Contrary to the widely held opinion that most of our hit and standard songs were composed by a handful of top writers--Berlin, Gershwin, Kern, Porter, and Rodgers--the fact is that the vast majority of them were written by relatively unknown composers.
An Unsung Cat explores the life and music of jazz saxophonist, Warne Marsh. Safford Chamberlain follows the artist from his start in youth bands like the Hollywood Canteen Kids and The Teen-Agers through his studies under Lennie Tristano, his brilliant playing of the 1950s, his disappearance from public view in the 1960s, his re-emergence in the 1970s, and his belated recognition in the 1980s as one of the finest tenor players of the post-World War II era. Through interviews with the Marsh family and friends, Chamberlain offers an inside view of Marsh's private life, including his struggles with drug abuse. Detailed analysis of outstanding performances complements the personal story, while an extensively researched discography and photographs reveal the public and private face of this unique performer. In addition to the book, Scarecrow is pleased to offer a companion compact disc, released by Storyville Records. The tracks on the CD provide a representative sampling of Marsh's best work, while providing a historical overview of his development, from the beginning track, "Apple Honey," which is a private, low-fidelity tape from an NBC radio broadcast in 1945 of the Hoagy Carmichael Show, to the final track, "Sweet and Lovely," captured months before his death in 1987.
(Book). Confessions of a Serial Songwriter is an amusing and poignant memoir about songwriter Shelly Peiken's journey from young girl falling under the spell of magical songs to working professional songwriter writing hits of her own. It's about growing up, the creative process the highs and the lows, the conflicts that arise between motherhood and career success, the divas and schemers, but also the talented and remarkable people she's found along the way. It's filled with stories and step-by-step advice about the songwriting process, especially collaboration. And it's about the challenge of staying relevant in a rapidly changing and youth-driven world. As Shelly so eloquently states in Confessions of a Serial Songwriter : "If I had to come up with one X factor that I could cite as a characteristic most hit songs have in common (and this excludes hit songs that are put forth by an already well-oiled machine...that is, a recording artist who has so much notoriety and momentum that just about anything he or she releases, as long as it's 'pretty good,' will have a decent shot at succeeding), I would say it would be: A universal sentiment in a unique frame ." Peiken has tapped the universal sentiment again and again; her songs have been recorded by such artists as Christina Aguilera, Natalie Cole, Selena Gomez, Celine Dion, the Pretenders, and others. In Confessions of a Serial Songwriter , she pulls the curtain back on the music business from the perspective of a behind-the-scenes hit creator and shares invaluable insight into the craft of songwriting.
In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.
"This is one of the best and most intelligent pieces of film-writing and criticism that I have had in my hands for years." - Steve Kaplan, oldies.com Let Me Tell You How I Really Feel: The Uncensored Book Reviews of Classic Images' Laura Wagner, 2001-2010, gathers together the best of Laura's monthly book reviews from Classic Images magazine - uncensored, as they were meant to be read in the first place. Also included is some of the hate mail she has received because of her hard-core, take-no-prisoners approach to reviewing. The much-beloved Laura Wagner's articles have appeared regularly in Classic Images (www.classicimages.com) and Films of the Golden Age (www.filmsofthegoldenage.com) since 1995. She became the book reviewer for Classic Images in 2001. Laura is the co-author of Killer Tomatoes: 15 Tough Film Dames (McFarland) and contributed a short story to the anthology, It's That Time Again 2!: More New Stories of Old-Time Radio (BearManor Media).
The long-awaited sequel to Songwriters on Songwriting, often called "the songwriter's bible," More Songwriters on Songwriting goes to the heart of the creative process with in-depth interviews with many of the world's greatest songwriters. Covering every genre of popular music from folk, rock 'n' roll, Broadway, jazz, pop, and modern rock, this is a remarkable journey through some sixty years of popular songwriting: from Leiber & Stoller's genius rock 'n' roll collaborations and Richard Sherman's Disney songs to Kenny Gamble's Philly Sound; Norman Whitfield's Motown classics; Loretta Lynn's country standards; expansive folk music from Peter, Paul, and Mary; folk-rock from Stephen Stills; confessional gems from James Taylor; poetic excursions form Patti Smith; Beatles magic from Ringo Starr; expansive brilliance from Paul Simon; complex melodic greatness from Brian Wilson; the most untrustworthy narrator alive in Randy Newman; the dark rock theater of both Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie; the sophisticated breadth of Elvis Costello; the legendary jazz of Herbie Hancock; the soulful swagger of of Chrissie Hynde; the funny-poignant beauty of John Prine; the ancient wisdom fused with hip-hop and reggae of Matisyahu; and much more. In all of it is the collective wisdom of those who have written songs for decades, songs that have impacted our culture forever.
Leonard Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins stand as giants of the musical-theatre world, but it was ballet that launched their stage careers and established their relationship. With Fancy Free (1944), their triumphant debut collaboration produced by Ballet Theatre, Bernstein, Robbins, and set designer Oliver Smith-all in their mid-twenties- captured the spirit of wartime New York, created a defining ballet of the period still widely performed today, and became overnight sensations. The hit musical On the Town (1944) and a now largely forgotten ballet, Facsimile (1946), followed over the next two years. Drawing extensively on previously unpublished archival documents, Bernstein and Robbins: The Early Ballets provides a richly detailed and original historical account of the creation, premiere, and reception of Fancy Free and Facsimile. It reveals the vital and sometimes conflicting role of Ballet Theatre, explores how Bernstein composed the scores, sheds light on the central importance of Oliver Smith, and considers the legacy of these works for all involved. The result is a new understanding of Bernstein, Robbins, and this formative period in their lives.
In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.
Tennessee Off the Beaten Path features the things travelers and locals want to see and experience––if only they knew about them. From the best in local dining to quirky cultural tidbits to hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales, Tennessee Off the Beaten Path takes the reader down the road less traveled and reveals a side of Tennessee that other guidebooks just don't offer.
In I Forgot To Remember To Forget Norman Johnson calls upon his sixty eight years of experience in the fields of entertainment and broadcasting to bring the reader series of vignettes of the lives and careers of some of America's top entertainers, many from East Texas and Nacogdoches, his adopted home town. Throughout the book Johnson relives his own personal encounters and friendships with most of the people he writes about including artists from various genres of music as well as Broadway and movie acts, politicians and just everyday folks. This is simple history from one who got to know each individual up close and personal. Johnson expands upon his previous book, The Kid and The King, to include dozens of singers and actors who thrilled and entertained you through the years.
In her first two books, Sheila Davis classified the major song forms and enduring principles that have been honored for decades by America's foremost songwriters. Those books have become required reading in music courses from NYU to UCLA. In The Songwriters Idea Book, Davis goes one step further, giving you 40 strategies for designing distinctive songs. You'll break new ground in your own songwriting by learning about the inherent relationship between language style, personality type and the brain. • You'll go, step by step, through the creative process as you activate, incubate, separate and discriminate. • You'll learn to use the whole-brain techniques of imaging, brainstorming and clustering. • You'll expand your skilled use of figurative language with paragrams, metonyms, synecdoche and antonomasia. • You'll be challenged to design metaphors, form symbols, make puns and coin words. • And, you'll learn how to prevent writer's block, increase your productivity and maintain your creative flow. Over 100 successful student lyrics from pop, country, cabaret, and theater serve as role-models to illustrate the "whole-brain" songwriting process.
