| Description |
1 online resource (xv, 398 pages) : illustration |
| Series |
Jewish lives |
|
Jewish lives (New Haven, Conn.)
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| 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 |
| 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 |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Berlin, Irving, 1888-1989.
|
| SUBJECT |
Berlin, Irving, 1888-1989 fast |
| Subject |
Composers -- United States -- Biography
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BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Entertainment & Performing Arts.
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|
Composers
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United States
|
| Genre/Form |
collective biographies.
|
|
Biographies
|
|
Biographies.
|
|
Biographies.
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9780300183214 |
|
0300183216 |
|
