Harlem nightclub revues. Each of the lyricists is placed firmly in historical context and Furia is careful to note the extent to which the lyrics of popular music both reflected and shaped the mores of the periods in which they were written.

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the background information about the shows and films for which they wrote is worthwhile and puts the songs in context, but it is the sheer style of the oh-so-familiar lines, placed under a microscope, which is so impressive

it is the sheer style of the oh-so-familiar lines, placed under a microscope, which is so impressive

A study of great songs that makes do without music can only tell half the story, if that; but this brainy and bracing account makes the best of a dry job

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