Singers and the Song

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Singers and the Song

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This book is a celebration of the generation of popular singers which emerged during and after the war: singers such as Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, and Sarah Vaughan. Universally praised as intuitive performers, Gene Lees's expert analysis also shows them to be intelligent, skilful artists, didicated to their work. Sinatra is singled out for special praise: Lees describes him as 'our Poet Laureate, and best singer we've ever heard', and points out his technical virtuosity and his unique style of phrasing. The book also looks at some of the composers and lyricists whose material was finely tuned to suit the abilities of these new popular stars. A lyricist himself, Lees gives us an illuminating account of the language used by writers such as Johnny Mercer, their choice of subject matter, and their extraordinary gifts for rhyme and rhythm.

Reviews

The way the essays flow together, Singers and the Song has the sweep of a jazz-orchestral suite organized around recurrent motifs

Gene Lees shows how our anemic language can be transfused with emotion by turning words into song ... he cherishes words as much as he loves music

Lees is a superb writer, erudite, compassionate, sensitive and knowledgeable

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