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Songwriting

Most popular at the top

  • Ira Gershwinby Philip Furia

    Oxford University Press 1997; US$ 26.00

    To the perennial question "which comes first, the music or the words?" Ira Gershwin always responded, "the contract." The jest reveals both Ira's consummate professionalism and the self-effacing wit with which he ducked the spotlight whenever possible. Yet the ingeniously inventive melodies George Gershwin composed for such classic songs as "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Embraceable You," "Fascinating Rhythm," "It Ain't Necessarily So," and "Love is Here to Stay" live on in no small part because of the equally unforgettable lyrics of Ira Gershwin, lines crafted with a precision that earned him the sobriquet "The Jeweller" among his Broadway peers. In Ira Gershwin: The Art of the Lyricist, the older and less flamboyant of the Gershwin brothers... more...

  • America's Songsby Michael Lasser

    CRC Press 2006; US$ 29.95

    America's Songs tells the ''stories behind'' the most beloved popular songs of the last century. We all have songs that have a special meaning in our lives; hearing them evokes a special time or place. Little wonder that these special songs have become enduring classics. Nothing brings the roarin '20s to life like ''Tea for Two'' or ''I'm just Wild About Harry''; the Great Depression is evoked in all of its pain and misery in songs like ''Brother Can You Spare a Dime?; ''God Bless America'' revives the powerful hope that American democracy promised to the world during the dark days of World War II; ''Young at Heart'' evokes the postwar optimism of the '50s. And then there are the countless songs of love, new romance, and heartbreak: ''As Time... more...

  • The Blues Lyric Formulaby Michael Taft

    Routledge 2006; US$ 27.95

    Offers an exploration of how blues singers used formulas to create songs, and presents a study of the blues, where the structure and content of the lyrics have been less explored than the musical form. This book is useful for the students of African-American music, cultural studies, history and linguistics, and others interested in Blues. more...

  • The Early Yearsby Tom Waits

    HarperCollins 2009; US$ 12.99

    Known for his growling vocals and for the distinct poetry of his lyrics, Tom Waits has amassed over the course of three decades a devoted cult following. The Early Years collects the lyrics—formative and classic—from the first ten albums of this true bard of hard living. A celebration of both his words and of the artist himself, this lyrical biography charts the course from Wait's emotional debut album, Closing Time (1977), to the experimental stirrings in Heartattack and Vine (1991) and One from the Heart (1992). Here the words achieve a new potency, adding further dimension to this singularly gifted artist. more...

  • The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopediaby THOMAS S. HISCHAK

    Greenwood Publishing Group 2007; US$ 85.00

    Still the most influential and popular songwriting team in the history of the American Musical Theatre, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein represent Broadway musicals at their finest. The team revolutionized the musical play with Oklahoma! in 1943 and then went on to explore territory never put on the musical stage before in such beloved shows as Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music. The team also worked in film, as with State Fair, and in the new medium of television, with Cinderella. For the first time, the lives, careers, works, songs, and themes of Rodgers and Hammerstein have been gathered together in an encyclopedia that covers the many talents of these men. In addition to their plays and films together,... more...

  • A Guitar and a Penby Robert Hicks; John Bohlinger; Justin Stelter

    Center Street 2008; US$ 12.99

    Nothing tells a story better than the story-songs of country music. A GUITAR AND A PEN presents, for the first time, the literary work of some of the best storytellers in the world: the songwriters who cut and polish tales down to sparkling three-minute gems. A blend of humor and poignancy, these tales range from Kris Kristofferson's charming tale of how an explicit natural rock formation causes chaos in a small farming town, to the domestic drama of a Kentucky family with six daughters, to Charlie Daniels' character-driven fable of money and unhappiness, to Gary Nicholson's riveting tale of an albino African American singer/songwriter who inspired him to be a musician. A celebration of music and storytelling, other contributors include Hal... more...

  • A Fine Romanceby David Lehman

    Knopf Publishing Group 2009; US$ 13.99

    In A Fine Romance, David Lehman looks at the formation of the American songbook--the timeless numbers that became jazz standards, iconic love songs, and sound tracks to famous movies--and explores the extraordinary fact that this songbook was written almost exclusively by Jews. An acclaimed poet, editor, and cultural critic, David Lehman hears America singing--with a Yiddish accent. He guides us through America in the golden age of song, when “Embraceable You,” “White Christmas,” “Easter Parade,” “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” “My Romance,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “Stormy Weather,” and countless others... more...

  • The New Songwriter's Guide to Music Publishingby Randy Poe

    F+W Media 2005; US$ 18.99

    Learn How to Make Money with Your Songs If you're a songwriter, your job is to be an expert at crafting songs - but to be successful you also need to have a sound working knowledge of music publishing. This easy-to-read boo more...

  • Tori Amos: Piece by Pieceby Tori Amos; Ann Powers

    Broadway Books 2008; US$ 11.99

    I choose to fight my battles through my music . . . I was born a feminist. And then at age five, when my strict Christian grandmother punished me, I realized, I’m not penetrating here. I’m just pissing people off. So I had to find another way to penetrate. I had to redefine what that word means. That word now is really about an opening, an entering into a separate space. And after the first phase of my life, I realized that it was okay to enter that space without having to be invaded . . . I like the idea of just being able to be inside. Not using penetration as a violent word. The idea of being able to find keys . . . music, using keys to get into a space that we couldn’t before . . . Now, backstage at an undisclosed arena... more...

  • The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercerby Robert Kimball; Barry Day; Miles Kreuger; Eric Davis; Johnny Mercer

    Knopf Publishing Group 2009; US$ 51.99

    The seventh volume in Knopf’s critically acclaimed Complete Lyrics series, published in Johnny Mercer’s centennial year, contains the texts to more than 1,200 of his lyrics, several hundred of them published here for the first time. Johnny Mercer’s early songs became staples of the big band era and were regularly featured in the musicals of early Hollywood. With his collaborators, who included Richard A. Whiting, Harry Warren, Hoagy Carmichael, Jerome Kern, and Harold Arlen, he wrote the lyrics to some of the most famous standards, among them, “Too Marvelous for Words,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “Skylark,” “I’m Old-Fashioned,” and “That Old Black Magic.” During... more...