The American Songbook: Music for the Masses Hardcover

Anne Van der Merwe

With their unforgettable melodies, timeless messages, and stylistic indebtedness to both jazz and Broadway, American popular standards have proven to be among the most widely performed and enjoyed songs of the past century. Shaped in many ways by the technological and cultural developments of the early twentieth century, they have also managed to transcend these origins and become an enduring part of the American musical landscape. Ann van der Merwe explores how and why American songbook standards developed in the early twentieth century and how these standards have shaped American-and even global-musical culture ever since. The American Songbook explores key aspects of individual songs, including the musical and lyrical reasons for their broad appeal and applicability over the years. The American songbook continues to permeate the fabric of our daily lives. It is a repertoire that spans generations, from Fred Astaire to Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. As a result, music lovers both young and old will enjoy discovering how these beloved songs emerged and why they remain relevant a century later.

1442242442

9781442242449

English

Rowman & Littlefield

10 Jan 2017

164

Ann van der Merwe has taught in the music departments of Miami University and Ohio State University. She is the author of The Ziegfeld Follies: A History in Song (Scarecrow Press, 2009) and has contributed entries to the second edition of The Grove Dictionary of American Music. Her research has also been published in Music and the Moving Image and Studies in Musical Theatre, and she appeared in the 2000 national tour of Cole Porter's Anything Goes.

Van der Merwe has skillfully used both her academic and her professional musical skills in this compact overview of the American songbook, particularly popular songs from the 1920s to the 1950s. Following a time line, the author focuses on a selected few songs-e.g., `Blue Skies,' `I Got Rhythm,' `Night and Day,' and `All the Things You Are.' She devotes chapters to composers (among them Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, and E. Y. Harburg), stage shows and musical comedies (such as Lady, Be Good!), musical films (including Singin' in the Rain), and the connections between jazz and popular songs