- Hardcover: 331 pages
- Publisher: Schirmer Books; 28th edition (10 Dec 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0028648153
- ISBN-13: 978-0028648156
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 2.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 62,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
Irving Berlin's singular devotion to the art of weaving words and music together produced songs of extraordinary quality. During the course of his career, he wrote thousands of songs, sometimes at a rate of at least one a day. 899 of his songs were registered for copyright, but it is the quality of these songs that is remarkable. Over half of them became hits and 282 of them reached the top ten. He was responsible for musical films including White Christmas and Easter Parade and the musical Annie Get Your Gun. In this book, musical theatre historian Philip Furia has written a musical life of America's most beloved composer. With access to the Irving Berlin Archives, he has brought forth new information on how the songs were created and related this to the important incidents in the composer's life.
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3 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A True Master At His Craft
14 Sep 2000
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
While this book doen't cover as much of Berlin's personal life as does Laurence Bergreen's biography entitled As Thousands Cheer, Furia's biography does cover in great detail the background involved in a number of Berlin's songs. "What'll I Do" was written just after the loss of his mother. However, Berlin said people read too much personal stuff whenever he writes a ballad. I like the fact that the author includes the lyrics of a number of Berlin's songs. Despite being a prolific song writer, Berlin often felt insecure about his ability to continue to write songs. Following his first big hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band" he always felt he had to continue to follow up with another big hit. He was able to continue to adjust to the music tastes of the country until rock and roll came in the mid-fifties. He became a very private man in his later years and felt people no longer cared about his music. Despite these thoughts, his contributions to American music remain timeless and will remain with us long after the latest fad of music passes by. To think that so many great songs came from this one man simply boggles the mind.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
a spiffy tunesmith
1 Feb 2000
Format:Hardcover
The creativity of Irving Berlin was amazing. This is a story of an interesting life, but also points out that, eventually, time erases foundations just like eroding soil or dripping water. Now, I would like to find a source to hear all of his songs as his number one concern was always quality. At times he would create a song in minutes, but it could also take years. As with most artists, he was continually looking for verification that his output was good. The appendix lists ALL of his tunes as well as other interesting data. A fine read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Fascinatin' look at songwriter's life and craft...
31 May 2002
Format:Hardcover
An excellent short bio of the wondrously talented songwriter who had little musical education yet produced hundreds of great popular songs between 1908 and the end of the century (He died at 101.) As a non-musician, I didn't always understand the author's explanations of why a particular standard broke new lyrical or musical ground, but I found the information riveting anyway. Berlin, the immigrant, became a symbol of the American Dream and deservedly so. Anyone who cherishes American music should read this.
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